In electricity, what does it mean when someone or something is “grounded” and what does it serve for?

978 views

Like the title says what does it exactly mean when something is grounded? What does it serve for with humans and electrical system?
Also presume someone somehow gets zapped by a massive amount of energy from some source: is it safer or worse to be grounded and does it matter what we are grounded to?

In: Physics

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you have a switch, light fixture or some kind of machine that has power running to it, you only want it running to specific parts of that machine. A loose wire or something else can electrify the housing and create a danger to the user. For that reason a wire is attached to the housing and is given a low resistance path back to earth instead of going through you. On plugs and outlets this what the bottom prong is.

You are viewing 1 out of 6 answers, click here to view all answers.