Question

Which of the wires shown below are the live, neutral and earth wires ?

Answer 1

Live wire or phase wire, neutral wire and earth wire are the three basic wires in an electric circuit. All the components and equipment are connected between these three wires. Live is carrying current whereas neutral completes the circuit and earth wire is connected to earth.

Complete step by step solution:
Let’s discuss all the three wires: live wire or phase wire, neutral wire and earth wire given in the question one by one in detail.
First we are discussing the live wire or the phase wire. Phase wire is carrying the current from the electric supply (it may be a mail supply or a battery) to the equipment or components in a circuit. And these are collectively called as the load. The fuse is connected on this wire.

Neutral wire is the wire which is connected to the electrical appliance and completes the circuit as the other end is ending on the source of electricity. This line is connected to the zero volt terminal of the electrical source.

Earth wire is the wire used for the safety purposes and which is connected to the earth in order to drain the electric current if there is a direct contact between the body of the electrical appliances and the phase wire. The earth connection would have very low resistance as compared to the human body. Earth wire is connected to the body of the electrical appliance and then to the earth.

When we see the diagram with the above said aspects, we can see that wire P is carrying current to the load and thus wire P is the live wire, wire Q is completing the circuit that means wire Q is the neutral wire and the wire R is connected to the body of the load and to the earth, which means the wire R is the earth wire.

Final answer is:
Live wire – P
Neutral wire –Q
Earth wire – R.

Note: For the working of an electrical appliance, electric current carrying wire and a circuit completing wire would be enough as these two are making a complete circuit. And thus, for working the earth line is not mandatory. Earth connection will be independent from the whole circuit, unless there is no leakage of current to the body of the load.