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
Within the outlet are 2 different wires, Hot and Neutral. When nothing is plugged in, they’re not connected. When you plug something in, it connects the 2 (through the device) completing the circuit.
For some devices, like your Keurig, it’s important to plug it in so one specific side is connected to the Hot, while the other connects to Neutral. The electricity flows in one direction, and if you plug it in backward, it will flow through the device the wrong way and potentially break the internal circuitry. So the prongs are different sizes to prevent you from plugging in the device the wrong way.
Other devices, like charging blocks, it doesn’t matter which way you plug it in. The internal circuitry allows the bi-directional flow of electricity. For charging blocks, they just need to get some of the electricity and convert it to DC that is then used to charge your phone. The first step in this process is like an off-ramp on a highway: both sides of the highway can exit the highway and end up going the same way.
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