Zeno:

I think you are confusing cause and effect. There are many safety
considerations in designing an electrical power distribution system. One
consideration is this: Suppose some fault occurs which increases the leakage
from the primary voltage (anywhere from 4 kV to 54 kV) of your distribution
transformer to the secondary which supplies your home, and the secondary is
ungrounded. Contrary to the way it would be portrayed on movie and TV
programs, your light bulbs would still light normally, and appliances would
work correctly (except grounded radios and TVs which actually would blow up)
but if you touched anything connected to the secondary service, you would
enjoy instant electrocution. So, the reference for the secondary, the
center tap of the US 240 VAC system is connected to a ground rod(s) of a
specified maximum resistance to earth (which tends to be the potential your
body assumes while walking around your house). The design criteria for this
fault condition is that the primary fuse will open before the secondary
system voltage rises above a safe(?) level. So, neutral is grounded, to a
relatively good extent.

Now, to further pursue this mind game, consider the earth to be a copper
ball. Then, all of it that is nearby will be at the potential of your
electric service neutral. And a sheet metal screw driven into it anywhere
within reason would provide an adequate return path for AC drawn from either
phase of the service. Real earth is more resistive, depending on soil
content and moisture level, so one can approach the copper ball condition,
but usually it is more like a bag of loose carbon particles. And, the more
surface area of a driven rod exposed to the earth, the lower the resistance
and the less voltage drop for a given current, or the more current for a
given voltage drop. It seems to all follow Ohm's law, for some unknown
reason.

A couple of caveats. One, modern wiring tends to include Ground Fault
devices which measure differential current to a wiring device. If more
current flows in the hot line then returns there to that neutral, it
disconnects the device. So the connection you used would not operate. Two,
none of this applies to RF, as in antenna grounds, because reactance must be
considered in addition to pure resistance which dominates at 60 Hz. And
another: Some to none of this applies in most other countries which use
other standards and methods.

--
Crazy George
Remove N O and S P A M imbedded in return address