International Power Cords
International power cords, or international cord sets, are detachable means of supplying electricity from a foreign power source to native electrical equipment or appliances that would otherwise have been incompatible. Electrical equipment does not function properly internationally because every country has a different standard of electrical receptacle as well as voltage system. If the electrical receptacle is not the same configuration as the plug, the plug will not fit. In addition, higher or lower voltage systems than electrical equipment are designed to function on will either overload the device or not give it enough power to function properly. International power cords are useful for international and domestic applications in industries such as appliance, electronics, medical, construction, commercial, home entertainment, industrial and military.
International power cords consist of a flexible cord with electrical plugs at each end, one male and one female. The male end is called the supply end and the female end is called the equipment end. The connecting cord itself is a cable assembly comprised of a conducting medium, typically copper, surrounded by cord covers of insulating material and an outer polymer or rubber jacket which protects the wire. International cords differ in terms of tensile strength, design, wire sizes, stranding and color coding of conductors, depending on the country they are designed for. Additionally, their supply end and equipment end as well as the number of conductors differ due to the varying electrical receptacles in different companies. The equipment end should be configured towards the equipment's native configuration and the supply end should be configured to meet the unique characteristics of the foreign electrical receptacle. The cord will only transmit enough energy to ensure that the electrical equipment functions properly in order to guard against overheating.
International power cords are color-coded for easy identification. North America, for example, has code colors of black, white and green, while the rest of the world has code colors of brown, blue and yellow/green. However, the configurations are almost all unique per the country. An example of this would be Italy, which has three tubular metal prongs of equal length in a straight line across the plug, while Argentina has three square metal prongs that are flat, of equal length and arranged in a triangular configuration on the plug. Voltage systems are also almost all unique to the country. For example, Bulgaria has a standard voltage of 220, while Nicaragua has a standard voltage of 120. International power cord manufacturers offer a necessary tool in an increasingly globalized world, where international power cords are the difference between electronic equipment that functions and useless, non-functioning electronic equipment.
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International Power Cord Image Provided by Kord King
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