The Seinfeld thread (or the thread about nothing)

[ShadowsDad]

The neutral is misnamed and largely misunderstood. It's the center tap of the transformer. Yes, it's energized. One gets 110v from each end of the transformer, the center tap being the center connection that completes the circuit inside the transformer. And 220 is across the entire transformer. If you look inside the breaker box with the panel off I find it to be a fairly easy to understand. Touch a meter from the "neutral" (it isn't) to ground and see for yourself. If they had named it the "center tap" it would have made it sooooo much easier to understand (IMO).

And that completes everything I know about house current. I know just enough to be dangerous. OK, maybe enough to wire my own buildings.