system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do power bars provide enough power to each thing that is plugged into them?

Some power bars have more outlets than others. How does a power bar provide enough power to any number of things that are plugged into it?
gpt
The power bar is basically a splitter, it's taking all the power in through one cord and dividing it out among the outlets. They are limited to the amount they can flow through the main cord, and to the capacity of the circuit they're connected to. 

Going the other way, to each connected device the power bar "looks like" the wall plug...they can't tell. The power bar just adds all the power demands from all the connected devices and that's what it pulls from the wall.

If you try to draw too much power through the power bar, it will either trip its own internal circuit breaker (to protect the power bar) or the main circuit breaker will trip (to protect your wall wiring). The power bar does \*not\* change the power capability of the main circuit, it just gives you more outlets to plug into.