Editing 2880: Sheet Bend
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This is the seventh installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #46: The Sheet Bend. At the time of release this was the lowest number used for a cursed connector, | + | {{incomplete|Created by a SHEET BOND - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | This is the seventh installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #46: The Sheet Bend. At the time of release this was the lowest number used for a cursed connector, with #286: [[2507: USV-C]] being the one with the highest number after those seven comics. | ||
− | This comic shows two double-core cables being joined | + | This comic shows two double-core cables being joined to make an electrical connection. Instead of the join being made a conventional way (either by plug/socket connection, both wires being joined in a junction block or even the matching core-wire ends being twisted or soldered together and the joins covered with insulating tape), the diagram shows each core is arranged to be connected to a conductive outer sheath, then the wires themselves being tied together such that the just the respective outer sheaths touch and the connection is completed that way. A wire with two sequential points of connectivity for different signals is vaguely similar to how a coaxial plug (e.g. a so-called {{w|Phone connector (audio)|'phono'}} plug) has two or more bands of connectivity which make contact with a compatible socket, although that plug-end is rigid, and certainly not flexible enough to be tied into a sheet bend, nor could one plug end be easily placed up against another such plug end to extend the connection into another length of cable. |
− | + | Although a fanciful extreme, the ad-hoc bonding of electrical wiring is a scenario commonly encountered by hobby engineers from the last millenium (the target demographic of the comic), who may have experience in electrical soldering and strong knowledge of how devices interconnect, but would be a red-flag in mainstream systems or professional repair. It is not even an easy solution to handling the a broken wire, as extensive modification of the ends would be necessary. That said, a hand-repaired wire can easily break again, and so hobby repairists can come up with solutions such as the tying the cables together to reduce the strain upon the reconnected elements. The proposed solution seems to suggest a ''planned'' connection method that is meant to satisfy both electrical and mechanical connectivity through knot-work, and can appear quite satisfying with regard to how the knot holds the tension of the cable in a way that actually would strengthen the electrical connection (presumably twisting the contact patches tighter) rather than breaking it. | |
− | + | People who use “repair” jobs like this usually retain awareness and experience to continue learning and repairing as further issues develop. | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | This is not the way electrical connections are usually made, as those familiar with larger currents are aware, you might get an electric shock or start a fire from touching the outer side of the wires unless additional insulation is placed around the knot. Most connectors, even those like the relatively exposed {{w|punch-down block}} or {{w|screw terminal block}} types, would use some structural housing (and even {{w|AC power plugs and sockets#Protection from accidental contact|other methods}}) to ensure that the 'live' ends of a socket/plug/hybrid terminator are not trivially contactable to other exposed wires or objects/people, generally according to the relative dangers from, or to, the equipment to which the cable is connected. | |
− | + | The knot is designed to prevent the two connectors from touching, but this guarantee is not that robust. If the knot is not constructed or handled correctly, it could short out the circuit, but also the cable could slip loose (perhaps by insufficient tensioning of the knot, from the start) and the exposed conducting sheaths make other improper/dangerous connections across or beyond the knot itself. In both cases, the connection of the 'connector' would be at least become unreliable, even if it only disconnected the intended contact-points due to slippage – whether or not it became mechanically untied. | |
− | + | The knot used to tie the two halves of the cable is a {{w|sheet bend}}, which is often used to join two ropes of different thicknesses, and explains the name for this type of cursed connector. | |
+ | |||
+ | The title text says that a left handed sheet bend would provide a weaker connection. An actual left handed sheet bend provides less strength to the knot. This makes the title text a pun on the double meaning of "moderate load" (as in a moderate amount of physical tension applied through the cables ''or'' a moderate amount of electrical current passing through them). The difference between a left handed and right handed sheet knot is the free ends of the knots are on the same side in a right handed sheet knot (here both on the bottom side), but on opposite sides in a left handed sheet knot. When there is more tension pressing two conductive surfaces together, there is less resistance between them, strengthening the electrical connection as well. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |