Ground is generally 'earth' or equipment frame or chassis or building iron or a ground rod driven into the ground, and

is usually associated with the human safety side of the electrical system. Neutral and ground may be directly connected, or may be connected with intentional impedance between them (search on 'high resistance grounding'). For these circuits, under normal conditions there is no potential difference between neutral and ground.

Ground and neutral

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For uses of the term "ground" or "earth" in electricity but not in the context of mains wiring, see ground (electricity). Since the neutral point of an electrical supply system is often connected to earth ground, ground and neutral are closely related. Under certain conditions, a conductor used to connect to a system neutral is also used for grounding (earthing) of equipment and structures. Current carried on a grounding conductor can result in objectionable or dangerous voltages appearing on equipment enclosures, so the installation of grounding conductors and neutral conductors is carefully defined in electrical regulations. Where a neutral conductor is used also to connect equipment enclosures to earth, care must be taken that the neutral conductor never rises to a high voltage with respect to local ground.

Ground or earth in a mains (AC power) electrical wiring system is a conductor that provides a low impedance path to the earth to prevent hazardous voltages from appearing on equipment (the terms "ground" (North American practice) and "earth" (most other English-speaking countries) are used synonymously here). Under normal conditions, a grounding conductor does not carry current. Neutral is a circuit conductor that carries current in normal operation, which is connected to ground (or earth). In a polyphase or three-wire (single-phase) AC system, the neutral conductor is intended to have similar voltages to each of the other circuit conductors. By this definition, a circuit must have at least three wires for one to serve as a neutral. In the electrical trade, the conductor of a 2-wire circuit that is connected to the supply neutral point and [1] earth ground is also referred to as the "neutral". The NEC and Canadian electrical code only define neutral as the first of these. In North American use, the second definition is used in less formal language but not in official specifications. In theUK the IET definition of a neutral conductor is one connected to the supply system neutral point, which includes both these uses. All neutral wires of the same electrical system should have the same electrical potential, because they are all connected through the system ground. Neutral conductors are usually insulated for the same [2] voltage as the line conductors, with interesting exceptions.

GROUND A connection between an electrical conductor and the Earth. Grounds are used to establish a common zero-voltage reference for electric devices in order to prevent potentially dangerous voltages from arising between them and other objects. Also called earth. 2. The set of shared points in an electrical circuit at which the measured voltage is taken to be zero. The ground is usually connected directly to the power supply and acts as a common "sink" for current flowing through the components in the circuit.