OK I will try one more time.
The neutral 'un-insulated' wire and also used as a catenary, is un-insulated because it is at zero potential WRT earth ground, although it is a current carrying conductor.

 

And yet no one has picked up on my real issue has been, including myself of course. I knew subconsciously that the outlets in my house don't have two hot wires to it.

My parents before we had central AC, they got a deal for one of those heating/cooling units used in hotel rooms. Heating was done with water. The unit was 240 VAC. So, a 240 VAC NEMA 6-15R https://www.cordsetsinc.com/configurationandvoltagechart.php receptacle was added for the AC. 2 Hots and a Ground.

The favorite one at work was the 14-60R. When the building was built for us, the neutrals that the equipment needed were missing. Oops. In one of our later designs, we Plugged in a 125A service panel to an equipment rack to connect up to seven 1500 W power supplies that could be 125V or 208V inputs.

 

Only rarely true.
It carries the difference current between the top and bottom outputs of the transformer.
For example if the top 120V tap had a 5A load, and the bottom 120V tap had an 8A load, the neutral (white wire) would be carrying 3A.

 

So what you're saying is that there's not 220VAC available in your house?

 

Just to confuse things even more... Since there is a ground connection on each end of the "Neutral" aerial wire there should be no current whatsoever on it. Max is correct as to it being carried on the neutral wires inside the house wiring from the receptacle back to the panel.

Check out post #104.
Maybe that is what they mean by apple and oranges.
I have been seeing apple ( the top diagram) while everyone else been talking about oranges( the bottom diagram). And at the same time my original question, was about something very basic for lack of a better word and it all got mixed up in one big pile of... I don't know what.

 

Yes, that is it. He keeps repeating that if a conductor is carrying current it is live. That is not true. Live means that it is at the opposite potential of ground, and the neutral conductor, unless something has gone very wrong, is always at the same potential as ground.

A neutral wire could be carrying 100A but you will not get a shock by touching it while standing barefoot in a mud puddle. A live wire might be carrying NO current, but if you grab hold of it while standing barefoot in a mud puddle, you will end up at least, knocked on your ass, or at worst dead.

Bob

 

So what you're saying is that there's not 220VAC available in your house?

Certainly, I have 220-240V in my house.

 

Yes, that is it. He keeps repeating that if a conductor is carrying current it is live. That is not true. Live means that it is at the opposite potential of ground, and the neutral conductor, unless something has gone very wrong, is always at the same potential as ground.

ou touch it, you will get zapped?
( This is of course in relation to the clarification that neutral wire and the ground are basically the same wire, hence the reason for the statement).

 

Yes, absolutely, and you can get shocked by a wire that is not carrying current. It is the potential difference between the two points of contact that determine whether you will be shocked.

Bob

 

Yes, absolutely, and you can get shocked by a wire that is not carrying current. It is the potential difference between the two points of contact that determine whether you will be shocked.

Bob

Is that also the main reason ( no voltage difference) why birds don't get zapped when they are sitting on high voltage bare wires even though they wires have current as well?

 

Is that also the main reason ( no voltage difference) why birds don't get zapped when they are sitting on high voltage bare wires even though they wires have current as well?

Like a bird on a wire.

Check out this video and similar videos of power line maintenance on live lines. As long as everything is isolated and you get the helicopter to the line potential there is no path to ground. No path for current like a bird on a wire.

Ron

 

Yes and no. The reason they do not get shocked is because they have only one point of contact. There can not be a potential difference when contacting only one conductor, and you would know that if you would read your own thread.

Bob

 

Yes and no. The reason they do not get shocked is because they have only one point of contact. There can not be a potential difference when contacting only one conductor, and you would know that if you would read your own thread.

Bob

At household voltages that's true but it's not always true.

Once you get above 200kV you don't see many birds on the lines because the electric field gradient in the corona will interact with the charges (body capacitance) in the birds inducing painful discharge currents even with one point of contact. Once the e-field potential starts to densely ionize air all bets are off on possible current paths including those that don't have a direct galvanic connection to earth or any circuit ground reference point.

 

Certainly, I have 220-240V in my house.
The subject matter however that folks been talking about is in relation to what I see the term to be ( single-phase, three-wire system hooked in series).
Attention should be drawn to that "node" between the two loads on the bottom diagram.

There is alot of confusion and as I see it, error in the bottom diagram, it does NOT show correctly or clearly the current path and totals for a typical N.A. 1ph 3 wire centre tapped transformer.
And what does this mean?"( single-phase, three-wire system hooked in series).
Also R1 -R5???
Max.

 

Remember the input is single phase.
The output is split-phase, but called single phase.

Two phase power did exist at one time.

 

Yes and no. The reason they do not get shocked is because they have only one point of contact. There can not be a potential difference when contacting only one conductor, and you would know that if you would read your own thread.

 

There is alot of confusion and as I see it, error in the bottom diagram, it does NOT show correctly or clearly the current path and totals for a typical N.A. 1ph 3 wire centre tapped transformer.
And what does this mean?"( single-phase, three-wire system hooked in series).
Also R1 -R5???
Max.

 

I am not an expert. I could be wrong.

IMO, you already know you are wrong.

 

IMO, you already know you are wrong.

Let's see the end of the wire that the bird is sitting on is connected to one side of the

 

@Alchemy One
Don't know where you found the drawing but the red arrows in the bottom one are wrong. The arrow from the very bottom of the lower connection should point to the center tap, not from the center tap. And the arrow marked 100V should point to the bottom. Did you notice the little ground symbol on the center tap?