It is good to have some basic knowledge of electricity: volts, watts, cycles, chargers and converters.
There are also adapters needed for plugs (to adapt our three prong plugs to the type used where you are travelling).  They don't change the electricity in any way they just make it so that you can plug into the different electrical outlets.

The plug adapters do not do anything to the actual current.
All they change is the physical configuration of the plug itself.
But without the proper adapter for the country you are in, you won't have access to any electricity.

Tip:  Adapters are often left behind in the socket.  Keep the adapter attached to your appliance, so it won't get left behind.  You may also want to take more than one adapter with you.

In the US, we use 120 volt, 60 cycle.  All of our basic outlets use this type of electricity.  This is what we use for lights and small appliances, including refrigerators, microwaves, hair dryers and most smaller air conditioners. (Electric stoves and some larger air conditioners are different and a separate line is run in our houses just for 220 volts).

In Europe, the electrical service is not quite so standard from country to country.  The voltage varies from about 200 to 240 volts.  There is also a difference in the cycles. Europe's current is 50 cycles, as opposed to the 60 cycles (we use in US).  In order to use European current with our appliances you need to use a transformer to change the voltage. But, the transformer does not change the cycles.  Some things (like alarm clocks, old fashioned record players, cassette players, etc.) turn at a speed that is related to the cycles.  These will not necessarily work properly even with a transformer.

Just in case you are not confused enough, there is also a difference between alternating current (AC) with cycles;  and direct current (DC).  The electricity that comes from our house wiring is AC.  Batteries produce DC. Some things have a built-in transformer that adjusts the voltage and also changes the current from AC to DC.  This is the little square box on the end of the cord.  Chargers usually have this kind of transformer.  They often have something like "9V DC" on them.  Answering machine, cell phone charger, computer speakers and a few other things seem to be plugged into the 120 V 60 cycle outlet but in reality the transformer automatically changes the electricity for them.

FYI:  You don't need to worry about watts (power).  We measure the amount of  electricity that an appliance needs in watts.  Wattage is how we buy light bulbs.  Just remember that the more watts that an appliance needs, the higher its electrical demand.  Hair driers, and other things with heat coils, use a lot of electricity.

"Know before you go."  You will either have appliances that you can't plug in, or you can ruin your appliances if you don't know what you are doing. 
 

[This page was inspired by emails from my friend, Sarah from NY, who had a wonderful ability to explain the complexities of electricity so clearly. She had a passion for travel, and enjoyed camping in the USA as well as travelling to Israel or Italy.]


Additional information for those using battery operated scooters:
The scooter is a must for me at this stage of my life.  We were pleased to find plenty of places to charge it in the hotel rooms and even on many of the trains.  We did have some trouble since we were not always able to give the scooter battery a full charge.  But, it still got me through many train stations and walking tours of many places along the way.  John found the Radio Shack converter dropped the voltage to about 77 volts rather than the 110 volts needed by our battery charger.  Having a good converter makes a lot of difference.  It seems to be a universal problem for many people travelling with scooters.  John plans to built our own converter next time we travel with the scooter abroad.  What the electronic stores, like Radio Shack, sell is a converter (dropping resistor) and what you need is a step down transformer.  If you aren't sure, consult with your scooter manufacturer to see if it has a dual battery charger that can be set for 110 or 220 volts.

Check it all out before you go and make sure you understand your scooter, and how to charge it.
Otherwise, your scooter will be a liability rather than a help.


In much of Europe the electricity is 220 volts, 50 cycle.  But,  check before you go...

World Electrical Guide: http://kropla.com/electric.htm#general
There is a link to Magellans from there, or use the link below:

Magellans has great  information and pictures of the plugs listed by country.
http://www.magellans.com/store/Electrical?Args=

Magellans also have a nice assortment of converters, transformers, and chargers as well as the various plugs.  I found the information very valuable.  They have a nice catalog where I first saw the electrical information in a chart by countries, and that is very nice to have.

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