Why do they have a 3-prong plug on the power supply for the laptop when all the surfaces are plastic or rubber? It couldn't be for parts beyond the black box becasue the wire from the box to the laptop is just two wires.
Is it just to make people who are afraid of computers and elelctricity be less afraid?
Why are you asking the same question you asked on March 8, which resulted in a thread 22 posts long?
Cindy Hamilton
Like most people, he already knows the answer so he is just waiting for someone else to confirm. May take 1000 opposite replies to appear before finally he gets the "right" answer which is of course wrong.
Just a wild guess but maybe some sort of built-in surge or over-voltage suppression?
On Thu 23 Mar 2017 02:02:32a, Jon told us...
There are consistencies between brands and even models within brands. Many have a 3-prong plug to connect the power supply transformer to the mains, and then a 2-conductor proprietary socket that fits into the laptop. Others have only a 2-conductor plug to the mains. Virtually all that I've seen have a 2-coductor proprietary socket that fits into the laptop.
Since there's no grounding benefit from the power supply to the laptop, I can only guess that the power supplies have some protectioin if they have a 3-prong plug. Power supply cases are always some type of plastic or phenolic, but there is the possibility of them overheating and/or catching on fire.
Laptops have been known to catch on fire, but not due to grouding issues. Usually it's due to an internal battery problem.
That or some marketing suit figuring three prongs makes it look more serious;-)
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