There are six intert gases in all.

•ARGON is widely used in order to provide the necessary inert atmosphere. This inert
atmosphere plays an important role in welding titanium, aluminum, stainless steel,
and magnesium. It is also used in the production of titanium.
•HELIUM is used in nuclear reactors as a cooling gas and used as a flow-gas in liquid-gas
chromatography. It finds its application in airships and helium balloons.
•NEON is used in discharge tubes which is the reason behind the reddish-orange glow
produced by neon lights.
•XENON find its application in photographic flash units due to the generation of a very
bright light. It is also used in lighthouses.
•KRYPTON is used in some types of photographic flashes used in high speed photography.
Some fluorescent light bulbs are filled with a mixture of krypton and argon gases. Krypton
gas is also combined with other gases to make luminous signs that glow with a greenish-
yellow light.
•RADON decays into radioactive polonium and alpha particles. This emitted radiation made
radon useful in cancer therapy. Radon was used in some hospitals to treat tumours by
sealing the gas in minute tubes, and implanting these into the tumour, treating the disease
in situ.
Recently, a new noble gas has been prepared in the laboratory. It is called ununoctium and
is the heaviest element in the periodic table. However, it has no uses except scientific
research as it is available in extremely less quantity on our planet and huge amount of
energy is spent to make it in laboratory.

What are fuses?

A Fuse or an Electric Fuse is an Electrical / Electronic device that protects the circuit from
different electrical faults like over current and overload. Fuses can be considered as a
sacrificial element in the circuit as they act as a weak link in the entire circuit.

Fuse circuit diagram

Fuse symbol

Why do we Need Fuse?

Fuses are used for the prevention of home appliances from the short circuit and damage by
overload or high current etc. If we don’t use fuses, electrical faults occur in the wiring and it
burns the wire and electric appliances and may starts fire at home. The lives of television,
computers, radios and other home appliances may also put at risk. When the fuse goes, a
sudden spark occurs which may lead to turning your home into sudden darkness by
disconnecting the power supply which saves any further mishappenings. That’s why we need
fuses to protect our home appliances from harm.

How Does Fuse work?

The fuses work on the principle of the heating effect of the current. It’s made up of thin strip
or strand of metallic wire with noncombustible material. This is connected between the ends
of the terminals. Fuse is always connected in series with the electrical circuit.
When the excessive current or heat is generated due to heavy current flows in the circuit, the
fuse melts down due to the low melting point of the element and it opens the circuit. The
excessive flow may lead to the breakdown of wire and stops the flow of current. The fuse can
be replaced or changed with the new one with suitable ratings. The fuse can be made up of
the element like zinc, copper, silver &aluminum. They also act as a circuit breaker which is
used to break the circuit when the sudden fault occurs in the circuit. This is not only a
protector but it is also used as a safety measure to prevent humans from hazards. So, this is
how the fuse operates. Here is the figure is shown fuse operation, fuse barrel(container), fuse
link.
 Fuse working operation

Characteristics of Fuses

There are some of the important characteristics of the fuses in the electrical and electronic
system which are as follows:-
 Current Rating: The continuously conducting maximum amount of current holds the fuse
without melting it is termed as current ratings. It is the current carrying capacity, which is
measured in Amperes. This is the thermal characteristics.
Current(Cin)=75%Current (rating)

 Voltage Rating: In this characteristic, the voltage connected in series with fuse does not
increase voltage rating. i.e.,
V(fuse) >V(open ckt)

 I2t Rating: This is the amount of energy which is carried by fuse element when there is an
electrical fault or some short circuit happens. It measures the heat energy(energy due to
current flow) of fuse & it is generated when fuse has blown.

 Interrupting or Breaking Capacity: It is the maximum rating of current without harm

interrupt by the fuse is known as breaking or interrupting capacity of the fuse.
Breaking capacity > maximum rated voltage
Breaking capacity <short ckt current

 Voltage Drop: When excessive current flows, the fuse element melts and opens the circuit.
Due to this resistance change and the voltage drop will become lesser.

