Brits (power plugs)

[Peterkro]

60hz = 60 cycles per SECOND. That would be an awfully high heart rate


Having travelled all over the world, I can honestly say I've never found a plug/socket system that I think is as good as our UK one.

UK plugs don't break, bend, fall out, have a bad connection, or get put in the wrong way. They usually don't even come out if you accidently tug on a cable because the cable comes out of the bottom of the plug rather than in the same direction as the prongs go in and out.

Also, UK sockets have a internal mechanical system that blocks the holes to the live and neutral connectors with a plastic cover until the (longer) earth prong goes in. This stops children sticking their fingers or anything else into the dangerous holes.

Its a close harmonic of the human heart rate.Hong Kong also uses the brit system.

Other issues affecting lethality are frequency, which is an issue in causing cardiac arrest or muscular spasms, and pathway - if the current passes through the chest or head there is an increased chance of death. From a mains circuit the damage is more likely to be internal, leading to cardiac arrest. It is believed that human lethality is most common with AC current at 100-250 volts, as lower voltages can fail to overcome body resistance while with higher voltages the victim's muscular contractions are often severe enough to cause them to recoil (although there will be considerable burn damage).
A low-voltage (110 to 220 V), 60-Hz AC current traveling through the chest for a fraction of a second may induce ventricular fibrillation at currents as low as 60mA. With DC, 300 to 500 mA of DC is required. If the current has a direct pathway to the heart (eg, via a cardiac catheter or other electrodes), a much lower current of less than 1 mA, (AC or DC) can cause fibrillation. Fibrillations are usually lethal because all the heart muscle cells move independently. Above 200mA, muscle contractions are so strong that the heart muscles cannot move at all.
[edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock

However, the AC (60 Hz and 120 V) that U.S. elec-
tric companies supply to most electrical outlets disturbs
human nerve impulses more readily than DC of the same
voltage or AC at other frequencies do because human
nerve impulses resonate at approximately 60 Hz.

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:...o_sc/gen/HS2LMR07.PDF+60hz+danger+heart&hl=en

 

[johnnyjibbs]

I like UK plugs - they're the best in the world. (You can also find them in Malaysia, Singapore, and a host of other ex-colonies!).

They may hurt if you accidently step on them, but they are solid, chunky and safe. Each individual plug contains a fuse for safety. There is always an earth prong (longer for safety, as has been mentioned). The plugs fit well and don't wobble or fall out of their sockets. They also almost exclusively have individual switches on the socket to further minimise electric shock (I've seen some in Singapore that don't have this feature, but never in the UK). In short, they are great.

I have to say that New Zealand/Australia plugs are also very nice and are a smaller version (crossed with the American style). American ones are small but often fall out (this does happen - I have been to the States and my uncle lives there). However, I think the European version (i.e. that in France, Italy, Germany, etc) is possibly the worst one - as feeble as the US version but with the added thing of sparks flying through the connectors as the plug approaches the socket.

As an aside: it was amusing when Steve Jobs introduced the Airport Express during a keynote in London. Because he was in the UK, the version to hand had a British power plug on it and he did make a typical comment, along the lines of "wow that's big!" (He was trying to emphasise how small the Airport Express was).

 

[Nermal]

Because he was in the UK, the version to hand had a British power plug on it and he did make a typical comment, along the lines of "wow that's big!"

I remember that

BTW, congrats on reaching 68020

 

[johnnyjibbs]

BTW, congrats on reaching 68020

Cheers, I didn't even notice!

And to keep on topic: Long live British plugs!

 

[dobbin]

Its a close harmonic of the human heart rate.Hong Kong also uses the brit system.

... lots more interesting stuff cut out....

Thats interesting. I wonder how many people actually die in the US each year who would have survived with a different frequency of current?

