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Long-distance electromagnetic telegraph systems from 1820 onwards [a] used two or more wires to carry the signal and return currents. It was discovered by German scientist C.A. von Steinheil in 1836–1837, that the ground could be used as the return path to complete the circuit, making the return wire unnecessary. [2]
While the national wiring regulations for buildings of many countries follow the IEC 60364 terminology, in North America (United States and Canada), the term "equipment grounding conductor" refers to equipment grounds and ground wires on branch circuits, and "grounding electrode conductor" is used for conductors bonding an earth/ground rod ...
A ground conductor only carries significant current if there is a circuit fault that would otherwise energize exposed conductive parts and present a shock hazard. In that case, circuit protection devices may detect a fault to a grounded metal enclosure and automatically de-energize the circuit, or may provide a warning of a ground fault.
Most circuits have the metallic components interconnected with a grounding wire connected to the third, round prong of a plug, and to metal boxes and appliance chassis. Furnaces, electric water heaters, heat pumps, central air conditioning units, electric dryers, electric stoves or cooktops, and built-in microwave ovens must be on dedicated ...
The electrodes for electrical grounding are often called ground rods and are often made from steel with a copper clad surface – typically 1 to 2 m long and 20 millimetres (0.79 in) in diameter. These are driven vertically into the ground and bonded together with bare copper wire . [ 1 ]
For the ground circuit to have a conductance as good as the conductor it replaces, the surface area of the plate is made larger than the cross-sectional area of the conductor by the same factor as the resistivity of the ground exceeds the resistivity of copper, or whatever other metal is being used for the wire. [4]
An automotive wiring diagram, showing useful information such as crimp connection locations and wire colors. These details may not be so easily found on a more schematic drawing. A wiring diagram is a simplified conventional pictorial representation of an electrical circuit. It shows the components of the circuit as simplified shapes, and the ...
Battery-powering one or more of the circuits can avoid a ground loop, because the entire device may be disconnected from mains power. A hazardous technique sometimes used by amateurs is to break the third wire ground conductor P in one of the component's power cords, by removing the ground pin on the plug, or using a cheater plug. This creates ...