Ground Neutral and Hot wires explained - electrical engineering grounding ground fault

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I am a senior technician, self-employed in the PCB manufacturing industry. Back when I was struggling with the difference between ground and neutral, I came up with an analogy using water that helped me better understand. Imagine you had an upstairs laundry room. Of course, there would be a drain in the middle of the floor just in case the washing machine sprung a leak. But, in normal use, the water in the washing machine would go down the intended path through the drain behind the machine. The drain in the floor acts the same as a ground. It's not an active part of the washing machine plumbing but if necessary it can carry the water away to avoid flooding the downstairs. The drain behind the machine acts as the neutral because it is intended to carry the water away in normal operation.

I've been in the electrical field for over 5 years now and unfortunately my coworkers and bosses have either been lousy at teaching me things or purposely keeping me ignorant so I can't progress as quickly. It's always driven me crazy not being able to fully understand the basics of electricity and how it all works. Your videos have served me so well, I'm now so much more confident when I'm working and can't begin to show my level of appreciation for all your easy to follow, informative videos. Thank you and please keep up the amazing work. If I could make a suggestion, I would love a detailed video on the steps you would take for installing a subpanel for either residential or commercial use. Regardless, any video you make will surely be great, thank you!!

Paul, you are the best teacher whom I have ever run across when trying to understand the fundamentals of electricity. I have been trying to learn this concept for years, and for years, NO ONE could teach it to me so easily as you just did in this video. PLEASE do not stop teaching people! Your method of teaching has most likely helped hundreds - if not thousands - of people in search of higher learning!

I often find, with your videos, that even if I read a title of your video and it sounds like something I’m already confident that I’m familiar with, I still learn something when I watch it. Thank you for such great information. I’m an electrician of about 10 years.

You just explained the difference between neutral and ground better then anyone in my school OR my work. THANK you.

As an electrical PE, it is remarkable how many experienced people cannot explain these concepts simply - or worse those who are stingy with their expertise. Thankfully, I had good mentors. But so many talented individuals at the entry-level don't get the help they need to understand the basics. I see that by reading the comments. I really appreciate your clear explanations and how generous you are with your knowledge. Please keep up the good work!

The best example of the flow of current I've seen in my 50 years of being electrician

As a visual learner and an engineer, I truly appreciate these videos.

I've tried to understand residential electrical systems for years. My dad keeps trying to teach me, but the neutral wire never made any sense to me, so I would keep forgetting what I was taught. With this simple explanation, everything just clicked into place. Everything makes sense now! Thanks!

This was explained in the clearest manner that I've ever come across. I wish my college professor, back in the day, explained it this way. He was ready to retire, and we were the last class he taught. This was one of those concepts that had eluded me for some reason; for quite awhile. I had an easier time with understanding calculus than this one thing.

After high school, I resisted the thought of doing engineering. But currently, I am a graduated electrical engineer. I think these videos are very powerful for anyone having difficulty on these topics.

This guy explains tons of electrical concepts better in these short little videos than tons of books and most blow hands on the subjects! Love your videos Paul!

I just wanted to say thanks, I’m in school to be an electrician and the simple theory lessons have really helped.

What a fantastic, informative video. I've done some handy work on my own property for years, and you've taught me more in just 11 minutes than I've learned in the past year. Thank you. Excellent animations and diagrams, too!

omg THANK YOU! Up until 11 minutes ago, I had been trying to understand this for YEARS!

I work as a Controls Engineer with a primary education in Mechanic Engineerin, so the electrical stuff has alaways been a bit hazy. This was awesome, thank you very much.

I'm shocked! But on a serious note , even though i am not an electrician or going to be , these information is always good to have in my brain

This is so much better than sitting in a class.

You have singlehandedly ended my search for real anwsers I couldn't find anywhere else. Thank you The Engineering Mindset.