RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re[1]: FYI: US Home Voltage system

-----Original Message-----

>From: wanliker@... [mailto:wanliker@...]
>Subject: Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re[1]: FYI: US Home Voltage system
>...
>The neutral is called a grounding wire, ...
>...

It may be called that colloquially, but officially (in the National Electrical
Code)
the green/bare/"safety"/"bonding" wire is called the "grounding" wire
(presumeably because its purpose is to ground pieces of metal that would
otherwise not be connected to anything at all), while the white/neutral/return
circuit wire is called the "grounded" wire (because it is the leg of the power
circuit that is grounded, usually at the service panel). The former must be
green (possibly with yellow stripes) or bare wire, or the bonding may also be
done with certain types of metallic conduit. The latter wire must be white.
Neither can have any switches, fuses, or circuit breakers that can disconnect
them.

Of course if you aren't watching for it, the subtle distinction between
"grounded" and "grounding" can slip by, so in conversation, it is more common to
refer to them by colour.
-Kevin Martin