What I’m talking about is, for example, a keurig coffee machine having two differently shaped prongs where one prong is bigger and wider than the other, so you have to insert the wider prong into the wider port.
However, something like a phone adapter doesn’t have this, and the two prongs are the same size and shape.
Why is this?
In: 125
For security reason, if your machine has a security mechanism to block current leaks (current coming from the hot higher than the current going in the neutral, so some current is leaking somewhere else, potentially someone’s body), it’s important to block the current as close as possible from the hot, so it’s beneficial that the hot be known, which requires different plugs.
It’s physically impossible for any electrical machine to have a circuit that care which way is the hot when there’s no current leak because the current alternate from the hot to the hot, so there’s actually no current direction through the circuit.
However, if there’s a current leak, there’s a difference, because whatever receive the leaked current acts as a neutral not as a hot and is in circuit with the hot.
Not all machines have this security system since it’s not mandatory. Also, there are other security systems inside your plug or breaker to reduce the risk.
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