To Sparky 66WV
In order to measure voltage you are reading the potential between 2 different points. A voltage reading between a hot and a neutral will give you a voltage difference. Taking a reading between the neutral and the ground will be "0" because they are electrically connected or are the same point electrically.
You have to have a difference of potential to have a voltage.
Thinking of it another way if you were to take a pressure reading in a water pipe and it was 150 PSI and you had another water pipe beside it that also had a pressure of 150 PSI what would be the difference in potential between them. 0 PSI
If you were to place your test leads on the hot conductor at the breaker and on the buss bar supplying that breaker the voltage would also be "0" because electrically they are the same point.
Not that I am advising doing this but if you were to disconnect the neutral wire from the neutral buss bar and take a reading between the neutral wire and the buss bar you would get a voltage reading. It may not be 110-120 because your meter would be in series with the load and the voltage could reflect that. The voltage is being conducted back to ground or back to the source (same place in this situation).
[This message has been edited by dturner (edited 03-02-2001).]
[This message has been edited by dturner (edited 03-02-2001).]
