Originally Posted by
DaneDHorstead
Negative battery terminal is ground, and is not expected to contain a charge, as it acts much as the earth, in dissipating current.
A positive charge in a car battery will not arc to the earths ground, as neither would an old eveready dry cell. Also house current, will not flow to an automobiles, ground terminal (excluding through the intentionally designed battery charger, which uses transformed (induced) current).
Each only works within its own system, and depends on the strength of flow (volts), to get the job done.
Similarly, if you take ten, or fifteen 100 ft long extension cords (hooked end to end), and try to run an electric device, a thousand or more feet from the power source, you won't get much done. The voltage drop is so severe, the circuit, is virtually dead. The current is still there, but it can't flow!
At the end of the path, there is no current left, to run the lamp, appliance, or tool, as it has been so weakened, by the voltage situation.
A power source must react to the ground within its own system, but if the voltage drop is so severe, that there is no flow to the current, there can be no reaction between positive, and negative.
Although the car's negative post is not actually connected to earth, it's negative capacity so far outweighs the positive charge, that spent current, disipates through the frame, much the same way currents need to be grounded, to the frame of an old TV, before working on it.
As an example, you should never work on a TV, even if it's been unplugged for 20 years, without first taking a long screwdriver, and creating a ground (to the chasis), from just under the large rubber seal, at the back of the picture tube. To do this, you do not have to plug the TV in, and in fact, you shouldn't plug it in, unless you have a death wish.
When the picture tube is grounded, it is very evident, as a loud enough spark will be perfectly adible.
Old radios are the same way. Capacitant currents disipate to the larger frame, becomming harmless, but only after they have been set free. In relation to thes appliances, the capacitant currents have been absorbed, from surrounding static.
And if you need to work on that TV years in the future, you will again have to ground the picture tube, as it will again absorb static current from the air (curent powerful enough to kill).
The HHO generators are in fact capacitors, as they cause currents to jump accross "poor conductors". Capacitors, are intentionally designed, to be poor conductors.
Argueably, the original man made capacitors, used a large glass bell shape, with metal foil on both sides (inside, and outside), but not touching each other.
Most everyone knows that glass is not considered to be a conductor, and was largly used as an insulater, for telegraph, and power poles. Glass does in deed conduct current, but very poorly (as a capacitor). Many items, not considered to be conductors, are used for capacitors, such as cardboard, cotton, ceramics, and the list is almost unending.
There are those who would argue that the very first man made capacitor, was the Arc of the Covenant. It was made with Tsecatia wood, and was plated with gold inside, and out, but it was said to lack but a very minute air gap, between the wings (and plates) touching each other, and if anyone were to touch it, they would fall dead.
It was dragged over static sands, decade after decade, using wooden poles to handle it.
HHO generator plates, in fact are capacitors, and capacitance will self dissipate, provided it has a path (circuit), But in the case where voltage has been dropped beyond the currents available strength, to bridge the last plate gap, it will either sit idle (waiting to build strength to make that jump), or it will wait until the pathway is bridged, such as grounding the picture tube in the TV.
Negative terminal in a house panel also, is grounded (shares ground with ganged neutrals, at the panel), which is a farce, as the so called neutral wire is not at all neutral, it is in fact, a duel ground wire.
As for the volt ohm meter, to the car battery, the positive pole, should read anywhere from 12 to 14 volts, but just putting the volt meters positive lead on the post, does not show any current at all. It is the other lead, that completes the circuit.
The only way it will display, is to complete the circuit, by grounding the other lead of the VOM. But, if there are not enough volts (VOM battery) to complete that circuit, it still will not show voltage.
It is the same, for the voltage drop, that has no current left, being 0 volts, at the negative.
There is not enough voltage left, to complete the circuit, as 0 volts are found at the final link, and the circuit is not completed.
Amps, is current, but voltage is the rate of flow. Zero flow, equals zero circuit.
In order to have flow, there must be at least a trickle of voltage left, at the end of a circuit.