Name: Edgar I.

Pural Date: 01-31-2020

C/Y/S: BSE-Science TED2 Subject: Thermodynamics

How fuses work

Photo: Inside a fuse. If you break open

a cartridge fuse, this is what you'll
find: a thin conducting wire in the
middle, to carry the current,
surrounded by quite a thick,
insulating, ceramic casing. The
ceramic is designed to protect the
plug (or other equipment inside
which the fuse is fitted) from heat
and fire when a high current flows.

You probably know that wires get hot when electricity travels through them.
That's how ordinary, incandescent lamps work. Electricity flows through a very
thin wire called a filament making it so hot that it gives off light. The same idea
is at work in an electric toaster. Here, electricity flows through a series of thin
metal ribbons, making them so hot that they produce enough heat to cook
bread. A fuse is exactly the same. It's a thin piece of wire designed to carry a
limited electrical current. If you try to pass a higher current through the wire, it'll
heat up so much that it burns or melts. When it melts, it breaks the circuit it's
fitted to and stops the current flowing.

We fit fuses in different places in our homes. In some countries, such as the UK,
fuses are fitted into plugs on every appliance that connects to an electrical
outlet. Different appliances draw different amounts of current, so an electric
toaster will need a higher fuse (typically 13 amp) than an electric light (usually
just 3 amp).
How Does an Electrical Switch Work?

Electricity is an amazing and abundant power source. Its process takes place on
a molecular level where atoms and electrons live. Currents form when electrons
move in a flow. For electricity to flow through a household, the current has to
travel through circuits. Circuits are made up of a power source and a load. A load
is the device that receives the power, like a lamp, or a television. The role of the
electrical switch is to regulate the current that travels between the load and the
power source. The power source is what pushes the electrons through the
circuits. The amount of force or pressure applied by the power source is known
as the voltage. Power sources must have a positive and a negative terminal. The
negative terminal is wired to connect with the load, and drives the electrons
through the circuit. The load receives the current, then sends it back to the
power source through the positive terminal. The electrical switch is inserted
within this loop.

How Does a Circuit Breaker Work?

Inside a CB we find a couple of key components, The actuator mechanism,

contacts, the terminals where we make the wire connections, thermal
magnetic strip and the lever that we use to turn the CB on or off and reset in
case it trips.
Now suppose you have too many appliances running on one outlet which are
creating a situation where the current draw of the appliances exceeds the
average current rating of the circuit breaker. This overcurrent condition heats
up the bimetallic element, changing its shape to the point where it releases the
lever, trips the CB and interrupts our circuit.

Before fault

After fault

So you can see that spring is what holds these components together. In case of
fault or overcurrent there is so much current passing through that trip and it
creates a strong magnetic field, that pulls that lever and open it almost
instantly. This entire event takes merely some milliseconds.