Mansi, Week 10: How do Power outlets Work
There are not many things I can name off the top of my head that particularly aggravate me, but I can confidently reveal that one is the dramatic wrestle with the power outlet in the wall at the dead of night. With my phone clinging onto life at 2%, it’s no laughable circumstance—I’m mindlessly jabbing my charger here and there as the walls of my once familiar room become uncharted waters in the darkness. The battle draws on as I strike again and again and again, each futile jab driving me past the bare thresholds of patience, and finally climaxes when I roll up my sleeves and pull out the trick from underneath: my phone’s flashlight. I act swiftly, before the flashlight can counterproductively drain the final stretch of charge, and plug the charger into the outlet in one clean, effortless swing. Not more than a second passes before my phone relaxes, its source of sustenance once again being replenished. War is over.
After a similar bout I had not so long ago, I ended up with post-traumatic curiosity about the complexities of the power outlet. I decided to pursue further research, and my findings can be summed up in Landmark Home Warranty’s “Different Types of Electrical Outlets and How They Work.”
The celebrated power outlet can be described as having three holes, the leftmost being referred to as neutral, the rightmost being hot, and the final being ground. Mounting screws secure the cover plate and outlet to the wall, and terminal screws secure the wires. Apart from knowing the anatomy of the power outlet, it’s critical to understand the components that constitute the entire system. It begins with the power plants and power lines that bring electricity to our doorsteps, and it is then the circuit breaker that distributes electricity throughout our homes through wires connected directly to our outlets—from there, the hot slot brings the electrical current into the plugged charger, the ground slot takes large and dangerous electrical currents into the ground for neutralization, and the neutral slot pulls currents back to the circuit breaker. It’s an admirably dynamic system, reliant on the presence of the circuit of electricity.
Hi Mansi! I just wanted to say that this blog is literally so funny. I love how you dramatized the experience of trying to find the holes of the outlet when you can't see anything at night because, let's be honest, it does feel like war. I can't even describe the amount of times I've cozier up for bed, found the perfect position to lay in, the perfect positioning of the pillow and blankets to give me the head support and warmth I need, and I end up realizing that I'm going to need to move to plug the charger into the wall. Anyway, I really like how you ended your blog by explaining the mechanics of a power outlet. I think there are so many technological applications I use on a daily basis that I don't know anything about in terms of the science behind them. Like, how does a fridge actually work? I think it's interesting to encounter applications like this and actually be able to understand how it serves the purpose it serves. Thank you for your blog!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used a common struggle you face, trying to plug your phone into the charger in the dark while it is about to die, as an opportunity to learn about something new: power outlets. It was entertaining to read your vivid description of this struggle we all face. Your use of descriptive language and a comical over-dramatization reminded me of how I also struggle every night to plug in my phone charger into an outlet after using every single bit of power contained in my phone. I think this tendency relates to our shared problem of procrastination. Whether it is this or homework, we never start until the moment we realize that we really have to, which leads to either a few minutes or a couple hours of stress, followed by the same mindset until we have another assignment to complete at the last minute. I noticed how, funnily, you also procrastinated on this blog, submitting it at 11:43 PM, just 17 minutes before it was due. Overall, I thought your blog was an entertaining read and I appreciated the opportunity to learn about one of the most overlooked yet important inventions in our lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Mansi, I really liked how you started your blog off with a funny struggle that I can definitely relate to. Trying to plug in anything to a power outlet in the dark is well, next to impossible for me. However, the fact that you used this opportunity to learn about and provide knowledge on how power outlets work was definitely very interesting! With all the advanced technology around us, a lot of people don't know the mechanics of how most things work, so this was especially something cool to learn about.
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