Recently I saw a power line with 2 wires (hold on). Only one AC power line and one ground wire on top. If I understand power correctly you need at least 2 wires to make a circuit and power stuff. Also another question, which wires on the power line do what?
In: Technology
Update to anyone reading this in the future.
If you see a pole with only 2 wires, the one on top is neutral and the one lower is 7200 AC main. Before the power hits a house, it’s converted into 3 phase by the transformer so it can be used by your washing and drying machines and anything else using a large electric motor in your home. The neutral wire is sent to your home.
Your home will convert the 3 phase into single phase and a ground wire from your home will be added into a standard outlet.
However, most 3 phase poles carry more power and can’t be carried by a single wire. The thin wire on top doubles as a static wire (balancing out charges) and a neutral which is also sent into your home
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