For all intents and purposes, the NEUTRAL wire is "live"

Depends upon your definition of "live".
For normal main's "intents and purposes" the LIVE wire has voltage above earth ground and the NEUTRAL wire has no significant voltage above earth ground.

 

I use the word "live" as when I refer to a circuit as "live".
A circuit is "live" when it is powered and conducting current but not limited to conducting current. A circuit can also be "live" even though it is not conducting any current but capable of conducting current.

 

Earth can and does carry current in the case of a ground fault.
At the time of my training in the UK, we had to measure the ground resistance back to the Supply transformer earthed grounded neutral.
IIRC , it was to be below 2.5Ω , in N.A. the NFPA and IEEE recommend a value of <5Ω.

At least in my part of Michigan, the neutral is solidly tied to ground, but totally separated from the "green wire" safety ground system. Thus I was not at all referencing that "ground system" in any of my comments. But for at least the past 75 years, Neutral has been solidly tied to "ground". How much of that neutral current flows through copper, versus through dirt?? That will take extra equipment to measure. The drop wires from pole to house are all the same size and so it might be "not much", possibly. And the "neutral" wire is not ever likely to be "hot"

Thus I suggest others understand before jumping up to make noise.

 

At least in my part of Michigan, the neutral is solidly tied to ground, but totally separated from the "green wire" safety ground system.

??? NEC & CEC stipulate that the neutral be bonded to the earth GND ("green wire") conductor at one point only, the electrical distribution panel.
And of course, it is bonded back at the supply transformer neutral.
At least that is current practice.

 

A circuit is "live" when it is powered and conducting current

If that's you definition, fine, but that's not really pertinent to this thread.
It's not the definition when referring to the main's "live" connection, which is the subject here.

 

At least in my part of Michigan, the neutral is solidly tied to ground, but totally separated from the "green wire" safety ground system. Thus I was not at all referencing that "ground system" in any of my comments. But for at least the past 75 years, Neutral has been solidly tied to "ground". How much of that neutral current flows through copper, versus through dirt?? That will take extra equipment to measure. The drop wires from pole to house are all the same size and so it might be "not much", possibly. And the "neutral" wire is not ever likely to be "hot"

Thus I suggest others understand before jumping up to make noise.

That is exactly what I was saying. But I neglected to say it was code.

 

The supply side in Oregon also has a massive grounding point.
https://www.power-grid.com/executiv...converter-station-into-service-on-power-grid/

According to a BPA Publication on the Celilo Station (circa 1970):

The Northern Ground Terminal is at Rice Flats a few miles south of Celilo directly under the line. It is a 1700 foot radius circle of #4/0 awg copper connecting 1,067 cast iron anodes each 18" diameter x 60"long. Total wire is 10670 feet. Anodes and wire are buried 6 feet deep and surrounded with a 2'x2' bed of carbon coke. Three 1700' +/- long "spokes" of 1000MCM copper connect the circle to DC Intertie tower 8/1 that is in the center of the grid.

GE did testing on the ground system prior to system energization. "Telluric currents were noted, as was cathodic protection where it was present. 300 amps of current were circulated in the earth between the ground electrode at Rice Flats and the ocean electrode in Santa Monica Bay. It was assumed that the effect of 1800 amps could be extrapolated linearly from these results. ... With the location chosen, it was anticipated that there would be no insurmountable problem with the existing pipelines and other metallic structures in the ground."

Transformer upgrades.

 

If that's you definition, fine, but that's not really pertinent to this thread.
It's not the definition when referring to the main's "live" connection, which is the subject here.

The OP misused the word 'live' IMO. Electrical circuits (open circuit, short circuit, dead, etc ...) are live, electrical utility wires are hot, neutral, ground..

https://www.dummies.com/article/tec...ctronics-hot-neutral-and-ground-wires-179852/

• Hot: The black wire is the hot wire, which provides a 120 VAC current source.
• Neutral: The white wire is called the neutral wire. It provides the return path for the current provided by the hot wire. The neutral wire is connected to an earth ground.
• Ground: The bare wire is called the ground wire. Like the neutral wire, the ground wire is also connected to an earth ground. However, the neutral and ground wires serve two distinct purposes.
  The neutral wire forms a part of the live circuit along with the hot wire. In contrast, the ground wire is connected to any metal parts in an appliance, such as a microwave oven or coffee pot. This is a safety feature, in case the hot or neutral wires somehow come in contact with metal parts.

 

Electrical plugs and receptacles might have markings for L, N, E.

L = LINE/HOT
N = NEUTRAL
E = EARTH/GROUND



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

That doesn't negate what I said.

First you say that the voltage difference is what causes a current flow and then you say that the field is what moves the electrons. Are you saying that both are responsible for the current flow? From what is stated in the textbooks, I agree with voltage as the cause of the current flow but not the field. My understanding is that the field is generated by the current flow, not vice versa. You could wind a conductor into two coils wound in opposite directions and placed in close proximity so that there would only be a very weak net field and yet the same current would continue to flow through the conductor.

Also the field produced by current in a wire is a magnetic field. The field produced by a capacitor is an electric field. Of course all of this comes from my reading of a textbook.

Certainly I would tend to agree with whatever you post, but I think that what you posted is different from what is in the textbook.