what is the purpose of the neutral wire
Credit: NoDerog E+ Getty Images. In a three-prong plug, the neutral wire is connected through the right-handed prong, when one is looking at the plug with the ground prong on the bottom. The neutral prong is the wider of the two plugs. The ground wire is also connected to the ground to prevent short circuits. However, the neutral wire's purpose is to be part of the live path for electricity, rather than to act as a safety guard if something goes wrong. Sometimes, these two wires are mixed up, as the neutral wire is commonly referred to as the grounded wire.