Understanding the Three Prongs: Hot, Neutral and Ground

Video Source: RimstarOrg

Some of you might be confused as to why some of your appliances have three prongs while others only have two. Appliances that commonly use the alternating current system or AC need three prongs to regulate the electrical energy to ensure that there will be mishaps.

During the earlier years, you must have heard about cases of people who died because of electrical accidents. There may be instances wherein they must have touched one of the prongs and was sucked in until they were “toasted.” There may also be instances wherein when you place your socket on the receptacle; a foot long of electric current came out. Another problem may be when lightning strikes an electric post, the electricity will travel through the line and might ruin your appliances.

To provide solution to such problems, the third prong is added. The third prong is connected to the ground. On your receptacle, a third wire is also connected on the ground. It has also been done on the electric posts wherein one wire is buried underground. So if in case lightning strikes on the electric post, the electrons will not jump out off of your socket or will not strike your appliances as it will directly go underground.

So to understand better the wires within your socket, check out the image above. As you can see, there are three wires which are the following:

Black Wire: This is the HOT wire which provides 120 VAC current source. Another possible wire color variation could be red, yellow and blue wires which are used to switch legs. A switch leg is a wire that may be found at the bottom of the terminal.

White Wire: This is the NEUTRAL wire. This wire is connected on the Earth ground, however, provides the return path for the current that came from the hot wire. The prong of the neutral wire is longer compared to the hot wire to ensure that these two will not interchange.

Bare Wire: This is the GROUND wire which is attached on the Earth ground. This looks likes the half oval prong at the mid lower part of your socket. Although similar to white wire, they do not serve the same purpose. A ground wire is the safety feature other appliances fail to have. This is connected to the metal part of the appliance and to the ground. So in case a lightning strikes or a short circuit occurs, your appliance will not be damaged. Additionally, in case the neutral or hot wire accidentally connects on the metal part of the appliance, the electric flow will be controlled, preventing sparks that could kill lives or could start a fire.

Truth be told, the Earth is a gigantic electrostatic generator. Charges travel around vertically, making it more prone to electrical currents. To provide solution to this problem, the ground wire is added. Unfortunately, there are still appliances that use the typical knob and tube wiring. Having these appliances changed could really be hard as it means we have to change as much as half of the appliances we have in the whole world.

In spite of the drive to lessen the death due to electricity, other mishaps could still occur. However, these are avoidable if you will follow the precautionary measures below:

Never touch the prong when you are plugging and unplugging appliances.
Never plug and unplug appliances if you are wet.
Wear shoes or slippers when you are fixing your fuse.
Shut the fuse off if you are fixing one of your receptacles.
Discard appliances which have frayed cords, damaged insulations and broken plugs.

These are but the basics but the most important precautions you need to bear in mind so as to be safe against electrical mishaps.

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