From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals
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Grounded vs. floating power sources
From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals
Grounded vs. floating power sources
- [Instructor] Many electrical circuits, like the wiring in your home, are electrically connected to the planet Earth, the ground beneath your feet, and millions of other electric circuits all around the world are using the electric potential energy stored in the Earth as a common reference point for their own voltages as well, and that reference point is appropriately referred to as Earth ground. Circuits connected to a grounded power source, like an electric wall outlet, will be electrically tied down and referenced to the Earth, which is abbreviated GND. Power sources that are not electrically connected to the Earth, like a battery, are referred to as floating sources. The voltages of a floating circuit are referenced to its own common point, which is abbreviated as COM. However, unless two floating circuits are electrically tied together, their common points are not necessarily the same or tied to Earth ground.…
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