On 22 Oct 2005 16:11:53 -0700, wrote:
Can someone set me straight on this topic? What EXACTLY do the terms
"hot" and "neutral" mean?

There are actually three conductors in house wiring; hot, neutral, and ground.
Only the hot and neutral wires are intended to carry any current. The gound
wire is a safety device. It is connected to your cold water pipe, to any
exposed metal in powered appliances (hence the three prong plug), and to the
earth itself. And, at your main circuit panel, it is connected to the neutral
wire. If the wiring is correct and functioning as intended, you should only be
able to observe (via a meter) a voltage difference between the hot conductor
and *either* the neutral or ground conductors.

These designations, and the way the safety system functions, are completely
independent of whether the system is driven with direct current (DC) or
alternating current (AC).

--
Art Greenberg
artg AT eclipse (remove this) DOT net