Grounding Basics

Types of Ground Grounding is one of the most important concepts in electronics. Earth is another name for ground used in some countries, and ground can often be used to refer to the actual earth. Ground is considered to have a voltage potential of zero. This ground, or earth, is used as a reference point to which voltage, whether positive or negative, can be compared.

Most electronic devices are grounded in some fashion. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most common is a conductive rod buried into the ground itself. The metal chassis of a device is connected to the third prong on the wall AC power plug, which then connects through a line in the wiring of the house to this grounding rod. This configuration places all of the metal parts of the different devices at the same potential. This type of ground is referred to as earth ground, and to the left is the schematic symbol for earth ground. The purpose of this is to provide protection in the case that a short circuit develops. This protects you from receiving an electrical shock from a difference in potential between two devices. In some electronic equipment, the zero reference point, or ground point, is the metal chassis upon which the various circuits are constructed. All voltages within the various circuits are measured with respect to this chassis ground. Occasionally the symbols for chassis ground and earth ground are used interchangeably. Occasionally, a ground may exist without having any connection to earth. This type of connection is used as a reference for voltage, not as protection, and is referred to as circuit ground. All voltages measured within the circuit are measured with respect to circuit ground. The schematic symbol to circuit ground is to the left. Common Return Another important use for ground is that of a common return. For example, say that a device has several circuits that require a voltage source. This could be dealt with by having a battery available for each circuit, but this would be impractical. Several batteries would be needed just to make a device function. Instead, a single voltage source could be used by connecting its terminals to each circuit. This would also be impractical because there might need to be hundreds of wires connected to each terminal to make the device work. The solution lies in the use of the chassis. If the negative terminal of the battery is attached to the chassis ground, a positive voltage is induced with respect to ground at the positive terminal of the battery. The current path for the circuits moves as follows: It

Grounding Basics
moves from the negative terminal of the battery, through the chassis of the device, through the circuit, and then to the positive terminal of the battery, closing the circuit. Since all the points within the chassis are at a common potential, there is no possibility for electrical shock. There is a possibility for shock if you touch the chassis and the positive terminal of the battery at the same time.

Reference and Polarity Voltage is always measured as potential difference with respect to a given point. For example, in the example of a 1.5V battery, voltage is measured as the potential difference between the negative and positive terminals of the battery. If one of the battery terminals is connected to a ground point, we can also measure the voltage potential with respect to polarity. Polarity is defined as the positive or negative condition of voltage, therefore determining the direction of current flow.

In this diagram, two batteries are connected in series, with a ground connection between them. The top battery has a voltage of 8 volts. Since the negative terminal of this battery is connected to ground, the voltage at point C with respect to ground is +8V. The lower battery, however, has a voltage of 4 volts. Since the positive terminal of this battery is tied to ground, the voltage at point A with respect to ground is 4V. Therefore, the polarity of the voltage within the circuit depends upon the connection to ground.