What is a plug

Electrical engineering surrounds us everywhere. Without electrical appliances it is impossible to imagine a modern society. Therefore, it is quite clear that every person in his everyday life interacts with devices in one way or another: opening the refrigerator by pressing the elevator call button, including lighting in the room, etc.

The fine line of graduation

Conditionally, all existing electrical equipment by the way of interface with the power grid can be divided into two categories:

- Stationary, which is connected to the power source by a cable and an all-in-one connection. Of course, with the availability of tools, you can perform a shutdown, but only in emergency situations. An example is the equipment in production.

- Relatively mobile, allowing without the use of specialized devices to disconnect from the power source. This group includes almost all household electrical appliances. A distinctive feature of them is the plug.

What is a plug

With the sockets and power forks all faced. However, very few people understand where the term "plug" came from. In fact, everything is simple. The word "plug" is of German origin. And it means nothing but a cork. Really, the plug, being in the socket, as if clogs the holes of the latter. Hence the term. Well and the additional word "fork" has appeared because of the remote similarity to the known tableware. Of course, the tasks of this device are completely different, although, it is worth acknowledging, there are real plastic plugs for sockets on the market that protect curious children from accidental electric trauma.

From theory to practice

In simple terms, what is a plug, this device is designed to enable a secure detachable connection with a specially designed socket outlet.

Old-timers remember that earlier this kind of connection was used even in places where it is impossible even now to think about such a kind. So, during the times of the Soviet five-year plans, special lighting fixture designs were used throughout the lighting networks, which, by means of simple manipulation without tools, detach the unit from the cartridge and lamp, leaving a plug on the line .... True, its design was somewhat different from the solutions customary to the eye of modern man. Now, of course, cable routes are trying to be divided as much as possible, therefore lighting circuits, as a rule, do not allow transferring significant capacities.

Plug device

There are several variants of this plug-in connection. So, there are special solutions designed to connect sufficiently powerful electrical equipment to a three-phase network - they use four contacts (three for phases and one grounding). However, in mass production, a simpler design is used, such as, for example, a table lamp plug .

Externally, these are two metallic (copper or chrome) rods, placed in parallel at a certain distance from each other and located in a casing of dielectric material. Inside on each of them there is a bolt or other clamp, intended for connection of conductors and grounding. By means of such a system, electricity is supplied to the device through a cord (cable). The body can be dismountable, in this case its parts are assembled together with a screw. Also there are monolithic modifications. The thickness of the rods and the method of making the grounding contact are determined by the standards. So, speaking of what a plug is, one can not help but point out the misconception common in the countries of the former USSR, according to which there are two types of network plugs (and sockets) - conventional and euro.

Variety of modifications

The term "euro" is used in relation to the standard CEE 7/4 (Type F, or Shuko) - these are enough overall products, necessarily containing a grounding contact or rod in the design. The holes of the socket are deepened so that when the plug is turned on, the possibility of accidental contact with the semi-extracted rods is eliminated. A plug-in connection using CEE 7/4 is designed for 16 A and 230 V. The name "euro" was given due to the fact that during the Soviet era, devices from the GDR and Czechoslovakia were supplied with these plugs.

In fact, the Euro-roll does exist. This solution is based on the CEE 7/16 standard. Those who have even ever wondered what the device of the table lamp plug know all the features of this type of design. For the rest, let's explain: the eurovisor is two rods with a thickness similar to that of Soviet (conventional) plugs, located in a thin monolithic casing of dense rubber. There is no ground contact. The form is such that such a plug can be easily inserted into a socket of almost any design. Safety from accidental touch is realized by isolating most of the rods, leaving bare only the extremities of about 5 mm in length. Such euromolders are intended for connection of low-power equipment, for example, table lamps. The permissible current is 2.5A, although there are modifications for 5A.

Repairability

The installation of a table lamp plug used in mass production does not allow for acceptable repair in case of damage. Although such monolithic plugs can be cut and internal contacts restored using soldering, after such an operation it is impossible to provide electrical safety while maintaining a normal appearance. This applies to all monolithic solutions. In case of damage, the power cable is cut as close to the plug as possible, cleaned, the grounding conductor is identified and connected to a new demountable plug.