 Temperature: In this, the operating temperature will be higher, therefore the current
rating will be lesser, so the fuse melts.
 Fuse characteristic
This graph shows the temperature versus the current carrying capacity of the fuse.In this
process, at the point where three lines meet at 25 degrees Celsius, the current carrying
capacity of the fuse will be 100% and after some time the current capacity decreases at slow
blow fuse, it will also decrease up to 82% at 65 degrees C. This results that, increase in
temperature will decrease the current carrying capacity of the fuse.

Classification of Fuses

Now we are discussing about different types of fuses. They are divided into two parts AC
Fuses & DC Fuses. Further, they are divided into many categories given in the flowchart
below:-

Classification of Fuse
Different Types of Fuses
Fuses are invented first by “Thomas Alva Edison” but nowadays many types of fuses are
available in the market. Generally, there are two types of fuses:-
 DC Fuses: DC fuses have larger in size. DC supply has constant value above 0V so it is hard
to neglect and turn off the circuit and there is a chance of an electric arc between melted
wires. To overcome this, electrodes placed at larger distances and because of this the size
of DC fuses get increased.
 AC Fuses: AC fuses are smaller in size. They oscillated 50-60 times in every second from
minimum to maximum. So there is no chance of Arc between the melted wires. Hence they
can be packed in small size.

AC fuses are further categorized into two parts, i.e., Low voltage fuses and High voltage fuses.

1. Low Voltage Fuses (LV)

 Cartridge Type Fuses: It is the type of fuses in which they have totally closed containers &
has the contact i.e., metal besides.

Cartridge Type Fuses

Cartridge Type Fuses are of two types:-

1. D-Type Cartridge Fuses:- It is composed of the cartridge, fuse base, cap & adapter ring.
The fuse base has the fuse cap, which is fitted with the fuse element with cartridge through
adapter ring. The circuit is completed when the tip of the cartridge makes contact with the
conductor.
2. Link Type Or HRC(High Rupturing Capacity) Fuses:- In this type of fuse, the flow of current
by fuse element is given under normal condition. To control the arc which is produced by
fuse blown we use the fuse which is made up of porcelain, silver &ceramic. The fuse
element container filled with silica sand. The HRC type is again divided into two parts that
are:-
 Blade Type/Plug-in Type:- The body of this fuse is made up of plastic and it is easily
replaceable in the circuit without any load.
 Bolted Type:- In this type of fuse, the conducting plates are fixed to the fuse base.

 Rewireable/ Kit-Kat Type:- In this type of fuse, the main advantage is that the fuse carrier
is easier to remove without having any electrical shock or injury. The fuse base acts as an
incoming and outgoing terminal which is made up of porcelain & fuse carrier is used to
hold the fuse element which is made up of tin, copper, aluminum, lead, etc. This is used in
domestic wiring, small industries etc.
 Rewireable Kit-Kat Type Fuse

 Striker Type Fuses:- In this type of fuse, it is used for closing and tripping the circuit. They
are having enough force and displacement.

 Switch Type Fuses:- In this type of fuse, basically metal enclosed of a switch and a fuse and
is far used for low and medium voltage level.

 Drop Out Fuses:- In this type of fuse, the melting of fuse causes the element to drop under
gravity about its lower support. They are made for the protection of outdoor transformers.

Drop Out Fuse

2. High Voltage Fuses (HV):-
All types of high voltage fuses are used upon the rated voltage up to 1.5 Kv to 138 Kv. High
voltage fuses are used to protect the instrument transformers & small transformers. It is
made up of silver, copper & tin. When heat generated, the arc produces which causes the
boric acid to evolve high amount of gases. That’s why these are used in outdoor places.

These are of three types which are as follows:-

 Cartridge Type HRC Fuses:- It is similar to low voltage type, only some designing features
are different.

Cartridge Type HRC Fuses

 Liquid Type HRC Fuses:- These are used for circuit up to 100A rated current& systems up
to 132Kv. These fuses have the glass tube filled with carbon tetrachloride. The one end of
the tube is packed and another is fixed by phosphorous bronze wire. When fuse operation
starts, the liquid uses in the fuse extinguish the arc. This increase the short circuit capacity.

Liquid Type HRC Fuse

 Expulsion Type HRC Fuses:- It is the escapable fuse, in which expulsion effect of gases
produced by internal arcing. In this, the fuse link chamber is filled with boric acid for
expulsion of gases.

