Electrical grid USA/UK +World

From USA,
I read some UK threads about how their timers break.
UK Digital timers don't break
UK Mechanical break quick

USA Digital timers break (in like weeks)
USA Mechanical timers last years
From my experience

UK uses 240v or 220v 50hz and maybe dipole?
USA uses 120v 60hz single pole for most things.

As far as I know USA uses ground (yes the actual dirt in the soil outside) as a return to power station (not by wire).

Please help understanding of this if you know about power return.

Power grids are different all over the word. Gadgets like timers might work/break different.

The ground is... ground. Positive and negative go to the power station.

Single phase or three phase makes no difference.

America has 240V, single phase. 120V is either zero above or below the line.

Time for you to crack an electronics text, brother.

This is what I mean
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-wire_earth_return

When I drive down the street there are 3 wires in 3 phases. No neutral.

What I think I was missing is that at the house transformer at the street, 1 phase is turned into x2 120 hots and a neutral (?)

I need power systems for dummies

ttystikk said:

The ground is... ground. Positive and negative go to the power station.

Single phase or three phase makes no difference.

America has 240V, single phase. 120V is either zero above or below the line.

Time for you to crack an electronics text, brother.

Click to expand...

The grid is 500-250kv, at the pole outside your house is 25kv. Yes Im pretty sure its ground to earth but im not a lineman.

https://ctlsys.com/support/electrical_service_types_and_voltages/

every house has a heavy copper ground, sometimes they're easy to see, sometimes they're inside a wall, but they're there.