I like UK plugs - they're the best in the world. (You can also find them in Malaysia, Singapore, and a host of other ex-colonies!).

yes thats right - last week I booked a trip to Australia with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur and I read at the time that Malaysia use British style plugs. I remember being really pleased at the time that they use our plugs! Is it stupid that I was pleased about something so small when I should be looking forward to the trip of a lifetime!!




edit: sorted out the quotes..

 

[garybUK]

India use our old 'wylex' system (the three pin round ones with varying sizes for ampage).

I've been saved a few times by the fuse in the plug... fantastic design (as long as the right fuse is in).... 3amp for Lighting, 5amp for TV's / Radio's / PC's etc and 13amp for heavy duty goods like Fridges / Freezers / Washing Machines / Tumble Dryers.

 

[bartelby]

There is always an earth prong (longer for safety, as has been mentioned).

While the plugs always have an earth prong, not every power cord has an earth wire.

 

[Chundles]

If I had a dollar for every US/Canadian exchange student who have come to me complaining that their stuff doesn't work only to have me come in, plug in their appliances and switch it on at the wall. The US plugs just go straight in, no switch on the wall - so many times I've had sparks come out from the socket, it's not very safe.

I also like the way our wall sockets are horizontal instead of vertical - that way you can plug two transformers in side by side instead of one upside-down and just begging to fall out.

 

[Peterkro]

While the plugs always have an earth prong, not every power cord has an earth wire.

Not every appliance needs an earth,quite a few are double insulated.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

i prefer the british plugs...

makes you feel like you're connecting right to the mainframe everytime you plug in a household light

 

[mkrishnan]

I prefer to have knife-blade boxes in my house and just wire things by hand.

 

[Kernow]

I definitely prefer the British plug too, but it seems that the design has evolved over time. I remember in my Grandmother's house that the holes for the prongs were round, instead of rectangular as they are now.

I did a search and found this image of what the plugs were like. Anyone know why they were changed?

 

[Peterkro]

I definitely prefer the British plug too, but it seems that the design has evolved over time. I remember in my Grandmother's house that the holes for the prongs were round, instead of rectangular as they are now.

I did a search and found this image of what the plugs were like. Anyone know why they were changed?

As far as I remember they didn't have shrouded pins,the british standards were changed.back in the sixties I think.The round pin jobbies are still in use in many older homes and are used in stage lighting a lot to keep cables etc clearly only for lighting use.

 

[Brize]

Kernow: I have 5 amp lighting circuits in my flat that make use of those round-pin plugs. The sockets and plug tops are still available from electrical retailers.

 

[garybUK]

As far as I remember they didn't have shrouded pins,the british standards were changed.back in the sixties I think.The round pin jobbies are still in use in many older homes and are used in stage lighting a lot to keep cables etc clearly only for lighting use.

Yes the round pin 'wylex' type are still only used for Lighting / switched lighting rings and nothing else. They were changed when BSI came in all plugs now have a insulated part of the L / N pins so if the plugs hanging 1/2 way out you can't electrocute yourself. Plus they aren't fused.

My grandparents house just got re-wired and they pulled out some really dodgy cabling / sockets. All Wylex type round sockets, big round switches and two core cable in the walls that looks like speaker wire

There is also another type of plug where the earth pin is horizontal on British Plugs, these are used for 'clean' circuits where you don't want general equipment dirtying the circuit.

 

[absolut_mac]

I definitely prefer the British plug too, but it seems that the design has evolved over time. I remember in my Grandmother's house that the holes for the prongs were round, instead of rectangular as they are now.

I did a search and found this image of what the plugs were like. Anyone know why they were changed?

Probably because the new ones are more difficult for little kids to put their fingers in there.

 

[Kernow]

Probably because the new ones are more difficult for little kids to put their fingers in there.

Reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer draws a smiley face on the plugs to prevent Maggie from putting her fingers in

 

[EGT]

Plugs are plugs.

As long as there's electricity flowing I wouldn't care if it was pink and frilly.

Well, frilly maybe, but not pink. Frilliness would pose a fire hazard.