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From: jl@fornax.uucp (JL)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.physics
Subject: Re: resistance of earth ground
Message-ID: <327@fornax.uucp>
Date: Sat, 27-Jun-87 19:48:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: fornax.327
Posted: Sat Jun 27 19:48:15 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 28-Jun-87 19:43:02 EDT
References: <1315@cullvax.UUCP>
Organization: School of Computing Science, SFU, Burnaby, B.C. Canada
Lines: 26
Xref: mnetor sci.electronics:865 sci.physics:1788

> wolfgang@haddock.UUCP (Wolfgang Rupprecht) writes:
> > 	What is the resistance of earth ground? Let's say we have two
> > good connections to the earth, say two Chevettes :-), dropped into the
> > ocean, one into the Pacific and the other Atlantic. With an ohm-meter
> > connected between them, what kind of resistance can I expect to see?
     ...explanation... 
> Getting back to the example, the Chevettes make pretty good contact
> with a lot of ocean, so the resistance would probably be damn close to
> zero.
> 
> Dale


     Oh, my.  
1.) No matter HOW good the local contact, you are still limited
    by the intervening material, which has a VERY low resistance.
    Even though there is a LOT of the material, the net result is 
    a VERY VERY HIGH resistance.  We are talking >> Megaohms here! 
 
2.) If this were not true, you could well expect to electrocute 
    a fair portion of the world any time a power-line came into 
    good contact with the ground or water (which happens fairly 
    often in storms that blow power lines down,...). 
    
-- 
Jay-El