Abstract
A DIFFICULTY in connexion with electric supply when metal sheathing of electric wiring and apparatus is employed is how to connect this sheathing to earth in such a way that, in the event of it becoming electrified owing to a fault developing between the sheathing and a main, the faulty circuit may be disconnected at once and consequently the pressure between the sheathing and the earth cease to be dangerous. To secure this it is necessary that the sheathing be a continuous conductor of small resistance and that it is maintained in good electrical connexion with the earth. The Wiring Regulations of the Institution of Electrical Engineers stipulate that the electrical resistance of the metal sheathing or tubing must not exceed one ohm between any two points of its length. In practice this can easily be measured by testing. The connexion of this metal sheathing to earth is more difficult to specify but in general it is stipulated that its resistance must not exceed one ohm. When it has this low resistance, the cut-out of the faulty main will act and so the sheathing and the metal in contact with it ceases to be dangerous. Where it is economically impracticable to obtain an earth having a resistance of not more than one ohm, earthing must be supplemented by an earth leakage 'trip-coil' so adjusted that it will operate at not more than 30 milliamperes. The resistance of an earth electrode depends very largely on the humidity and the character of the soil in which it is buried.
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Earthing the Metal Sheathing of Electric Cables. Nature 140, 579–580 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/140579c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/140579c0