High School What is the use of a grounding stick

[hackhard]

suppose there was no ground stick at power generating station .
then there would be no reason for a person to get an electric shock.
no need for ground wires.
only live and neutral wire for domestic supply.
why is the neutral wire connected to Earth at generating station

 

[A.T.]

suppose there was no ground stick at power generating station .
then there would be no reason for a person to get an electric shock.

If the person bridges the live wire and ground it will still get a shock.

 

[hackhard]

If the person bridges the live wire and ground it will still get a shock.

but there would be no potential difference between live and Earth if there is no ground stick at power generating station

 

[A.T.]

there would be no potential difference between live and earth

Then it wouldn't be live but earth.

 

[hackhard]

Then it wouldn't be live but earth.

i meant to say where is return path of current

 

[Drakkith]

I believe the grounding system is there to protect equipment and workers in the event of a fault and to prevent a floating ground situation, but this is just based on a few minutes of looking into this.

 

[Bystander]

What is the capacitance of the planet? Of course you're going to get knocked on your butt.

 

[cosmik debris]

In NZ the power stations generate 3-phase power and have a local neutral to Earth connection but as the three phases are balanced there is no current flow to the earth. Only the three phases leave the station. After going through sub-stations the single phase domestic supply is unbalanced and has phase to neutral current flowing. It may be different where you live.

 

[lychette]

What is the capacitance of the planet? Of course you're going to get knocked on your butt.

700uF

 

[hackhard]

700uF

why is the Earth considered to be a const potential of 0 V
capacitance of Earth must be gigantic to resist change in potential due to any charge gain or loss

 

[jbriggs444]

why is the Earth considered to be a const potential of 0 V
capacitance of Earth must be gigantic to resist change in potential due to any charge gain or loss

For practical purposes, it does not matter if the potential of the whole Earth goes up or down. The potential difference between Cleveland and Chicago, between building A and building B or between the neutral coming from the power company and the grounding rod stuck into your soil are what matter.

If you were in the business of selling electrons to Martians, the overall potential of the Earth could affect your launch budget, I suppose.