Why does 3 pin plug used for Electric safety?

Putting a plug in a socket is something very basic thing which we all do; in fact it is a very much part of our daily and necessary routine in the modern times. Everybody knows how to do it, REALLY?

Now, in this article to begin with we will pose two questions to our general readers/ audiences. Please answer to yourself honestly.

Question -1: How many times, have some of you poked the earth lever with a screwdriver, pen or other object to insert the plug and push the pins into the live and neutral?

I am sure, majority of you must surely have. Now, as long as a good solid connection was made, all have remained well and then somebody must have given you a mature advice, Please Do Not Do It! In any case we should not start pushing metal objects into the mains plug holes. By Putting a screwdriver anywhere near the holes on a mains wall socket, one might get a shock of life from the electricity!

Before we discuss the uses of the 3-pin plugs any further, let us first understand the basic concept of the plug and wires. Below is a schematically representation of a plug with its colored wires.

The LIVE wire is represented as BROWN.

This is connected to a fuse on the live pin, the electric current routes through the live wire.

The NEUTRAL wire is represented as BLUE.

The electric current routes out through the Neutral wire, i.e. this is the route the electric current takes when it exits an appliance; it is for this reason the neutral wire has a voltage close to zero.

The EARTH wire is represented as GREEN & YELLOW

This is connected to the earth pin. This is used when the appliance has a metal casing to take any current away, in case if the live wire comes in contact with the casing.

A 3-pin plug consists of three pins (hence the name). It is important to know how to wire a 3-pin plug correctly. The 3-pin plugs are designed so that electricity can be supplied to electrical appliances safely. Each wire has its own specified color, as shown above and each pin must be correctly connected to the three wires in the electrical cable.

                                                       Source : bijilibachao.com