How does electrical ground work? Why does electricity want to travel to the earth, which doesn’t seem particularly conductive?

Question

Some additional questions I have to further understanding:

Ships don’t have ground, but why couldn’t electricity on a ship ground to the ocean the same way houses ground to the earth?

A structure will have a grounding rod dug into the earth. Does the dirt, soil, and rock composition that the structure is built on affect how willing current is to use the path?

In: 77

Answer 1

*A structure will have a grounding rod dug into the earth. Does the dirt, soil, and rock composition that the structure is built on affect how willing current is to use the path?*

Absolutely. Current will travel where ever it can proportionately to the resistance/impedance of the circuit. A ground in dry sand is very little ground at all, whereas a ground in wet clay would be much better.

I used to have a ball of melted sand on my desk from where a 7200 volt distribution line fell in a field of dry sugar sand. It was conductive enough to cause heat and melt the sand, but not enough to draw enough current to blow the fuse (which is why a power line on the ground should never be considered dead).