Editing Ground and neutral (section)

{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}

{{short description|In mains electricity, part of a circuit connected to ground or earth}}
{{For|uses of the term "grounding" or "earth" in electricity but not in the context of mains wiring|ground (electricity)}}
{{Redirect|Neutral point|aircraft stability in pitch|Longitudinal stability}}
[[File:Ground-neutral.jpg|400px|thumb|A shorting bar connecting ground and neutral in a Swiss industrial building (outlined in red). A piece of copper is visible that is designed to be easily connected or disconnected from its place between two screws for testing purposes, rated for 600 A (as stamped on it). Also visible are the thick wires in standard colors (two yellow/green ground and two blue neutral), as well as markings PEN (protected earth and neutral), PE (protective earth) and N (neutral). The three bars for the three phase {{not a typo|lines}} (marked L1, L2 and L3) are also visible on the bottom right.]]

In [[electrical engineering]], '''ground''' (or '''earth''') and '''neutral''' are [[Electrical conductor|circuit conductor]]s used in [[alternating current]] (AC) electrical systems. The neutral conductor carries alternating current (in tandem with one or more ''phase {{not a typo|line}}'' conductors) during normal operation of the circuit. By contrast, a ground conductor is not intended to carry current for normal operation, but instead connects exposed conductive parts (such as equipment enclosures or conduits enclosing wiring) to Earth (the ground), and only carries significant current in the event of a circuit fault that would otherwise energize exposed conductive parts and present a shock hazard. In such case the intention is for the fault current to be large enough to trigger a circuit protective device that will either de-energize the circuit, or provide a warning. To limit the effects of leakage current from higher-voltage systems, the neutral conductor is often connected to earth ground at the point of supply.

Significant [[voltage]] unintentionally appearing on exposed conductive parts of an electrical installation can present danger, so the installation of ground and neutral conductors is carefully regulated in [[electrical safety standards]]. Under certain strict conditions the same conductor may be used for providing both ground and neutral functions together.