 Resettable Fuses:- It is the type of fuse, commonly known as self-resetting fuses which
uses a thermoplastic conductive type thermistor known as Polymeric Positive
Temperature Coefficient (PPTC). If a fault occurs. Current increases, temperature also
increase. The increase in resistance is due to increase in temperature. The applications
where it is used are military and aerospace where replacement is not possible.

Resettable Fuses

Applications

The fuses are the most important part of electrical and electronics system and circuits. Here
are some applications in which fuses are used, i.e.,
 They are used in home distribution boards, general electrical appliances, and devices.
 They are used in gaming consoles and all automobiles such as car, trucks and other
vehicles.
 They are also used in laptops, cell phones, printers, scanners, portable electronics, hard
disk drives.
 In the electrical distribution system, you will find fuses in capacitors, transformers, power
converters, motor starters, power transformers.
 They are used in LCD monitors, battery packs, etc.

Kalpana Chawla flew on two shuttle missions.

The tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia killed seven astronauts. One of those, Kalpana
Chawla, was the first Indian-born woman in space.

Born in Karnal, India, on July 1, 1961, Chawla was the youngest of four children. The name
Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full name is pronounced CULL-puh-na CHAV-
la, though she often went by the nickname K.C.
Chawla obtained a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College
before immigrating to the United States and becoming a naturalized citizen in the 1980s. She
earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1988, having
 previously obtained her masters degree from the University of Texas. She began working at
NASA's Ames Research Center the same year, working on power-lift computational fluid
dynamics.

In 1994, Chawla was selected as an astronaut candidate. After a year of training, she became
a crew representative for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches, where
she worked with Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and tested software for the space
shuttles.

Chawla's first opportunity to fly in space came in November 1997, aboard the space
shuttle Columbia on flight STS-87. The shuttle made 252 orbits of the Earth in just over two
weeks. The shuttle carried a number of experiments and observing tools on its trip, including
a Spartan satellite, which Chawla deployed from the shuttle. The satellite, which studied the
outer layer of the sun, malfunctioned due to software errors, and two other astronauts from
the shuttle had to perform a spacewalk to recapture it.
Disaster strikes

In 2000, Chawla was selected for her second voyage into space, serving again as a mission
specialist on STS-107. The mission was delayed several times, and finally launched in 2003.
Over the course of the 16-day flight, the crew completed more than 80 experiments.

On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle returned to Earth, intending to land at
Kennedy Space Center. At launch, a briefcase-sized piece of insulation had broken off and
damaged the thermal protection system of the shuttle's wing, the shield that protects it from
heat during re-entry. As the shuttle passed through the atmosphere, hot gas streaming into the
wing caused it to break up. The unstable craft rolled and bucked, pitching the astronauts
about. Less than a minute passed before the ship depressurized, killing the crew. The
shuttle broke up over Texas and Louisiana before plunging into the ground. The accident was
the second major disaster for the space shuttle program, following the 1986 explosion of the
shuttle Challenger.
The entire crew of seven was killed. In addition to Chawla, the crew included:

 Commander Rick D. Husband

 Pilot William C. McCool
 Payload Commander Michael P. Anderson
 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut
 Mission Specialists David M. Brown and Laurel B. Clark
Over the course of her two missions, Chawla logged 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes in
space. After her first launch, she said, "When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel
that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system."

SUNITA WILLIAMS-

Sunita Williams who holds the records for longest single space flight by women, maximum
spacewalks by women and most spacewalk time for a women will be celebrating her 53rd
birthday on 19th September. She has proven to be a twinkling star on Earth. Let’s know her
successful story…
About early life
Sunita Lyn Williams is an American astronaut and United State Navy officer of Indian-
Slovenian descent. She was born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio in USA to an Indian
American neuroanatomist Mr. Deepak Pandya and Mrs. Bonnie Pandya.
Early Career
Williams received her commission in the United States Navy in May 1987 as a Basic Diving
Officer.
In September 1992 she was the Officer-in-Charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami,
Florida and from there she was selected for United States Naval Test Pilot School as an
 Instructor in the Rotary Wing Department and the school’s Safety Officer. There she flew the
UH-60, OH-6 and the OH-58. From there she was assigned as the Aircraft Handler and the
Assistant Air Boss.
Williams was deployed on Saipan in June 1998 when she was selected by NASA for the
astronaut program. Before selected by NASA she has logged more than 3000 flight hours in
more than 30 aircraft types.
Career at NASA
Sunita Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space center in
August 1998. She was the part of the following expeditions.
 Expedition 14 and 15

