Why do they make power adapters so large that it’s difficult/impossible to plug something into the adjacent plug?
In: Technology
They don’t design them to intentionally block adjacent plugs. They are that size because that’s what’s necessary to cheaply convert the incoming AC into the required DC for the device you’re plugging in.
They can do this either directly at the plug and keep the wire uniform all the way to the device, or they can make the types of cables often seen in laptops, with those large blocks along the cable. On smaller devices (that don’t require as much power), those blocks are small enough you can put it right at the plug and only cause *some* issues such as blocking a nearby plug or two. The alternative is to move it down the cable so you have a smaller plug, but this adds more room for failure (you have two connection points – one for each side of the block, instead of just one coming out of the block).
For some devices, like laptops, the block is virtually always too large to put on the plug, which is why they have the blocks halfway down the cable.
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