Eli5 – Why is there both neutral & ground wires in light switch?
In: 5
Think of it like this:
You have a loop of water hose with flowing water. Water flows from live to neutral. Everything works, nothing else is needed. Or?
Well, what happens if that hose bursts? Water everywere, and this water, since it is a metaphor for electric current, is deadly. This is bad.
So, what is ground? Think of it as an outer layer on the hose, which, if the hose bursts, gathers the water and takes it back to the central. It also does it in a way which turns off the water flow (by tripping the fuse), so no more water goes into the leaky hose.
So, it provides a safe way back for the current if there is a problem, and makes sure the faulty (and possibly burning) equipment is powered off.
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