How come when you measure the neutral wire of a completed AC connection it measures 0?

Question

When you plug a polarized plug into a wall socket the positive current 120volts travels through the cord and returns via the neutral side of the cord into the neutral side of the outlet, yet when you measure just the neutral side of the plugged in wire it reads literally 0volts. How can this be when 120volts is travelling through the neutral wire and into the wall. On the other hand if you measure the neutral wire on a incomplete connection where only the hot wire is connected it measures 120volts, I assume 120volts has no place to return to. So does the 120volts just dissappear when the neutral connection is complete or does it travel back into the wall so fast that you can't even detect it? We'll need an electrician to explain this one.

Answer 1

The neutral wire in a 120 volt branch circuit is a grounded current carrying conductor. Thus, it SHOULD measure zero volts if connected properly.

It is the wire that COMPLETES THE CIRCUIT path from the hot wire, through your appliance, back to the panel.

As you noticed, if the neutral wire is disconnected from the panel, and you have something plugged into that circuit, the neutral will indeed measure 120 volts because what you then measure is the voltage from the hot wire passed thru any connected appliance, in an incomplete circuit path.

Be careful, out there. an "open neutral" is considered a dangerous fault.

Answer 2

No, you dont need an electrician.

The 0 volt connection is known

as a ground. Within the last 20

years everything 120 used in

most of the U.S. has to have

that neutral wire. It's for safety,

or they say it's for safety. If the appliance

had a "surge", then the surge overload

would pass through the wire.

When a person is electrocuted, usually
the person themselves becomes a ground.


AC is dangerous stuff because of
the amps, and it takes milliamps to render
a person unconscious or dead.

So the above should explain why
the Simpson does not show any voltage.


//

Answer 3

The power coming into your house is actually 240 volts. There are two power lines. Both lines are constantly going from about 160 volts to -160 volts back to 160 volts sixty times a second. The 120 volts is the average or "root mean square" (RMS) voltage. Furthermore, the lines are 180 degrees out of phase, meaning that when one line is at 160 volts, the other is at -160 volts.
If you were to open your fuse box (I'm not recommending you do this!) you would see the two lines attached to terminals, which go to the base of the fuses. The black (hot) wires that go out to your outlets and lights are connected to these through the fuses. The white (neutral) wires are all clamped to a metal bar at the bottom of the fuse box, which in turn is grounded to your plumbing or some other metal thing that runs into the ground, just as the bare ground wires are.
So yes, all your 120 volt appliances are connected to a hot wire on one side, and ground on the other.
Your 240 volt appliances, such as your clothes dryer and range, run on both hot wires.

Answer 4

hi Lioness, i attempted to discover "objectified" and "objectification" in the dictionary and no excitement. properly, i'm no longer precisely particular I understand your queston, yet think of i could have an thought. besides, have you ever heard of the "bell curve"? it fairly is a curve it somewhat is formed like a bell and does a sturdy job of representing records. As for splendor, at one end of the curve we've the least attractive and on the different end the main. an identical could be actual for earnings ... poorest on one part and richest on the different. in the direction of the bell we've all the user-friendly persons. i think of what you're saying is actual, yet purely purely a actuality of existence. we've the full spectrum for the two genders. As for why men do no longer protest ... i assume they comprehend that that is purely the way issues are and protests are unlikely to alter something. desire this facilitates!