Sony Z power adapter, really grounded?

In the US, the Sony Z power adapter comes with a grounded cord. Is the adapter truly grounded? I've opened up a Lenovo power adapter or two. Even though, those also ship with 3 prong power cords, the ground pin isn't connected to anything on the inside. Has any opened up their Z power adapter? Is that prong actually used?

I had to snap mine off to get it to fit a two prong plug at a hotel. I'm just wondering if I should get a new 3 prong or just leave it be. Obviously, if it's not connected then there's no reason to.

 

If wiring is correct, ground=neutral, no?

 

ground is ground

 

AFAIK the power ground is used for the filtering, surge protection and EMI reduction elements of the power supply. If the mains ground is not good (or absent altogether - not unheard of in India ), these will not work as expected.

If the ground pin is disconnected, it will float to approx midway between the phase and neutral due to the above-mentioned noise filter capacitors!

 

Live in the USA? Go stare at your electrical box for a while. Your grounds are tied right into the neutrals.

 

from what I remember from my studies:
Ground is the one that should make sure that the devices who use it are always connected to the "0 reference" voltage. meaning that if Someone touches a machine in case of electrical failure, this machine still has the same 0V on it and not the possible electrical failure.

When the neutral is connected to the ground, then all of the machnines casings (that use grond) will have the same Voltage as the electrical failure... meaning it could become dangerous...

Most cases that I have seen have the ground wire connected to a coper pole which is driven deep into the ground.

But Then again, I don`t live in the states, nor did I study there

 

Ground is not the same as neutral. True that neutral can be used as the "ground" but as Fristi said, it should never be connected to the case. That's dangerous. It's also true that in some houses in the US, the ground is connected to neutral. But I don't think that's a current practice anymore. A ground is a ground as in it's tied to the well... ground. Some through a grounding rod, I've seen some to a cold water pipe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_and_neutral

Regardless of whether it's a ground or a neutral or whatever, does anyone know if the "ground" prong is actually attached to anything on the Sony adapter or is it just there for show?

 

^Ground is attached to neutral at the box in modern homes.

You'll have to take the AC adapter apart to figure out if anything's done with the ground prong. It certainly isn't passed through to the laptop (different voltage and only +/- outputs from adapter)...so any lack of ground danger should lie in the adapter itself.

 

strange by our building codes grounds tied to neutral has been against code for 20+ years. the ground wire must be tied to either.

a: a STEEL waterline that at some point meets a minimum depth of 6 feet under grade ( gas lines or other utility lines or conduit is not acceptable )

b: a steel or conductive rod driven or burried to a minimum of 6 feet below grade.

c: a dedicated grounding line located at the transformer pole or substation

agreed, from wht I have some are, some are not

 

IIRC they started giving 3 pronged power adapters when the EU started playing hardball on EMI.

 

I thought that practice was widely eliminated by 1996. I guess 1996 is still "modern" but I think in new construction, a ground is a ground.