"Powell" wrote in message
...

"Robert Morein" wrote

You are getting way too complicated dragging Maxwell into this. Not that
that is wrong but is way too much analysis here.
You need two conductors for any single phase AC voltage. A third just
screws
everything up.

Bret, the above is the explanation for the definition and cause of hum
loops. It's not "too complicated"; it is simply the essence of the
problem.
The easy solution, most of the time, is to
use a power line conditioner with isolated
transformers.

I have shown with Maxwell's equations that, with systems that have
unbalanced interconnects, the solution you propose above is insufficient.

It will solve a problem if the particular hum loop is caused by an external
connection to ground at more than one point. However, due to the fundamental
induction law derived from Maxwell's equations, it is sufficient to have hum
merely to have two three wire cords where the 3rd prongs are connected to
each other, even if the connection point is not connected to an external
ground.