Talk:Floating ground

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Article badly written[edit]

This article has multiple problems and needs to be rewritten. The explanations are too brief and assume the reader has technical knowlege of electronics, in fact there is no indication that the article is in the field of electronics at all, and technical terms like ground, node, and chassis are not defined. --Chetvorno^TALK 16:12, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Egregiously incorrect description[edit]

Almost all circuits actually need to be electrically isolated from Earth. The name "Ground" has (in 99% of applications) literally nothing to do with the Earth's physical ground. Its a historical artifact of language that we still use it in Electrical Engineering. This can be hammered home by the apparent contradiction of circuits having multiple (and different) grounds! Chassis ground, power ground, signal ground, earth ground, etc.

Circuits tend to need to be electrically isolated from physical ground, so as to ensure that their potential difference between their relative ground and actual signal stays consistent. Often, Chassis ground is connected to signal ground via TVS diodes, or other ESD protection mechanisms. If your circuits signal ground was equivalent to Earth ground, then you could influence the behavior of the circuit via unpredictable means.

Correct. Starting with the fact that the connection to Earth is rarely possible - or, to be precise, the availability of such connection depends on the jurisdiction. In my country direct-to-Earth connection (TT grounding) in residential buildings is strongly discouraged; new construction is almost invariably TN-C-S - this rules out any reference to Earth potential. And as for the ground loops issue downstream, it is a non-issue because most audio and computer equipment is double-insulated and connects only to L and N but not PE. Retired electrician (talk) 02:35, 4 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]