Electric fuses are used in household circuits primarily to ___________.
Interrupt the circuit if excessive current flows
A fuse is a short length of wire made of a low-melting-point alloy, connected in series with the live wire of a household circuit.
When the current exceeds the rated safe value due to a short circuit or overload, the heating effect (I2R) melts the fuse wire and breaks the circuit, cutting off supply to the appliances.
Fuses do not generate, store, or reduce voltage; supplying extra electricity is done by generators, storage is done by batteries or capacitors, and voltage reduction is achieved by transformers or resistors.
Hence, an electric fuse interrupts the circuit whenever excessive current flows through it.
Similar Questions
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Important Questions from Current Electricity
- In a parallel combination of resistors, which of the following quantities remains the same across all the resistors?
- Which of the following statements is/are true for a domestic circuit?
(i) All the appliances are connected in parallel.
(ii) The live wire in the domestic circuit has green insulation on it.
(iii) A fuse connected to the circuit allows excessive current to pass through the appliances.
(iv) The neutral wire in the domestic circuits has black insulation on it. A science teacher asks students to measure the current through a bulb using an ammeter. What precaution must the students follow?
- Which characteristic of parallel circuits makes them advantageous over series circuits for connecting multiple electrical gadgets in a house?
- In a domestic electric circuit, the main purpose of a FUSE is ________.
