What is a bonding conductor or jumper defined as?

A bonding conductor or jumper is defined as a reliable conductor ensuring continuity. This is crucial in electrical systems to maintain a low-resistance path for fault currents and to properly ground equipment, which enhances safety and reduces the risk of electric shock and equipment damage.

In electrical bonding, the primary purpose is to create an effective electrical connection that ensures all conductive parts have the same electrical potential, which helps to minimize the risk of electric shock during fault conditions. The bonding conductor achieves this by providing a continuous and dependable path between different metallic parts or systems that might otherwise be at different potentials.

The roles of a bonding conductor include ensuring that any potential differences that could result from faults are equalized, allowing fault currents to flow safely to ground. This characteristic of reliability and continuity distinguishes bonding conductors from other types of conductors that may serve different functions.