On Tue, 17 Apr 2018 03:58:20 +0100, Bill Wright wrote:

"A live wire is a wire with current flowing through it. Because neutral
doesn't have any current in it, but line does, you could say that line
is live. This explains why that you can be shocked from touching just
the line. You can't be by touching just the neutral or ground. Line to
neutral is the most deadliest if it travels across you. Line to ground
will tingle a lot, but it won't necessarily kill you because the current
draw isn't nearly as much as line to neutral."

from: http://www.answers.com/Q/Is_line_wir...lled_live_wire

Yes some of it is ******** but you are reading it from a UK point of view and
might be interpreting it incorrectly.

They use centre tapped transformers for domestic supplies in the USA so you have
a 110v - 0v - 110v presentation, with two lives at the 110v end of the
transformer at 180 degrees phase difference and a neutral point, also being
earth at the centre tap.

You can thus have 110v loads from live to the centre tapped neutral and circa
220v across the two lives, with no neutral connection.

It's extremely similar to the 110v 55v-0v-55v transformers used here in the UK,
which when correctly wired have the centre tap properly earthed back to what is
the local 240v supply earth.

You touch either of the live connections on the secondary and you get a shock at
55v potential to ground.

You touch the centre point (equivalent of the neutral in the USA) and it's very
close to zero volts with respect to the surrounding earthing / grounding
surfaces.

You contact both secondary 'lives' and you get a shock at 110v potential
difference with 55v potential difference to earth.





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