[JavaDog]

Common/gnd/return is all the same

You mean they aren't? (chair)

[pminmo]

In a true sense they aren't the same. In the real world, a lot of people (myself included) throw gnd out as a common reference meant to be 0V. But in a system, how the physical layout of that common wiring is important, and often not understood.

[miljnor]

like in building electrical code. The neutral is a current carrying wire and the Ground is just for clearing shorts or faults.

So In an electrical system the Common and ground are probably serving the same purpose. Although since I didn't design those boards and I have not realy done anything in the electronics field in 20 years, I counldn't tell you which is which.

But I know they are usually different, which is why they are differently named.

[fyffe555]

like in building electrical code. The neutral is a current carrying wire and the Ground is just for clearing shorts or faults.

And as per BEC all neutrals and grounds are all connected together at the the fusebox/distribution panel..

[whateg01]

And as per BEC all neutrals and grounds are all connected together at the the fusebox/distribution panel..

which returns us using the correct current path, as the ground should only be used in case of a failure. This is something that becomes more apparent when dealing with high speed busses, where interference and crosstalk become more of an issue, but probably should be taken into consideration in the design of any circuit.