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In older plug designs both blades were the same width, so the plug could be inserted into the receptacle either way around. Many plugs manufactured since 1948 are polarized; the neutral blade is 5 ⁄ 16 in or 7.9 mm wide, 1 ⁄ 16 in or 1.6 mm wider than the line blade, so the plug can be inserted only one way. Polarized 1-15P plugs will not ...
[1]: 112 They are needed to allow appliances with 3-wire power cords to plug into legacy ungrounded (two slot) receptacles found in older buildings. The use of such an adapter avoids the need to replace receptacles, but is potentially hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground.
A receptacle tester being used to check for some types of improper wiring of an outlet. For this particular tester, proper wiring is indicated by the two yellow lights. The outlet tester checks that each contact in the outlet appears to be connected to the correct wire in the building's electrical wiring. It can identify several common wiring ...
Crimped plug-and-socket connectors can be classified as rear release or front release. This relates to the side of the connector where the pins are anchored: [20] Front release contacts are released from the front (contact side) of the connector, and removed from the rear. The removal tool engages with the front portion of the contact and ...
A plug is the connector attached to an electrically-operated device, often via a cable. A socket (also known as a receptacle or outlet) is fixed in place, often on the internal walls of buildings, and is connected to an AC electrical circuit. Inserting ("plugging in") the plug into the socket allows the device to draw power from this circuit.
The term plug is in general and technical use in all forms of English, common alternatives being power plug, [1] electric plug, [2] and (in the UK) plug top. [3] The normal technical term (in both British and International English) for an AC power socket is socket-outlet , [ 4 ] but in non-technical common use a number of other terms are used.
A North American power strip with two USB power ports that includes a built in surge protector. A power strip (also known as a multi-socket, power board and many other variations [a]) is a block of electrical sockets that attaches to the end of a flexible cable (typically with a mains plug on the other end), allowing multiple electrical devices to be powered from a single electrical socket.
An outlet is defined by the NEC as "a point in the wiring system at which current is taken to utilization equipment". [1] This definition includes receptacles, lighting, motors, etc. Ordinary switches control but do not consume electricity, and therefore are not defined as outlets in this sense.