Wall outlets have two or three holes for live, neutral, and ground connections. Different countries have different power regulations, resulting in different outlet styles. Polarization can prevent mispowering, and power adapters can be used for traveling. Most countries have two to four outlet types, including a large one for industrial machines.
A wall outlet is a location on a wall where an electrical appliance can be plugged into. Most sockets have two or three holes. Two-hole models accommodate an electrical plug with a live connection and a neutral connection; three-hole models accept plugs with a third ground connection. There are different power regulations in different countries; as a result, there are different styles of wall outlets. This will prevent accidental exposure to the wrong electrical current, avoiding damage to the appliance and reducing the possibility of fire.
While the appearance of wall receptacles can vary, they are all constructed essentially the same. Most models have two or three holes and each hole has a specific purpose. One hole is for the live wire, which carries the current from the wall to the connected item. The other hole in a two hole system is for the neutral – it returns the energy to the source. On the three-prong system, the third hole is for a ground wire, which will shed excess power in an emergency to prevent a circuit overload.
Some outlets are polarized, which means that a two-prong plug will only fit into the outlet in one orientation. In this case, the live and neutral have a specific orientation, and the wall outlet can prevent the device from being mispowered. In a non-polarized system, the job of keeping the live and neutral wires separate rests solely with the device. While polarization can be used on a three-prong wall outlet, it provides no additional benefit, since a three-prong plug has only one orientation anyway.
Different countries have different standards for power. Their devices use different amounts of current, and their wall outlets use different configurations. It is possible to use electronics for a different country in some specific cases. Military bases, embassies and other places where people from another area occupy a single seat often have outlets that match their home country and those of the local country – some hotels that cater to foreign guests do the same . Finally, you can find power adapters for traveling to other power zones.
Most countries commonly use two to four different types of wall outlets. Most countries have a two- and three-hole version of the standard power connection, and a polarized and non-polarized version of each. Then there is an outlet which is used to operate refrigerators, washing machines and other large items. These are almost universally three prong sockets and are usually quite large. Finally, some areas have an extremely large wall outlet that powers industrial machines such as milling machines and lathes, but this is an uncommon type of plug.
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