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Re: An Absolute Beginner With A Few Questions

Subject: Re: An Absolute Beginner With A Few Questions
From: Rich Grise
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 03:31:55 GMT
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.basics
On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 17:23:49 -0800, Big Mouth Billy Bass wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 10:52:45 -0000, via
> <6262.439ff97d.eb9f3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jasen Betts
> <jasen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> spake thusly:
> 
>>A battery's negative is only a nominal ground.
> 
> Not even nominal.  No electrical cell terminal is a ground, unless and
> until it is connected to ground via a conductor.

Just for the sake of pedantry, "nominal" only means that it's called that;
it's derived from the Latin "nomen", which means "name", i.e., "nominal"
pretty much translates to "in name only".

And of course, the appropriate rejoinder here is that the "ground" that
the battery's terminal is connected to is also "only" a "nominal" ground.  :-)

Cheers!
Rich



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