by eamarquardt » Sat Jun 13, 2009 12:21 am
Half of the alternating current goes through the primary and the other half goes through the common. Patently false-all the current goes through both the neurtal/common and the primary/hot (unless there is a problem)
I am not sure what is not to understand. - I agree!
Alternating current means just that. The current oscillates between primary and common! - I agree!
I would suggest that both of the terms "hot" and "neutral" are misleading.- I don't agree!
The best terms are primary and common.- I don't agree!
Both are essentially the same and just opposite sides of the same alternating current. - I don't agree!
Although you could argue that we are only aguing semantics, I don't agree. The common as you call it is grounded!!!!!!! Thus is has no potential to ground which is the reference point in most elecrical circuits in America. If the common/neurtral weren't connected to ground then all of your explanations would be true, but it aint so here in the good ol USA!!!!
Grounding one side of the A/C circuit changes a lot of rules that one must abide by or DIE!!!!!! If the primary and common are essentially the same, then I suggest you go out to your service box and in bare feet touch first the common/neutral bus. You should do ok if your house is wired correctly. Then, still in your bare feet, touch one of the two primary or hot buses (you should have two if your house is not a true antique). If you survive, I am wrong (or you were thrown back and disconnected yourself from the circuit). If you expire, then the common/neurtal is fundamentally different from the primary/hot in some way. That difference is ground!
Calling the hot in a house primary is misleading. You have two of them so is one really primary and is there a secondary? They are both HOT! Just 180degrees out of phase with one another.
You understand what you are talking about, but others may or may not. Saying the hot and neutral are essentially the same might lead some unsuspecting soul to wire the hot to the neutral side of the socket. There is a reason that the hot is on the right side of the socket as you face it. Miswiring, compounded by another error, could be fatal to someone that doesn't understand the finer points.
As Klatu said: "I find it works well to get me from one planet to another" (or something like that), you are right in some respects, but if you don't pay attention to the differences between what I call hot and neutral, you'll end up in heaven (or somewhere else) sooner than you had hoped!
By the way, while I was writing this, my wife turned on the light in her office tripping the circuit breaker and dousing my office electricity also. The light switch in her office, after 30 years of service, took this exact point in time to fail during an elecrical discussion. Will replace the switch tomorrow following my understanding of our world. Wierd!!!!!
Cheers,
Gus
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The opinions in this post are my own. My comments are directed to those that might like an alternative approach to those already espoused.There is the right way,the wrong way,the USMC way, your way, my way, and the highway.
"I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it." Klaatu-"The Day the Earth Stood Still"
"You can't handle the truth!"-Jack Nicholson "A Few Good Men"
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. The Marines don't have that problem"-Ronald Reagan
If you don't usually have this trouble then the campground might need an update. You get too many hairdryers and microwaves going and that will happen if the campground hasn't updated to accommodate all the new stuff we take camping. 
