Is there a difference between a mains adapter and a power adapter?

Answer 1

The English term mains electricity usually refers to the general purpose alternating current (AC) electrical power supply. The term is not often used in the USA and Canada. There, mains power has a variety of names: These include household power, household electricity, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, and grid power. So you see, that a mains adapter must be a power adapter.

Answer 2

Yes, there is a difference. A power cord is a simple cable that carries direct AC current. It's the kind of cable you'd use to plug in generic electronic appliances such as a radio or television. A power adapter (also called an AC Adapter) is usually used to convert AC to DC, which is what you'd use to plug in your laptop, and many scanners/printers use them too. The main difference visually is that a power cord will just be a wire wrapped in insulation and a plastic coating while a power adapter will have a box somewhere along the cord that converts the current. If you're looking for more detailed electrical differences between AC and DC I suggest asking that separately because there's much more information about that. In short: the two are very different. The bad news is that they're not interchangeable, the good news is that you can't really break your equipment by using the wrong kind because they're designed to not fit in the wrong place.

Answer 3

Same question already answered, see the related link.

Answer 4

They are the same thing, just two different ways of saying it. Like kleenex and tissue, same thing.