Why Earth Pin is Thicker and Longer in a 3-Pin Plug?



The ‘three pin plugs’, has three pins which are the live pin, neutral pin and the earth pin.

Among these three pins (live, neutral and earth), the earth pin is made longer and thicker than the other two pins, so that when we insert the plug into the socket, the earth pin comes into contact with the power supply before the other two pins, this is because if any unwanted charges are there then they will be removed (grounded) before the other two pins will go inside the terminals.

This will ensure that if we connect the earth first then that will increase our safety and the device's safety if any fault occurs.

The earth pin is long so that the earth connection is made first. 

This ensures the safety of the user because if the appliance is defective, the fuse will blow off. 

The earth pin is made thicker so that even by mistake it cannot be inserted into the hole for the live or neutral connection of the socket.

Also, the earth pin is made thicker so that even by mistake also it cannot be inserted into the holes for the live or neutral connection of the socket.

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