"Doug Miller" wrote in message
t...
In article , "Wade Lippman"
wrote:

That is not really a concern; you can't get a shock off a neutral unless
it
is unconnected at the breaker box

FALSE!

The neutral is a current-carrying conductor under normal operation.
Contrary
to common belief, electricity does not follow "the path of least
resistance."
Rather, electricity follows all possible paths, and when you touch the
neutral, you create with your body a second, parallel path to ground for
the
current flowing in the neutral. Granted, that's probably (though not
necessarily) a fairly high-resistance path, which makes it *unlikely* that
you
will be shocked.

But definitely *not* impossible.

Your statement is false twice, actually: suppose the neutral is connected
just
fine *at* the breaker box, but is disconnected somewhere between there,
and
where you're working. In that case, you're putting yourself in *series*
with
the neutral current, not in parallel with it, and that makes a shock from
touching it *likely* (if the circuit is energized).

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Gee Doug, with all the millions of dryers and ovens that have the chassis
attached to the neutrals and are touched daily by wet hands, how many shocks
do you think people get?
What the hell is wrong with you?