Note, the below will be for the US -- rules will be different in other countries.
> Even I have trouble understanding the real difference between ground and neutral,
Neutral is the normal return path for current. Under normal operation power is delivered to a device via the "hot" conductor, and travels back from the device to the source over the neutral conductor.
The ground conductor is present for safety purposes. Under normal operation no current should flow over the ground conductor at all. The only time the ground should have a current flow is during a safety event (i.e. a short from hot to the case of a device with a metal case).
> I'm not even sure if neutral goes through the breaker?
It does not, the breaker is present in the "hot" conductor path, and tripping the breaker disconnects just the hot conductor from the power source.
> Even I have trouble understanding the real difference between ground and neutral,
Neutral is the normal return path for current. Under normal operation power is delivered to a device via the "hot" conductor, and travels back from the device to the source over the neutral conductor.
The ground conductor is present for safety purposes. Under normal operation no current should flow over the ground conductor at all. The only time the ground should have a current flow is during a safety event (i.e. a short from hot to the case of a device with a metal case).
> I'm not even sure if neutral goes through the breaker?
It does not, the breaker is present in the "hot" conductor path, and tripping the breaker disconnects just the hot conductor from the power source.