portrait edition · 9:16
g is for ground
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automatic captions, checked for structure and key terms; corrections welcome.
0:06[unclear opening audio]
0:37Oh, hey Adabot, how are you doing?
0:40Oh, good. I was just wondering.
0:42Wondering about what?
0:44Why do some power cables have two conductors and some have three?
0:49That's a very good question, Adabot.
0:51The answer is these three prong cables are grounded.
0:55You mean, they're not allowed to go out and play?
0:58Oh, no, not like that.
0:59See, on this connector, we have a third prong, and that's the ground.
1:05We use these with appliances like this one for safety.
1:08If something goes wrong electrically inside, that extra dangerous electrical
1:13charge goes through the ground and not through you, which would cause a nasty
1:17shock.
1:18Ground? Like outside with all the dirt?
1:22That's right. The earth is ground.
1:25So anything connected to the earth is grounded.
1:28Huh? So let's say we're talking about things that are ground.
1:32How many can we find just by looking around?
1:35Are you kidding? That's easy. We're nearly surrounded.
1:38There's a lot of things here that are very well grounded.
1:45Like dirt.
1:47[unclear reply]
1:50Pipes.
1:51Yes, very true.
1:53A sink?
1:55Also connected to the earth.
1:57A tree?
1:59Well, yes, but it's not conductive.
2:01This rock?
2:02Uh-huh.
2:03That rock?
2:04You bet.
2:05A fire extinguisher?
2:06No way.
2:08A cup of tea?
2:10Not ground.
2:12An airplane?
2:14Same deal.
2:15A rubber ball?
2:16Not grounded.
2:18A lightning rod?
2:20Oh, most definitely.
2:22It doesn't take long to complete this search.
2:24Ground is anything conductive that's connected to the Earth.
2:30Hey, Adabot. Back already? That was quick.
2:33Yes, I found examples all over.
2:36You might say you covered a lot of ground.
2:39Oh, zing. Good one. Good one. That was good.
3:02I'll see you next time.