"blackboab" wrote in message
oups.com...
The LIVE and NEUTRAL wires are both passing current and the current is
reversing at 50 times a second so that they swap over the roles of
positive and negative.

AC is usually regarded as not having positive and negative.


can i get electrocuted by holding the NEUTRAL ?

You can get electrocuted by holding any of the wires in a mains installation
(even if its only a fault that does it).
Treat all wires as though they could be live and you will survive for
longer.


a circuit only needs two wires to be complete.

Not strictly true as some circuits don't need wire to complete.


so how does the third wire - ground - fit in the circuit ?


Its the *most important* wire.
Its there to stop some common faults killing you.