Extension leads............

[jackthehat]

Can an extension lead be operated 'the other way round' ?

i.e. if you put power in to the socket part, does the plug become live ?

Logic would dictate that it ought to, but I'm sure someone can tell me quite why it doesn't..........

Thankyou.

[Clanad]

Sure... the wire doesn't 'care' which way the electrons are flowing. As proof, you could take the ends off and excange them and the extension cord (as it's called here in the U.S.) would work just fine. Thing is, the male and female ends are built that way just to prohibit what you're describing from occurring. If, somehow, you were able to introduce a live wire into the female end, the prongs on the opposite end would become live and electrocute anyone tounching them...

[buildersmate]

Yes - one of the shorter pins becomes live - the other one is neutral so at a notional zero volts wrt earth. The longer earth pin remains at earth potential.
An extension lead merely transfers the connectivity of the three wires in a socket from one place to another, along its length - it has no other intelligence.
It is of course not recommended to wire up a plug to mains potential in this manner.

[jackthehat]

Thanks, Clanad.

[jackthehat]

Actually, for clarification............
I bought a round electric hook-up for use when camping............unfortunately I bought one with a plug on the end :o(

So, I was wondering whether I can, via use of extension lead etc, eventually end up with what I had originally intended..........

I think I need to swap the plug, don't I ?

Thanks anyway :o)

[johnk]

Putting mains voltage on the plug would be exteremely dangerous and also illegal as you have exposed 240 AC volts!! DON'T do it

[RATTER15]

Like you said, just swap the plug for a socket.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Cordless extension leads are now quite popular..however our new lad had difficulty finding one!!

[joeluke]

^ reminds me of the time I started work as a commis chef and was sent down to the stores with a list which included a left-handed frying pan, a long stand, and a banana juice extractor.......luckily I sussed the red herrings on the list out unlike other naive 'kitchen virgins' who went through this initiation test and failed (to the howls of laughter from the head chefs)

[maclarencat]

When I started work as a young girl in the office of an engineering works I was told to go and ask one of the shop floor men for a long screw. Fortunately on my way down my brain kicked in and I didnt!!!! Needless to say it was a man who told me to do it.