On Wednesday, November 27, 2013 8:08:40 AM UTC-5, Phil Allison wrote:

The simple ****ing fact is that it is ELECTRONS that return, not power.







... Phil

Way oversimplified.

Where does the power come from? What changes?

If I use steam to do work, the same mass of steam will return to the boiler - but it will be colder and lower pressure.

If the same number of electrons goes through the load and returns to that zero reference point, what is different? Are they going slower? (either in the direction of travel of the wire, or some other direction?) Are they spinning more or less?

You can't get power from nothing. If power came out of the wire, something in the wire now has less power.