Well I mean, what is it in other countries, sideways?
Some old TVs used to have a toggle switch on the back some were up for on some were down for on, it seemed to be dependent on whether the switch was one way up or the other! Some of the old metal mains power switches wer up for on but many others the other way around. I never did understand why they could not have simply said we want it this way and then everyone might be the same. I bet the French have a unique take on this one. Brian
I think they're green in the EU generally ? Presumably there's a reg somewhere ?
Isn't there something about which one is easier to see in a fire/smoke ?
It's red and green which are the problem. A quite high percentage of the male population have problems distinguishing between them under some circumstances. It's just convention they are used for on and off. Other colours would be more suitable.
Is the Pope Catholic?
also many people are drivers where green=go, red=no go
Didn't they have to change the meaning of mechanical signals? Signal lever flag down initially meant that it was safe to proceed but the signals had a tenancy to freeze in that position in winter weather.??
Is thre a convention for which (on mixer taps) that hot is on the left and cold on the right. I seemed to remmebr sweden being the oppersite way around. A friend of mine just had their kitchen done and the fitter said I've just put yuor taps around the right way, and now after 20+ years of being around the 'wrong' way keeps turning the wrong tap on/off.
Jim GM4DHJ ... explained on 22/01/2019 :
Probably not, because it predates RCD's and even MCB's. Even the old cast iron units were down/ off, to release the lids. Even the multi- thousand amp isolators were down for off - though some of them took quite an effort to operate, perhaps that was the idea? Easier to turn off by swinging on a long bar with gravity to help, than trying to push up to off.
If there is, no one told me ... our taps are the other way round, and no one complains ?
I stand to be correctyed but I think you'll find that all the capsicums of which chillie peppers are one, ripen from green to red, to yellow, or to brown.
And get hotter, or sweeter in the case of sweet peppers, as they ripen
michael adams
...
Down was always on in the UK But now it seems to be up for on. Blasted EUSSR I 'spect.
Maybe to do with the mechanism of MCBs .The toggle doesn't have to be lifted to trip?
Does gravity play any part in tripping an MCB or RCD? I thought you tensioned a spring when you turned the switch on, and when the circuit breaker tripped, a solenoid that was holding the switch on (counteracting the spring) was released. The weight of the switch toggle would make a very small difference, but much less than the tension of the spring.
Sideways in Japan.
The cleaner just unplugs the life support to plug in the vac.
"?It?s the wild colour scheme that freaks me out,? said Zaphod, whose love affair with the ship had lasted almost three minutes into the flight. 'Every time you try and operate these weird black controls that are labeled in black on a black background, a little black light lights up in black to let you know you?ve done it.?"
Zaphod Beeblebrox, The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe
It is a lot easier in the nuclear that I have seen and worked on, as they have used a clear, standard document and so no-one is in doubt. Still has to be run past Human Factors for confirmation though.
SteveW
Because they have a clear standard - green is healthy, red is fault, amber is a warning and white is a status (running for instance). All of which means you cannot mistake a running indication for a healthy one or vice-versa.
SteveW
Nearly. Early on, they had to change from slotted post types where the signal arm could freeze into the slot and they also had to mandate that semaphore signals are kept at danger until a train approaches and were then cleared for it.
Colour light signals, on the other hand, go green when the way ahead is clear, regardless of how long it may be until the next train arrives.
Only later (BR days?) did upper quadrant semaphores become the standard and even then, many of the former Great Western lines remained lower quadrant.
SteveW
Probably more to do with Red being conventionally for warnings and prohibitions, while Green is for informative items.
SteveW
I have made a number of visits to hospitals recently - including one last night. The sockets were all switched.
The ones last night were ones where the rocker is flush when off and one set (maybe on an uninterruptible supply?) had red rockers.
SteveW
Ah human factors. I was once told by the "experts" at human factors that a switch had to be operated with a gloved hand in arctic conditions and the protruding type of toggle switch knob was preferred.
Later when speaking to the military personnel who actually had to use the equipment they forcefully suggested that it was the wrong type of switch knob. In vehicles every piece of equipment can be a step to get in/out and a size 10 army boot and protruding toggle knob don't mix and it snaps off. Even with hand held equipment the protruding knob is vulnerable to snapping off in battlefield conditions.
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