The Europlug is a flat, two-pole, round-pin domestic AC power plug, rated for voltages up to 250 V and currents up to 2.5 A. It is a compromise design intended to connect low-power Class II appliances safely to the many different forms of round-pin domestic power socket used across Europe. However, it is not compatible with the rectangular-pin BS 1363 sockets found in Cyprus, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom. Europlugs are non-rewirable and must be supplied attached to a power cord. History The Europlug design, intended for use with socket-outlets meeting other standards, appeared first in 1963 as Alternative II of Standard Sheet XVI in the second edition of CEE Publication 7 by the contributing members of Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia. The Europlug is therefore sometimes also referred to as the "CEE 7/16 Alternative II plug" or simply as the "CEE 7/16 plug". It was also described in 1975 as plug C5 in IEC Technical Report 83. In 1990 it was defined by Cenelec standard EN 50075 which has national equivalents in most European countries, as described in IEC 60083 which superseded IEC/TR 83 (and no longer uses the C5 designation). The Europlug is unusual as the standard specifies only a plug; there is no socket-outlet designed specifically for use with it. Design considerations The dimensions of the Europlug were chosen for compatibility and safe use, such that with continental European domestic power sockets reliable contact is established when the plug is fully inserted; no live conductive parts are accessible while the plug is inserted into each type of socket; it is not possible to establish a connection between one pin and a live socket contact while the other pin is accessible. Additionally, the design allows for a more compact and less bulky design of mobile phone chargers, than the BS 1363 form factor in the UK. Europlugs are only designed for low-power (less than 2.5 A) Class II (double-insulated) devices that operate at normal room temperature and do not require a protective-earth connection. Details The pins of the Europlug are 19 mm long. They consist of a 9 mm long conductive tip of 4 mm diameter with a rounded ending, followed by a 10 mm long flexible insulated shaft of not more than 3.8 mm diameter.