The funny thing is, in China most households have a universal socket and most stores have universal socket surge protectors. Then you have most power supplies that accept 120v - 220v

xeijix

...why can the world just adopt a global power socket, voltage, and Hz system? >_<

Oh no. Each country needs their own, and it's the same with god knows how much other stuff.

Wiliam Hook

I was asking myself the same question: why isn't it possible to have the same system globally. I'm writing about eco-friendly power use and sustainability. How is it possible to reduce energy traveling all over the world?
www.sikantisearth.com

sikantis

@Wiliam Hook, @sikantis: I don't know about voltage specifications (I suppose it has to do mainly with power transmission policies set down by governments). But you can't use the same Hz system globally. This mainly has to do with the varying effects of the Earth's magnetic field on the current.

I can't explain it too well, but trying to do 50 Hz in the US (or 60 Hz near the equator) would give you a non-steady transmission waveform that can't be used by most appliances.

I do wish they'd standardise sockets though. I can understand that certain sockets are easier to manufacture even if they aren't as safe, but can't they make a standard 3-pin socket that accepts both 2 and 3-pin plugs without extra fuss?

kureshii

If you need a travel adapter, I highly recommend the Fuji Worldwide Travel Adapter. Have used it all over Europe, India, China, and Japan.

nurikabe

@kureshii: Uh, the UK and most of Europe are on 50Hz, and we're about as far from the equator as the US is.

Sockatume

a single global solution...

can you imagine the debate (fight)? would we decide to select one in use and all conform or develop a new standard.

hmm. doesn't bear thinking about really.

ffolliet

Personally I like the UK one. I've practically lived in a place where I have had to use all of them. And the reason I like the UK one is because it is flat and three-pin which means that if you put a plug in it ALWAYS fits in nicely. IT isn't like say the Indian 3 pin round, which can be a bit flimsy, or the 2 pin rounds (a monumental effort to get them to work as they keep falling out when they are not flat on the ground). The US flat pins are just so different, not mention the plugs themselves are so sharp I've cut myself on them!

abhiroop

@kureshii: could u maybe go a bit more into detail? coz I dont see the reason why that should be the case.. and if so, why are Sweeden, Norway and so on, breaking your rule? I always knew the sweeds are up to someting,.. they are the reason for global warming.. :P

DuckMan

Like ffolliet said, it would be impossible to change electricity standards given the scale of such a task.

However, I really would prefer the US to switch to 50 Hz and not stay on the frequency that tends to stop the human heart...

MichaelTV

This article comes at a perfect time for me. In a few weeks, I'm going to China to present a paper at a conference, and I was wondering about how to handle the electronic devices I intend to bring. Thanks for posting this. I'll look at it in more detail later.

Dronak

I did a little reading, and there's little out there to support what I've been told in junior high (all the more reason to start questioning those things I've been told in school!)

There's a nice resource here [[www.school-for-champions.com]] (sources not cited though) that sorta explains the different transmission standards. As usual, it's all attributed to different camps wanting/supporting different things.

I like the UK socket as well (it's in use over here too), it's the sturdiest out of all those I've tried (Type A, Taiwan Type B, 2-pin Type C, Chinese Type 1) and the one least likely to get disconnected. It's bulkier than the 2-pin, but stays in the socket better.

Hmm, if the world had never split into 50/60 Hz maybe we could have avoided the whole fuss over NTSC/PAL as well...

kureshii

@abhiroop: Yeah the UK plug feels sturdy when plugged in, the fact that ground wires are standard as well in anything electrical (&contains metal) helps.

The only downside is transportation I know it's not much bigger but it's still not as easy to pack as a flat plug. :/

Klopfer123

@kureshii:

"Hmm, if the world had never split into 50/60 Hz maybe we could have avoided the whole fuss over NTSC/PAL as well..."

I doubt it. Look at the whole PAL/SECAM thing. The DVB/ATSC thing. The Eureka/iBiquity thing. The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from :)

kc2idf

@kureshii: Either you or whoever fed you that has got a tremendous imagination and engages in far too much magical thinking when it comes to things magnetic. Location relative to anything natural has nothing to do with frequency choice.

Europe (and much of the rest of the world) is on 50Hz because it fits neatly into a 1/2/5 numbering scheme, but 100Hz would have been more expensive to produce at the time that the standards were put into place. The US uses 60Hz because it reduces noticeable flicker in lights, and we weren't concerned about neat numbering schemes (witness our total failure to adopt the metric system).

Japan is half on 50Hz, half on 60Hz, because half the grid was built by Germans, and half by Americans.

Now, about converging.... Far better, I think, to make devices voltage and frequency tolerant than to try to converge. Most devices run on DC internally anyway, so we already have to include a conversion step. Why not just make it wide-banded?

In the mean time, countries with higher voltage have already become quite used to being able to summon large quantities of energy from an outlet, and so would be likely unwilling to drop voltage. As an example, trying to draw 3000W from a British outlet is a no-brainer; trying to draw 3000W from an American outlet is a non-starter (1800W being the typical max, 2400W being possible sometimes). Trying to bring the voltage up in low-voltage nations, on the other hand, will inevitably result in disasters as older, non-travel-intended and therefore non-voltage-tolerant devices fail.

kc2idf

@kc2idf: Yeah, but it seems to be the main motivation behind the PAL/NTSC branch was because of incompatible power frequency.

Colour shift, etc were probably important as well, but if the world ran on one frequency we could have done away with the glut of formats.

It's nice to have many standards of course, I just wished they were more compatible (with less fuss).

kureshii

I travel all over asia, and USB is the best way to charge everything (phone, blackberry, ipod, psp, etc..).

All you need is a USB plug (not the correct term) similar to an Ipod wall charger, and a usb hub.

dlipschitz1

So how long before we see USB plugs in the walls at the business-focussed hotels? And USB-chargable laptops? Problem solved.

mad_goldfish