User:Ilovewriting2009

How a fuse works

What is a fuse? - A fuse is a cylindrical safety device inserted in electrical circuits. It is a capsule containing a short length wire, made of an alloy of lead and tin. It is mostly inserted in the circuits of appliances, and three-pin plugs that connect to sockets and the appliances.

How does a fuse work? - A fuse always has a limit to the amount of current it can allow in a circuit. The amount of current it can allow is called it rating. There are fuses available that have a rating of 1A, 2A, 5A, 10A, 13A. As mentioned above, each rating allows that amount of current to flow through it in a circuit. So, when a current larger than its rating flows through it, something interesting happens. As the wire in the fuse cannot deal with such larger currents, it starts to over heat from the intense eletcrical current, and melts. When it mwlts, the solid wire starts to deform, and is no longer in the solid shape to touch the metal contacts of the fuse for current flow. Therefore, electrical current will stop flowing, and the circuit breaks.

What is the purpose of the fuse? - The main purpose is to protect the wiring and the appliance. When there is too much current flowing through the circuit, it may cause the appliances to not work, or the wire to start overheating, which may result in electrical fires. Therefore, a fuse helps in breaking the circuit, if a larger current does happen to flow through it, due to the reason mentioned above.