🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct8.205505.16186@husc3.harvard.edu> mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu (Michael Levin) writes:
>
>    I am holding a plug, which is supposed to plug into a wall socket.
>One of the two metal prongs is wider, so that the plug only fits one
>way - not if you turn it over. Why is this? I thought the whole point
>of AC was that the poles change sinusoidally; so how can one be
>different from the other? Please direct replies to
>mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu.

One side of the line is grounded to the earth so that the potential between
line and ground will never be excessively high; this is a safety measure.

Switches and fuses should always be in the *ungrounded* side of the line,
so that when a switch opens or a fuse blows, the whole piece of equipment
will be at ground potential.  Otherwise, even with the fuse blown, the
equipment could still present a shock hazard to someone in contact with
the ground.

The wider side of the plug is the grounded side.


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:- Michael A. Covington     internet mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu 
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