mollymae
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- Why does current not flow through the ground path if it is bonded to the neutral?
I am not an electrical engineering student, but a lowly apprentice electrician. I learn both on the job and also take classes for my apprenticeship.
I recently wired my first transformer and I understand that the neutral and ground are bonded together in the transformer or in the service. What I don't understand is, if the neutral is a current carrying conductor, which is then bonded to the ground conductor, why does current only flow back to its source and not on the ground path? Basically, why is the ground path not hot all of the time? I asked my journeyman this and he said it follows the path of least resistance. Okay, sure, but in class they always tell us that the "least resistance" idea isn't true, and that current in fact will take all paths.
Thanks in advance and I may be back to ask more elementary questions later. I am inquisitive at work as I want to understand as much as possible but honestly sometimes I think the electricians I work with don't always know the answers. They're not dummies (they know much more than I do) but they aren't engineers either.
I recently wired my first transformer and I understand that the neutral and ground are bonded together in the transformer or in the service. What I don't understand is, if the neutral is a current carrying conductor, which is then bonded to the ground conductor, why does current only flow back to its source and not on the ground path? Basically, why is the ground path not hot all of the time? I asked my journeyman this and he said it follows the path of least resistance. Okay, sure, but in class they always tell us that the "least resistance" idea isn't true, and that current in fact will take all paths.
Thanks in advance and I may be back to ask more elementary questions later. I am inquisitive at work as I want to understand as much as possible but honestly sometimes I think the electricians I work with don't always know the answers. They're not dummies (they know much more than I do) but they aren't engineers either.