# socket (electrical)

A device with holes that connects a plug to electricity so that a machine can have energy.

- Computed level: L9 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: technology  ·  Arena: E7

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [device](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-device.tool), [holes](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-holes.empty-regions), [connects](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-connects.verb), [plug](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-plug.electrical), [electricity](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-electricity.electrical), [machine](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-machine.constructed-system), [energy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-energy.capacity)

**Through:** A device shaped with holes receives a plug; their touch completes a path along which electricity flows to a machine.

**Novel properties:**
- detachable power connection
- standardized fit
- energy available at a fixed point

## Examples
- The International Space Station uses standardized power sockets to run life-support systems at 28 volts DC. *(engineering)*
- In 1983, the lights stayed on during the World Series because Milwaukee’s stadium had grounded electrical sockets. *(institutions)*
- A MacBook charger plugs into a wall socket providing 120 volts in a Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment. *(everyday life)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-socket.electrical*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-socket.electrical.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*