From: Cougarjack@aol.com
Date: Tue Aug 27 2002 - 22:51:59 PDT
Several listers pointed out that earth return IS used in some er, rural localities. This is true. It is possible at very high transmission voltages, especially if you're returning through miles of unpopulated jungle that no one claims as real property. In addition, if your power source is fuel independent, like hydroelectric, losses are not as important. In a well populated area, where folks have homes and people eat their food cooked, direct earth return is dangerous, damaging, and very costly. Edison tried it, with disastrous results.
The original point was not to dispel earth return as a myth, which it is not, but rather to illustrate that earth grounding is not well understood by lay folks, and what you suspect to be earth return is actually not. In the US today, it is all but forgotten as a transmission method. If your power lines consist of one conductor on a pole top, you may well live in a, er...rustic area. My advice to you in that case is.....be careful where you dig, and don't bite that tomato until you pick it.
Thank yew, thank yew.
Jack
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