The black wire is the hot wire which provides a 120 vac current source. Jim stewart apr 12 18 at 1311.

White Wire Connected To A Breaker Buyers Ask
Using white wire as hot. Typically this is indicated with a band of black or red electrical tape but other colors may be used wrapped around the wires insulation. These conductors are designated as follows. Screw on a wire cap to hold them together and insulate the ends. Splice the white wires together by twisting the ends together clockwise using pliers. In a 110 volt setup an additional wire usually red or blue normally indicates a hot wire controlled by a light switch. The white conductor within a flexible cord can be used for the ungrounded conductor for connecting an appliance or equipment as permitted by 4007.
Use care when working on existing systems because a gray insulated conductor may have been used in the past as an ungrounded conductor. The third conductor is bare copper. White wires with black or red tape. The additional wire is hot but switched off at the switch. Crimp the bare ground wires together with a. A white wire connected to one side of a switch is not a neutral it will be and is designed to be hot when the switch is on.
Two of the conductors in nmb cable are covered with plastic insulation one white the other black. Under those conditions a black wire should be always hot and always on. Hot when a white wire is augmented with a red or black color marking this often indicates that it is being used as a hot wire rather than a neutral wire. The white wire goes to the white metal screws on an electrical outlet.