Positive Ground Electrical Systems

Thanks to all.

The other reason for positive ground is General Motors patent LAWYERS. You use negative 6v ground, you need to PAY.

A better question might be why 6 volts? Its the smallest cheapest battery that would relyably turn a cold starter motor.

Another question to ask, why 12v negative ground? Because the early manufacturing techniques used the GROUND as as heatsink to keep the silicon diodes from melting. They've improved manufacturing techniques since then but conviently use the diode-triode as a heatsink..... ....Dell

The reason is that a battery will always have an odd number of plates in it. An extra positive plate provides push to ensure that the energy flow is from positive to negative.

This was back in the mid 1960s and I do know that batteries back then did have an odd number of plates in them. Whether they still do or not I don't know. I only look at the number of plates in a battery if looking at the purchase of deep cycle batteries or otherwise if I think that the plates will heat up and warp if thin.

That is what I was taught. I figure the instructor knew what he was talking about--he had good credentials. He worked for NASA and angrily quit when the three astronauts died in that capsule fire in 1966. Some of the safety features this instructor was trying to get installed were not adopted until too late.

Having been bred in electron theory via military tech school, I thought it was the only way to go. Since I was repairing things, this made sense and was easy to troubleshoot and understand.

But in going to a campus of higher education and learning how to design circuits, it immediately became obvious why they chose hole theory. Lot easier to come out of a pos power supply and put holes places than to go looking for where electrons might come from.

Now I can (did) do both and when working with someone, just ask their preference and up up and away. Grin

Mark

DC current flows from negative to positive.

steveormary

I think the transistor design boys went beyond theory. Don't have my transistor fabrication book handy....the one that talks about so many Angstroms of this and that to make this or that material.

You have to know the e-p ratio in the valence ring of the atom to know what direction electrons are going to move and in designing and doping germanium and silicon, you need to get the right chemicals to define it as P or N material so your customer knows what polarity power supply to hook to it to get it to work.

Additionally, in metallic migration, (ignition systems points and spark plugs) something has to explain why one polarity produces more than the other.

Mark

and I will leave it at that.

steveormary