A question about the weird box things

[susanne]

Hi guys!

I have kind of a dumb question and so I searched for electricity related forums and found this one. Sorry if I sound really silly, but here goes:

Can anyone please tell me why are these weird box things so common and what do they actually do??
Picture:

Ok, I realized I can't post pics. Just search google images for "cell phone charger" to see what I mean.

Like seriously... why do some of them have to be so enormous? Sometimes it’s a pain to use them if the electrical outlet is in a place that is difficult to reach and other times this weird box thing takes up ALL the slots and so I can’t connect anything next to it! Why is it like that?


If there has to be that weird box thing then why can't they all be like laptop chargers that have 2 separate wires?

The wire that connects to the device could actually be very short, but they should really make the other wire like a regular normal wire so that it doesn’t take up all the space next to it when I connect it to the electrical outlet and it could be connected even if the outlet is in a hard-to-reach place.

So why aren't all of them like that?? Is it more expensive to make them like laptop chargers? I really don't understand.

 

[Lewiiss]

The weird box thing, is the transformer for stepping the voltage down to the correct input for what ever device it's designed for.

 

[mark80]

The weird box thing, is the transformer for stepping the voltage down to the correct input for what ever device it's designed for.

I'm glad you managed to decipher that mate haha!

 

[trev]

OK, I have no real idea what you're talking about but I'm going to have a few stabs in the dark and hope I get some right.

These "wierd box like things" are they the things that connect your mains power( ie what you plug in to) in to useable power (ie charging your mobile phone/ipod etc) If so, these things are known as transformers, what they do is step down what comes out of the sockets (UK 230 volts US (since that's where I'm guessing you are) 110 volts) down to the voltage that your device needs.

They are the size they are because that is how big they need to be, some of them work electronically some don't.

The wire that goes from the charger to the device is as long as it is just for convenience, for example, you would not want to be answering a phone call or a text message bent double over a kitchen worktop because the lead was three inches long.

I hope I got at least one thing right out of all that guess work

It would appear that Lewiiss summed it up far easier than I did

 

[susanne]

Thanks but I still don't understand why they make laptop chargers so much easier to connect to the electrical outlets than all those other ones. The box doesn't directly connect to the oulet, because there's a regular normal wire coming out of the box. Like, can you imagine if you had to connect that huge laptop charger box directly to the oulet?

So, why can't they all be something similar to laptop chargers?

 

[GLENNSPARK]

OK, I have no real idea what you're talking about but I'm going to have a few stabs in the dark and hope I get some right.

These "wierd box like things" are they the things that connect your mains power( ie what you plug in to) in to useable power (ie charging your mobile phone/ipod etc) If so, these things are known as transformers, what they do is step down what comes out of the sockets (UK 230 volts US (since that's where I'm guessing you are) 110 volts) down to the voltage that your device needs.

They are the size they are because that is how big they need to be, some of them work electronically some don't.

The wire that goes from the charger to the device is as long as it is just for convenience, for example, you would not want to be answering a phone call or a text message bent double over a kitchen worktop because the lead was three inches long.

I hope I got at least one thing right out of all that guess work

It would appear that Lewiiss summed it up far easier than I did

trev....its a tardis...

 

[BillyTheSparks]

Thanks but I still don't understand why they make laptop chargers so much easier to connect to the electrical outlets than all those other ones. The box doesn't directly connect to the oulet, because there's a regular normal wire coming out of the box. Like, can you imagine if you had to connect that huge laptop carger box directly to the oulet?

So, why can't they all be something similar to laptop chargers?

It's probably just down to the cost of the extra cable that would be required

 

[GLENNSPARK]

It's probably just down to the cost of the extra cable that would be required

oh aye....they can be spiteful when it comes to cable.....lol...

 

[trev]

Thanks but I still don't understand why they make laptop chargers so much easier to connect to the electrical outlets than all those other ones. The box doesn't directly connect to the oulet, because there's a regular normal wire coming out of the box. Like, can you imagine if you had to connect that huge laptop carger box directly to the oulet?

So, why can't they all be something similar to laptop chargers?

Sometimes there are complicated electronics in the "box" which would make it too bulky to fit dirrectly in to the outlet (socket) so they give you a lead that plugs in then feeds the box (transformer) then a lead to the device which you want to charge.

Why do you worry about it though? if you can plug your device in to the outlet via a box and it all works sometimes it's best just to accept it for what it is. I know that sometimes things can take up a lot of space but is it really that important?

If it all works then don't worry about the mechanics of how it does what it does.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Sometimes there are complicated electronics in the "box" which would make it too bulky to fit dirrectly in to the outlet (socket) so they give you a lead that plugs in then feeds the box (transformer) then a lead to the device which you want to charge.

Why do you worry about it though? if you can plug your device in to the outlet via a box and it all works sometimes it's best just to accept it for what it is. I know that sometimes things can take up a lot of space but is it really that important?

If it all works then don't worry about the mechanics of how it does what it does.

yes...its far to complicated for the fairer of the species to understand...
kettle suzanna love....