Do ‘grounding’ and ‘earthing’ mean the same?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the terms "grounding" and "earthing," exploring whether they refer to the same concept and if there are any distinctions between them. The context includes technical explanations and practical applications in electrical circuits.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that "grounding" and "earthing" mean the same thing.
  • Others suggest that the only difference is geographical, specifically longitude.
  • One participant notes that "grounding" can refer to a reference point in a circuit that does not necessarily involve the earth.
  • A participant shares an anecdote from a lab demonstration to illustrate the concept of grounding, emphasizing that any point in a circuit can be treated as ground.
  • Another participant humorously reflects on a student's misunderstanding of grounding in a practical context.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether "grounding" and "earthing" are synonymous, with no consensus reached on the matter.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the definitions of "grounding" and "earthing" may not be fully articulated, leading to potential misunderstandings in the discussion.

mdnazmulh
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
do ‘grounding’ and ‘earthing’ point to a same thing? Is there any difference between them?
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
Yes they do mean the same thing.
 
"Grounding" is also a reference point in a circuit that is not necessarily earth.
 
russ_watters said:
The only difference is the longitude.
;-)
I was demonstrating a lab once where the students had to use a dual channel scope to measure two different points in the circuit and understand the effect of the grounded scope probe clips - the point being to teach tham that they could make any point arbitrarily ground.

One guy really didn't get it so we measured the resistance between the scope clip and the Earth pin on the plug to explain it to him. So he then got 2 single channel scopes and plugged them into different outlets. I think his next plan was to run one of them on an extention cord to another planet.
 

Similar threads

Earth ground resistance measurement
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Earth ground meter Vs Multimeter
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Considering Earth ground vs floating ground in off grid solar
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
7K
How does Earth Ground "absorb" electric current?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
5K
Ground loop on electronic audio systems
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
2K
Grounding of secondary side transformer
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Should the power supply float or be grounded?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
3K
Help with proper grounding with oscilloscope tracings
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
3K
AC generator, current and ground
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
3K
Earth grounding problems and RCDs (Strictly a UK scenario, I think)
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
4K