Wow, that’s a deep if not Darwin like question. But a good one to ponder.
As with my question on the 60 and 100A
snap covers that have large holes one could stick a finger into that I’m still interested about the lack of industry attention to, yours is also interesting.
But as stated, first, it’s a unlikely type of thing and I’m doubtful you could connect other than the hot to
neutral/
ground sockets in putting pin into a
socket the wrong way. Could be wrong but in also wiring up that 60A
distro and noting the proximity of interior terminals with the crimped ring terminals attached to them I isolated the
ground terminal in making it impossible for an even insulated
ring terminal to touch the
ground inside the box should for some reason that
wire be pulled.
Still on the unlikely event that I assume only the hot pin can go into another
socket - in not testing, that’s where
circuit protection and even
current standards of
GFCI protection get into the effort of saving lives - this in the case that you are touching another say the
neutral pin, resistance after a
filament doesn’t
play a better resistance in you now are the
return path for the
current. Remember that for
current to flow, there has to be supply and
return of least resistance. One pin without
return path, just as two pins of the same
polarity as it were don’t conduct.
In addition to just plugging in that
plug and it has to be in-line (
cord) to in-line (
cord) as
panel mount won’t allow
plug in that way, the second part of it is in
return path. Have to have a
load in need of
return path completing the
circuit and someone or gear say touching that
neutral pin.
Plug a unconnected
plug hot pin into the
neutral and it don’t do anything even if touching the
neutral pin. Don’t try that - just know it don’t conduct because there is not a
filament or machine completing the
circuit.
Next in completing the
circuit, resistance of you or gear in touching that second conducting pin and or what is going on there is a question of the zap. Certainly the
NFPA has recognized that due to stuff falling down a wall conducting with a hot pin or shorting, and or the tendency of kids to place a butter knife between wall
socket and
outlet is important enough to mandate that
ground prongs of an
Edison now get installed up, and if not and horizontal
neutral pins are up.
In the same way but less percentage, you have a valid
point that if some one is doing something stupid as we see in the industry, someone might get shocked before the
breaker trips, or the
GFCI pops assuming they don’t die.
Still though I would think the likelihood of someone doing this and than completing the
circuit in a low resistance enough way is less in percentage than those that take apart live plugs or even in the industry kill breakers by way of shorting to trip the
breaker.
The
stage pin connector - not the proper term for it but the one it became has been around since the 1920's and in many ways was the design concept for most
plug types. Its
spacing once the
ground was added is for the most part safe in this “unless you were to” type way which necessitates both load and touching one of the pins not connected in providing a low resistance path to
ground following the resistance of the load.
Yes, can be done... good thought to be concerned about but I’m not going to loose sleep about someone doing it at this
point though it will be at the back of my mind as an interesting Darwin like concept I never thought of.