- #36
schroder
- 369
- 1
chroot said:The Earth is a very poor conductor of electricity when compared to, for example, a copper wire. Your statements later in your post regarding differences in ground voltage are a good example of how poor a conductor it is.
- Warren
You need to clarify your statement. If you are talking about a cubic meter of “earth” as compared to a cubic meter of copper then certainly the copper is a much better conductor. However, when the term “earth” is used in reference to the Earth itself, it is the best possible conductor of electricity because of the cross sectional area, as I pointed out. It is necessary to establish a proper connection to this earth, however. Sometimes that requires driving electrodes deeply into the ground, or possibly treating the ground with chemicals or water. But once a good gound is established it is very possible to transmit electricity from one place to another without the need for a separate ground or neutral wire. As I have already mentioned, that was the practice in the early days of power transmission but because the ground references at the various distribution points were not all properly done and verified it soon became apparent that a separate neutral wire must be provided. I suggest you do some research on this.