posted on /g/ was told to go here
im stripping a dc power cable to a laptop and all i can find is the protective wires and just one set of wires in the middle??? where the fuck is the positive and ground?
(btw i didn't do the shit solder job)
The outer one is most likely the ground. Plug it in and hook it up to a multimeter to confirm.
>>1160019
>protective wires
>wires in the middle
One is positive and the other is negative. The shielding is typically ground, but DC circuits can be either positive or negative ground.
>>1160019
>found two wires
>where the fuck is the positive and ground?
nigga pls...
>>1160019
white is hot the other is ground
>>1160034
>either positive or negative ground
Learn more please
>>1160799
Google "positive or negative ground"
Maybe you'll learn something too
>>1160019
Middle is plus protective stuff around it us ground
>>1160801
or i could just bash myself over the head with a rock for the same effect.
ground is a reference, neither positive or negative.
voltages can be positive or negative w.r.t ground.
positive ground means literally nothing.
negative ground is also meaningless.
>>1162815
>>1160801
you are both right, but >>1162815 is more right.
I can see this one question derailing this thread and /diy/ for weeks.
but in case anyone cares, I googled just to see, and all it means it that the ground reference is in some cases ALWAYS positive with respect to all other DC voltages, or always negative. for example, some Older cars had the + battery terminal tied to the frame, which a mechanic would probably call positive ground. Later on, most cars had the - terminal grounded, so those same mechanics would call that negative ground, which makes perfect sense to a non-EE and is a simple way to avoid confusion and burned out components.
Actual electronic circuits simply have ground, as >>1162815 describes.
>>1162830
>Later on, most cars had the - terminal grounded,
Think about that for a bit.
>>1164993
>not keeping a bucket of ground in your car
>>1164993
Well that's the normal way to do it so electrons from the battery can slow down rusting bodywork