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Question

Question: Which part of an electrical appliance is earthed?...

Which part of an electrical appliance is earthed?

Explanation

Solution

The process of instant discharge of electric energy or electricity or flow of electrons directly into the Earth, which has a potential of zero, with the help of a low resistance wire is known as Earthing. It is also known as grounding. Earthing must be done in a way that it does not hamper or create any fatalities or damage.

Complete step by step answer:
The part of an appliance which should be used is the outer metallic case.
The outer metallic case of an electrical appliance must be earthed to prevent any shocks to the people handling the device. It is done by connecting the device to the ground of a low resistance wire named as earth wire. If an earth wire is provided it means that the excess current will flow through the low resistance wire and hence prevent shocks from it.
The earth wire is used as a medium to grounding because, if the live wire comes in indirect contact with the metallic case of the appliance due to any reason then the appliance will acquire high potential of live wire. This may result in shock if any person touches it. But if the metallic case is connected with earth wire as soon as the live wire touches the metallic case, the excess current flows through the case to the Earth. The fuse also gets blown off in order to identify the faulty device.

Note: It must be noted that the earthing of an electrical device is done by connecting the non-current carrying part of the device or the neutral of supply to the ground. Galvanised iron is mostly used for earthing purposes. Earth’s potential is considered as zero so it can conduct a huge amount of electricity.