They both connect to the bus bar in the circuit breaker box.
2006-10-15 11:30:11 · 6 answers · asked by bob_whelan1944 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The white wire is the neutral and also known as the common. This is what allows you to have 120V in your house. It also returns the power back to the earth.
The bare ground(sometimes wrapped in a green jacket) is a safety device. If something shorts out(i.e. the black wire falls off your plug and hits the box) then the breaker will trip. If there is no ground that black wire would start to spark and probably cause a fire.
2006-10-15 12:15:31 · answer #1 · answered by Darren 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The white wire is called the "common" wire and is connected to the grounding post in the breaker panel, or fuse box. The bare wire is a ground wire that is grounded to the electrical box it is found in. For example, the metal housing that supports an electrical outlet, or a light switch, etc. In case of a short the ground wire harmlessly shunts the electricity to ground.
2006-10-15 18:43:57 · answer #2 · answered by abono11746 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the bare wire is an equipment grounding wire,to ground the outlet box in the circuit.
2006-10-15 21:44:25 · answer #3 · answered by free_tech4u 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are both grounding wires. Doing things that way ensures that the circuit is grounded to prevent you from getting shocked.
2006-10-15 19:40:07 · answer #4 · answered by Polyhistor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The white is the neutral, the bare is ground. If the white is not connected, the black, which is hot, would not work.
2006-10-15 18:41:05 · answer #5 · answered by jepa8196 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
probably + and -
2006-10-15 18:37:29 · answer #6 · answered by Secret Agent Man 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