Flow of current in a neutral wire

[timberfinn]

I am taking this HVAC class and have been studying up on the basics of electricity, magnetic induction, AC/DC, Ohms Law etc. I have a basic question concerning the flow of current in the neutral wire of a single phase 120v circuit. I ran a few questions by my instructor (Mr. Samuels). He was a tech on a nuclear sub for 7 years. He checked out the internet for answers to my questions since he admitted to me that he was stumped. What he showed me from the internet was actually lame ... did not address my questions. One of the questions was that I noticed that Ohms Law seems to contradict Kirchoffs Law in that there is the same amount of amps in all parts of a series circuit (Kirchoffs Law) but typically a voltmeter shows zero voltage in the neutral wire of the circuit going to ground. Ohms law states that Amps = volts divided by resistance. Obviously, if there are zero volts, per the meter, then amps should be zero also. But that is not the case. There are always amps per Kirchoff's Law. But common sense tells us that you cannot have current flow (amps) without pressure (volts). Mr. Samuels is stumped. He asked the master electrician for the whole compound, a Mr. Sword. Apparently Mr. Sword was stumped too. Several inquires by Samuels to different websites/blog sites have failed to answer my question as well. The question being "How can you have significant amps (per the amp meter) in the neutral wire of a single phase 120v circuit and yet have zero volts/pressure (per the volt meter) pushing that current. Mr. Samuels has said that he could not disagree with me but could give me an answer. Also if there is zero voltage at the end of the load, what powers another device if you add one in series?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[static zap]

... We take a #6 bare wire ...

Cheers @Megawatt SWG , #6 is just under (19 mm c.s.a) -or- 19 mm ²
...Some of us still function in feet/inches as a fond memory .
(Our gallon of water did weigh 10lbs )

 

[ackbarthestar]

QUOTE - if there is zero voltage at the end of the load, what powers another device if you add one in series?

Current powers the load NOT voltage, your measuring voltage, put an amp meter in the neutral line, then you will see some action.

little grass hopper needs much learning !

Kirrchoff's law for series circuits states that the sum of the volt drops across the series loads will be the same as the generated voltage.
The measured Voltage across the generator will equal the sum of the voltages across each of the loads/resistances. Add an extra resistance in series and sum of the new voltages will equal the generated voltage.
The current flow through the whole circuit will be the same through each load.