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Hot, Neutral & Ground Wires
In the U.S., standard line voltage wiring is wrapped in plastic sheathed cables and usually has three conductors. This cable is called NMB cable. Two of the conductors in NMB cable are covered with plastic insulation—one is black; the other is white. The third conductor is bare copper.
The black wire is the hot wire. It provides a 120 VAC current source.
The white wire is the neutral wire. It provides the return path for the current provided by the hot wire.
The copper wire is called the ground wire because it is connected to the earth either directly or through another grounded conductor.The neutral wire forms a live circuit along with the hot wire. The ground wire is connected to the metal parts within an appliance as a safety feature, in case the hot or neutral wires somehow come in contact with metal parts. Connecting metal parts to the ground eliminates shock hazard in the event of a short circuit.
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How the Wires Connect to Your Electrical Outlets
The three wires in a standard NMB cable are connected to the three prongs in a standard electrical outlet. The neutral and hot wires are connected to the two vertical prongs at the top of the receptacle, with neutral on the left silver screw and hot on the right gold screw, and the ground wire is connected to the green screw at the bottom. There is only one way to insert a three-prong plug into a three-prong receptacle, ensuring a safe connection every time
Ground neutral and hot wires explained. In this video we look at the difference and purpose of the ground wire, the hot wire and the neutral wire in a north american residential electrical system. We look at ground faults, GFCI, current, voltage and simple examples for each.
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