On December 9, 2006 she was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with STS-
116, aboard the space shuttle Discovery to join the Expedition 14 crew.
In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to Expedition 15. After
launching aboard the Shuttle Discovery.
She performed her first extra-vehicular activity on the eighth day of the STS-116 mission.
On January 31, February 4 and February 9, 2007 she completed 3 more space walks from
the ISS and in her third spacewalk she was outside the station for 6 hours and 40 minutes.
She logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in 4 spacewalks.
On April 26, 2007 NASA decided to bring Williams back to Earth on STS-117 mission aboard
Atlantis. She served as a mission specialist and returned to Earth on June 22, 2007 and when
the Atlantis touched the earth at 3:49p.m. EDT in California, Williams was at home after a
record 192 day stay in Space.
 Expedition 32 and 33
She again took a spaceflight on July 15, 2012 as a part of Expedition 32/33. Her Russian
spacecraft Soyuz docked with the ISS for a four month stay. Williams became the
commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33 on September 17, 2012,
being only the 2nd women to achieve that feat.
She returned to the Earth on November 19, 2012.
 Commercial crew members
In July 2015, NASA announced Williams as one of the first astronauts for U.S. Commercial
spaceflights. Subsequently, she had started working with Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX’s
Dragon to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with other three astronauts.
Records
In her two space missions she had set numerous records and achieved several milestones.
Some of them are following:
 Maximum number of space walks by women – Seven
 Most spacewalk time for women – 50 hours and 40 minutes
 Spent a total of 322 days in space on two missions and ranks 6th on the all-time U.S.
endurance list and 2nd all time for a female astronaut.
 Holds the record of longest spaceflight (195 days) for female space travelers.
 Awards and Honors
Sunita Williams had also been awarded with the following awards
 Awarded Navy Commendation Medal (2)
 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

 Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards…

Connection with India
The paternal ancestry of Sunita Williams is from Jhulasan, Mehsana district in Gujarat.
In September 2007, Williams visited India. She went to the Sabarmati Ashram and her
ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat.
She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati
Society, the first person of Indian descent who was not an Indian citizen to be presented the
award.

Rakesh Sharma – First Indian in Space

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in Space. He was born on 13th January
1949 in Punjab, India. He flew to the Salyut 7 Space Station.
Biography

Rakesh Sharma was born on 13th January 1949 in Punjab, India.

Rakesh completed his early education at St. Goerge’s Grammer School, Hyderabad,
India.

Later In 1966, Rakesh joined as an Air Force Cadet in NDA.

In 1970, Rakesh was appointed as Pilot Officer in the Indian Air Force.

Born On: January 13th, 1949

Born In: Patiala in India
Career: Test Pilot and Cosmonaut

Timeline
1949: Rakesh Sharma was born in Patalia into a Punjabi family.
1966: He joined the National Defense Academy as an Air Force trainee.
1970: Appointed as a test pilot by Indian Air Force.
1971: Rakesh Sharma flew the Mikoyan-Gurevich, a Russian jet.
1984: He was a part of a space mission owing to which he became the first man to
travel to space.
2006: He took part in a space conference held by ISRO.

India sent its first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, aboard Soviet spacecraft Salyut 7 in
April 1984.

Early life

Rakesh Sharma was born on January 13, 1949 in Patiala, Punjab, India.
Rakesh studied at St. George’s Grammar School, Hyderabad, India.

In 1966, Rakesh Joined As An Air Force Cadet in NDA.

In 1970, Rakesh Was Appointed As Pilot Officer In The Indian Air Force.

Sharma joined the Indian Air Force in 1970 as a pilot officer after joining the NDA as
an IAF cadet in 1966.

He joined the National Defense Academy (NDA) as an Air Force cadet in July 1966.

