This isn't necessarily the case. Although the earth pin of a British plug is positioned at the top, it's the opposite case in North America, where the 'ground' pin is located at the bottom!
I've heard it argued that the reason that North American plugs have their pin at the bottom is because, if the cable is dragged out of its socket due to the weight of the cable (remember cables extend horizontally from US-style plugs), then the ground pin will be the last to disconnect -but whether this is true or not, I cannot say.
No, it is not ok, it is potentially very dangerous because the two-wire cable has no earth with it. The earth wire is an important safety component that comes with a three-pin plug. An exception can be made for certain low-power appliances that have double insulation. This includes TV sets, radios, and table lights provided the mounting is plastic and not metal. These appliances are commonly sold with a twin-wire cable but often with a three-pin plug on the end of it. The three-pin plug in this case often has a plastic 'earth' pin and it is safe to replace it with a two-pin plug.
The three pin plug is grounded (provided the receptacle is wired correctly).
To fit a 3-pin socket. The three pins are live, neutral and earth, which must not be confused.
On a UK three pin plug the two smaller prongs are Live (brown) and Neutral (blue). The Larger pin is for the Earth wire. This can prevent you getting an electric shock
UK answer only: Yes but you need a three-pin to two-pin adaptor. Alternatively fit a three-pin plug to the light and leave the earth pin disconnected. This can only be done if the lamp already has a two-wire cable fitted to it, anything else is potentially dangerous.
Would that be the smallest pin. To answer this question the specifications of the plug will be needed.
-wire can be taken straight to the pin and not positioned in plastic 'valley' (usually mistake made in earth wire) -wire cut when outer cable is removed -cable grip clamped onto three wires instead of cable -loose copper wires visible.
The earth pin is longer in a three pin plug so that when being plugged it it makes contact to ground the equipmemt before the other pins make the equipment live. If the equipment has a fault, the earth circuit is already in place to deal with it.
The third pin usually on the bottom is the pin that goes to the ground/earth.See Sources and Links below.AnswerIt really depends on what type you plug you are using. From your use of the word. 'earth' (rather than 'ground'), you may be referring to the plugs used in the UK, Ireland, and places like Malta, Cyprus, and the Gulf States? If so, then the earth pin is the longest of the three, and located at the top of the plug. Some European plugs don't use an earth pin at all -in Germany, for example, they use a pair of contacts located in the moulded recesses located on each side of the plug.
The 3 pin plug is used to connect (and eventually disconnect) various devices requiring an AC power supply to and from the main power supply.As the name suggests, the 3 pin plug consists of three pins :-Longer one, usually on the top for most standard plugs : is the earth [ E ]Left pin (Usually) : is the Line connection [ L ]Right pin (Usually) : is neutral [ N ]Next to the pins, on the plug, the three pins and their respective function is given by E, L and N.
In a standard three-pin plug, the hot wire (live wire) is typically connected to the right pin when looking at the plug with the pins facing away from you. The left pin is usually the neutral wire, while the top pin is the earth (ground) wire. However, it's important to check local wiring standards, as they can vary by country.
The ground pin or earth pin is the uppermost pin on your plug. It's purpose is to provide a safety barrier between you and the supply in the event of an overload or in case of an accident.