If you have ever held a charging cable, you might have noticed a strange, round plastic part. But what is it and what does it actually do?
USB charging cables often come with a round part. Most of the time, this part is cylindrical and quite inconspicuous.
Many have probably also noticed that laptops, microphones, and other devices can also function with a USB cable without such a small cylinder on the cable. So why do you even need it if you don’t actually need it?
Plastic part made of ferrite prevents electrical noise
What does the part do? Inside the cylinder on the cable is a ferrite core. The ferrite core acts as a filter that neutralizes the electromagnetic waves before they can be radiated over the cable. You can think of these waves like radio waves that disturb other devices, such as your WLAN on your computer.
Usually, these are two half-cylinders made of iron ferrite that are laid around the cable and filter out high-frequency interference. These are gray-silver when you cut open the cylinder.
The ferrite core is supposed to prevent electrical noise from the connected device from leaking out and affecting other devices that are also connected to the power grid. Ideally, this way you can prevent interference with your WLAN or your microphone.
Your devices will function fundamentally even without the ferrite cylinder, but there is a chance of electrical noise. Many devices are now shielded, but they cannot prevent such magnetic waves.
Such electrical disturbances at the PC happen more often
Such problems are not unusual when you want to play on your computer. For example, a user heard strange voices from his computer that only disappeared after he turned off his speakers.
How significantly such foreign “antennas” can affect things was recently shown by another player. With his drink can, he could always turn off his monitor. You can read the full, crazy story directly here on MeinMMO:
A gamer’s monitor keeps turning off – the culprit is a drink can next to his gaming PC
