I always thought AC current requires 2 wires to carry the current both ways just like DC. Recently I read a post on this sub saying neutral wires go to ground. What am I missing?
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Neutral and ground are also grounded to the earth via a grounding bar. It’s a metal spike that is driven into the ground. Turns out, the earth is conductive.
The neutral and the ground in your house are tied together where electricity enters the home, then that is tied to earth ground. The reason they are separate in your house is so you have a separate safety circuit in case the insulation in one of your electric devices fails.
If you’ve ever touched a pinball machine, drink machine, or any other energized metal equipment and got shocked; that would be why the earth ground is added on top of the AC Neutral.
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