In 1970 he was commissioned into the Indian Air Force to become a pilot.

Sharma joined the Indian Air Force and progressed rapidly through the ranks.

In the 1971 War, Sharma flew missions is MiG aircraft with considerable success.

A few years later he retired from the Indian Army as a Wing Commander to become
a part of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as a test pilot. He was posted in the
Nashik Division. He then shifted to National Flight Test Center (NFTC) in Bangalore
and began to work on Light Combat Aircraft program, along with a few others.

Career

In 1970, after joining the Indian Air Force as a test pilot, his passion for flying
opened up several opportunities such as being a part of war operations against
Pakistan. He flew various Mikoyan-Gurevich aircrafts starting from 1971. Rakesh
swiftly progressed through many levels and in 1984 he was appointed as the
Squadron Leader and pilot of the Indian Air Force.

He was a squadron leader with the Indian Air Force, when he flew into space in 1984
as part of a joint programme between the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) and the Soviet Intercosmos space program.

Sharma, then a Squadron Leader and pilot with the Indian Air Force embarked on a
historic mission in 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space
Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program, and spent eight
days in space aboard the Salyut 7 space station.

Space Mission

He spent eight days in space on board the Salyut 7 space station (Soviet/Russian).
He joined two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft which
blasted off on April 2, 1984.
Rakesh Sharma was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to undergo training with
the Russians as part of their space programme.

He was selected on 20th September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and was trained
for 18 months for the eight-day trip. In 1984 he became the first Indian citizen to go
into space when he flew aboard the Russian rocket Soyuz T-11. The take-off from
Baikonur in Moscow on April 2, 1984 was a high point in Indo-Soviet relations. The
Soyuz IT – 11 docked and transferred the three-member Soviet-Indian international
crew which also included the Ship’s Commander Y.V. Malyshev and Flight Engineer
G.M. Strekalov (USSR) to the SALYUT-7 Orbital Station. The crew spent seven days
aboard the Salyut Space Station during which they conducted scientific and technical
studies, which included 43 experimental sessions.

The one thing that cosmonauts are trained the most is to cope with is zero gravity.
For example, Sharma, who recently gave a lecture in Bangalore on the kind of
training that is given to astronauts, recalled that they were all made to sleep with
their heads lower than their feet. Sharma says that six months before the launch, he
dropped the fitness regime that the other cosmonauts were following and did
intensive yoga. This was to assess whether yoga helps people cope better with the
lack of gravity. His work was mainly in the flelds of biomedicine and remote sensing.

He was launched with 2 cosmonauts’ _________________ along with two Soviet

cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 3 April 1984. Sharma was 35-year-old. at the
time. Rakesh along with the Soviet Cosmonauts spend 7 days, 21 hours and 40
minutes (Appx. Eight days) in space and board the Salyut 7 space station, a low
earth orbit space station, conducting an earth observation programme concentrating
on India. He also did life sciences and materials processing experiments, including
silicium fusing tests. He is also reported to have experimented with practicing Yoga
to deal with the effects of prolonged orbital spaceflight.

While Rakesh was in space, he was asked by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
on a famous conversation, who asked him how does India look from space, Rakesh
replied “Saare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan Hamara” meaning ‘Our land of Hindustan,
is the Best in the world’.

Rakesh Sharma immortalised himself in Indian History and made his way into many
Indians hearts by his answer to the then PM Indira Gandhiji’s question on how India
looked from outer space. He replied “Saare Jahan Se Achha” (The Best in the
World). That was also a proud moment for millions of Indian TV viewers who
watched India become the 14th nation to send a man to outer space.

He was conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union upon his return from
space. The Government of India conferred its highest gallantry award (during peace
time), the Ashoka Chakra on him and the other two Soviet members of his mission.

He retired with the rank of Wing Commander. He joined the Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited in 1987 and served as Chief Test Pilot in the HAL Nashik Division until 1992,
before moving on to Bangalore to work as the Chief Test Pilot of HAL. He retired
from test flying in 2001.

In 2006, Sharma took part in a conference involving a gathering of the best

scientists of ISRO, who were responsible for one of India’s space missions.
Currently, he has retired from his services and is now the chairperson for the
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