Comments by "GH1618" (@GH-oi2jf) on "Ground Wire Explained" video.

  1. Electric current flows in any path where there is a potential difference and for which the resistance is less than infinite. If you make a path from Earth through your body to any wire which has a potential difference from Earth, you will carry current.
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  2. The neutral is grounded at the transformer and at the panel.
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  3. There has to be a circuit through the secondary of the transformer. The electricity takes all paths which complete the circuit in inverse proportion to their resistance. All paths which are nonconductive (infinite resistance at ordinary voltages) can be disregarded.
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  4. Neutral and ground are bonded only at the point of main disconnect. If that is the main breaker panel, grounds and neutrals may be connected to the same bus bar, but that must not be done in a subpanel. It is better practice to keep them separated on their respective bus bars, in my opinion.
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  5. There is an exception. The bonding of neutral to ground is done after the first disconnect. You could have a box with the energy meter and a main disconnect switch only, then a separate box with all the breakers. In that case, the bonding is at the box containing the disconnect switch. It is more common for the main panel to contain the disconnect switch, though.
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  6. Current has nothing to do with it. The neutral is tied to Earth. The hot wires have a potential relative to Earth.
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  7.  @mahindersingh-wb3ik — There is a path through Earth to the transformer secondary, but it is much higher resistance than the path through the neutral wire to the transformer, therefore nearly all the current will be carried by the neutral wire.
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  8. Grounding is for safety.
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