Talk:Ground loop (electricity)
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The article currently says "For example, the electrical potential at different points on the surface of the Earth can vary by hundreds of volts, primarily from the influence of the solar wind." ...
is the Earth's own radial electric field not also to blame? (causing potential differences a different altitudes)
[edit] AC mains voltage in auto wiring?
I may have misread this - someone help me out here. The article reads: "Audio wiring is particularly susceptible to ground loops. If two pieces of audio equipment are plugged into different power outlets, there will often be a difference in their respective ground potentials. If a signal is passed from one to the other via an unbalanced connection, this potential difference causes a spurious current to flow through the cables, creating an audible buzz at the AC mains frequency (50 or 60 Hz) and the harmonics thereof (eg 120 Hz, 240 Hz, etc)."
There either needs to be a paragraph break somewhere, at the point where we stop talking about auto wiring and start talking about AC audio installations, or it needs to be modified to read that the hum occurs as a function of the current speed of the alternator (and the overtones thereof, so that hum pitch increases with engine speed. (This ground loop effect commonly known in the Southen US as a "Redneck Tachometer.") I'm not sure what the initial writer's intention was, but there is a definite confusion here between A/C current and DC current generated by an alternator.
- There isn't anything in there about automobile wiring. It's about audio equipment that is plugged into the mains. — Omegatron 01:30, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
Agree - just a misread of "Audio" vs "Auto" I think.
