Ground Plug Adapter

An earth ground connection is available in most modern laboratories via the third prong on the power receptacle for the local power system.  The power system infrastructure for a laboratory building usually has a long metal probe buried in the earth, and the third prong of the electrical outlets in the building wiring is connected to this earth connection.  Many scientific instruments have a three-prong power cord, which brings the earth ground connection to the instrument’s power supply.  Depending on the design of the instrument, the earth ground connection may or may not pass through the power supply to the circuitry inside the instrument.

If necessary for a given experimental arrangement, a separate and deliberate connection to earth ground can be employed and done easily with the ground plug adapter.

In general, a connection to earth ground need only be made if it helps to reduce (or, at least, has no effect on) the amount of noise in the electrochemical signals being measured.  In some laboratory environments and for certain types of experiments (e.g., AC methods), making a connection to earth ground may actually increase the amount of signal noise.  Some trial-and-error experimentation may be necessary to decide whether or not to make a connection to earth ground.