Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!samsung!olivea!oliveb!amdahl!pacbell!ptsfa!dmturne From: dmturne@PacBell.COM (Dave Turner) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: ANOTHER house wiring question (this one's basic) Message-ID: <5964@ptsfa.PacBell.COM> Date: 15 Jan 91 19:58:26 GMT References: <1948@umriscc.isc.umr.edu> <5884@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> Reply-To: dmturne@PacBell.COM (Dave Turner) Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA Lines: 15 In article <5884@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> bender@oobleck.Eng.Sun.COM (Michael Bender) writes: >anyone know why they choose BLACK for the hot wire and WHITE for >neutral? I always associated black wires with ground. The standard of BLACK and WHITE for power probably predates that for other electronic wiring where BLACK is ground and RED is hot (such as that used in old vacuum tube devices). Perhaps a better question is why did the later standards ignore (and violate) the earlier one(s)? -- Dave Turner 415/823-2001 {att,bellcore,sun,ames,decwrl}!pacbell!dmturne