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  • What is Earth Potential?

    Naman Agarwal

    Member

    Updated: Oct 27, 2024
    Views: 2.5K
    I am a graduating electrical engineer. and I was asked this question in Viva - What Do you Mean By Earth Potential? I am pretty clueless about it. Please can someone explain this term?
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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Administrator • Sep 28, 2012

    When large amounts of current flows into the ground, then the potential at the point where it enters the ground is different from a distant reference point. It's highest at the point of entry and gradually fades away towards the reference point. It's also called as the earth potential rise.

    This would be more clear once you realize that even the Earth is basically a 'reference' in Electrical engineering. For practical purposes, we tend to consider 'Earth' as a very large body that is at a 'zero' (but it's actually just for the sake of reference) potential for calculations.
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  • krishna c.r.

    Member • Sep 29, 2012

    Earth is usually idealized as an infinite source or sink for charge, which can absorb an unlimited amount of current without changing its potential. Where a real ground connection has a significant resistance, the approximation of zero potential is no longer valid. stray voltages or earth potential rise will effect
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Sep 29, 2012

    Earth is mother of all charge

    you may know "Energy not be created but can be transformed " This holds good here pal

    And if it has to be satisfied we have to prove that the charges are not created any where but are drawn from the earth

    This implies the Earth after losing some charges gains potential called as earth's potential

    this is an universal constant
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  • arunchary

    Member • Oct 4, 2012

    Exactly jeffrey samuel.i agree with him..earth is an Equi potential place.so its a very big gaining of charge potential,when we touched phase of ac main then we will acts as medium to pass the charges towards earth that's why earth is called as a very potential to take charges. so earth potential is a magic.
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Oct 4, 2012

    Logic filled magic here Pal

    Never play with AC supply bare foot and plain ground you may feel the harsher touch of the earth's potential
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  • arunchary

    Member • Oct 6, 2012

    yes its exactly my pal...
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  • LEO GEORGE

    Member • Nov 13, 2012

    why birds not getting electric shock while they sitting on electric lines & sometimes they get .
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  • [Prototype]

    Member • Nov 13, 2012

    LEO GEORGE
    why birds not getting electric shock while they sitting on electric lines & sometimes they get .
    Its due to the fact that they never touch the other wire or ground. They never complete the circuit. There are two wires, live and neutral. If you just touch live wire while floating in air, it will not do anything since you are effectively just high impedance and current will not flow through your body. The moment you touch other wire or ground, you will get a shock because you will fulfill the criteria for current flow i.e. you will connect a high potential with low potential.
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