Main Page
Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3195 xkcd comics, and only 60 (1.9%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!
Latest comic
| Truly Universal Outlet |
 Title text: Building Inspectors HATE This One Weird Trick |
Explanation
This comic shows a layout for a universal outlet which would theoretically fit any mains power-plug. Throughout the world, countries and regions have their own standards for outlets, including their shape, contact amount, and voltage. When traveling, or otherwise using devices from other countries, it is often necessary to have an adapter to connect one type of plug to a different outlet.
The comic shows an outlet with fifteen sets of holes merged together, so that any of those plug types might fit. In reality, it's possible that a plug may not be held securely, and it may fall out or lose contact. For example, the hole for types D, M, and O at the top of the outlet has three distinct holes, some of which are entirely contained within others; a prong for a smaller type would not make contact with the walls (without particularly spring-loaded contacts). Different outlets can also mean different voltages, which can risk damage if devices do not account for it. Though universal plug adapters actually exist, but none of them are as 'universal' as the one shown in this comic, most likely due to aforementioned safety concerns.
Also the comic seems to misrepresent type E sockets - it seems like the creator wasn't aware of (or ignored) the fact that type E sockets has a grounding pin that protrudes out from the socket, and rather represents it as if it were a hole in the socket instead. In reality it would be difficult to make a socket that safely grounds type E plugs without being simultaneously incompatible with a large number of other plugs that aren't designed to accomodate the grounding pin, probably requiring the prominant socket-pin to be a spring that retracts far into the socket when pressed by a plug's Earth-pin.
The comic also seems to not notice the lack of grounding for full compatibility with F plugs. This leaves them in he same state as type E above. This could be fixed by adding the extra pins for grounding. Given that most plugs in E and F regions are compatible with both standards (CEE 7/7) and have the E ground conected to the F ground through a front plate bigger then the hole for the E standard, it would be theoretically possible to make a mostly universal plug, with the exception of pure CEE 7/5 Schuko and pure French-style CEE 7/6, but those are vanishingly rare, phased out by the CEE 7/7.
Transcript
[A diagram of an electrical outlet is shown, merging the holes of many international outlets. Dashed lines indicate individual standards' holes, which are labeled by their corresponding letter from A to N. The entire outlet is the combined area of these holes.]
Wiring tip: to make your building friendly to international visitors, cut holes in your outlet plates to make them compatible with all fifteen IEC plug types.
View comic discussionNew here?
Last 7 days (Top 10) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.
- If you're new to wiki editing, see the explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on how to edit wiki pages. There's also a handy wikicode cheatsheet.
- Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the Community portal.
- You can browse the comics from the list of all comics or by navigating the category tree at Category:Comics.
- The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
Rules
Don't be a jerk!
There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.
