Grounding philosophy

Two aspects of commonly used definitions of the ideal ground are inconsistent with Maxwell's laws. First, a ground cannot be a "perfect sink or source for currents"; not even the large capacitance of our globe acts as a sink. Secondly, a "perfect equipotential point or plane" can be a reality for small dc currents only. For alternating currents however, distributed magnetic fluxes near ground leads make the potential concept, as used in Kirchhoff's laws, meaningless. In this situation where network theory fails, we should concentrate on the ground currents and on the circuits in which these currents flow. Examples are given how these current loops should be designed to minimize impedance and interference. A proper design leads to compact and local grounding and to much reduced currents flowing to Mother Earth.