Basic Electronics Help: Grounding vs Short Circuiting

[observer20]

hey, anyone here who can help me with basic electronics.
i am confused with grounding and short circuiting a circuit.what is the difference in them and wat is the physical effect of that

 

[chroot]

"Ground" is nothing more than a point in a circuit that is considered to be at zero potential. You are free to choose any point in the circuit and label it "ground," but, conventionally, ground is taken to be the most negative node in the circuit.

A "short circuit" is the presence of a low-resistance path where there should not be one. For example, if you stick a paperclip in a wall socket, you are creating a very low-resistance path. Normally a lamp or appliance would be in that path, with a significantly higher resistance.

- Warren

 

[berkeman]

And just to add one more bit... If you have a battery where the - terminal is connected to ground, and you then connect the + terminal to ground as well, then you've grounded the + terminal and created a short circuit between the + and - termiinals.