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    Dangers of Electricity

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    Faiq Irfan
    Hazards of electricity include damaged insulation, overheating of cables, and contact with damp wires, all of which can cause electrocution. Fuses are safety devices that cut off current flow if it becomes too large due to a fault or surge, preventing overheating or fire. They consist of a glass cylinder containing a thin metal wire that melts when current is too high. Earthing provides an additional safety wire that reduces the risk of electrocution from live wires contacting metal appliance cases by providing a path of least resistance for surges of current, blowing the fuse.

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    Dangers of Electricity

    Uploaded by

    Faiq Irfan
    13 views2 pages
    Hazards of electricity include damaged insulation, overheating of cables, and contact with damp wires, all of which can cause electrocution. Fuses are safety devices that cut off current flow if it becomes too large due to a fault or surge, preventing overheating or fire. They consist of a glass cylinder containing a thin metal wire that melts when current is too high. Earthing provides an additional safety wire that reduces the risk of electrocution from live wires contacting metal appliance cases by providing a path of least resistance for surges of current, blowing the fuse.

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    Hazards of electricity include damaged insulation, overheating of cables, and contact with damp wires, all of which can cause electrocution. Fuses are safety devices that cut off current flow if it becomes too large due to a fault or surge, preventing overheating or fire. They consist of a glass cylinder containing a thin metal wire that melts when current is too high. Earthing provides an additional safety wire that reduces the risk of electrocution from live wires contacting metal appliance cases by providing a path of least resistance for surges of current, blowing the fuse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    13 views2 pages

    Dangers of Electricity

    Uploaded by

    Faiq Irfan
    Hazards of electricity include damaged insulation, overheating of cables, and contact with damp wires, all of which can cause electrocution. Fuses are safety devices that cut off current flow if it becomes too large due to a fault or surge, preventing overheating or fire. They consist of a glass cylinder containing a thin metal wire that melts when current is too high. Earthing provides an additional safety wire that reduces the risk of electrocution from live wires contacting metal appliance cases by providing a path of least resistance for surges of current, blowing the fuse.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Hazards, Fuses & Earthing

    Hazards of Electricity
     Mains electricity is potentially lethal – potential differences as small as 50 volts can pose a serious hazard to
    individuals.

    Signs, like the above, warn of the risk of electrocution

     Common hazards include:



    o Damaged Insulation – If someone touches an exposed piece of wire, they could be subjected to a
    lethal shock.
    o Overheating of cables – Passing too much current through too small a wire (or leaving a long length
    of wire tightly coiled) can lead to the wire overheating. This could cause a fire or melt the
    insulations, exposing live wires.
    o Damp conditions – If moisture comes into contact with live wires, the moisture could conduct
    electricity either causing a short circuit within a device (which could cause a fire) or posing an
    electrocution risk.

    Fuses
     A fuse is a safety device designed to cut off the flow of electricity to an appliance if the current becomes
    too large (due to a fault or a surge).

    The circuit symbol for a fuse – take care not to confuse this with a resistor

     Fuses usually consist of a glass cylinder which contains a thin metal wire.
     If the current in the wire becomes too large:
    o  The wire heats up and melts
    o This causes the wire to break, breaking the circuit and stopping the current.
     Fuses come in a variety of sizes (typically 3A, 5A and 13A) – in order to select the right fuse for the job,
    you need to know how much current an appliance needs.
     If you know the power of the appliance (along with mains voltage), the current can be calculated using the
    equation:
     The fuse should always have a current rating that is higher than the current needed by the appliance, without
    being too high – always choose the next size up.

    Example:

     Suppose an appliance uses 3.1 amps.


    o A 3 amp use would be too small – the fuse would blow as soon as the appliance was switched on.
    o A 13 amp fuse would be too large – it would allow an extra 10 amps to pass through the appliance
    before it finally blew.
    o A 5 amp fuse would be an appropriate choice, as it is the next size up.

    Earthing
     Many electrical appliances have metal cases.
     This poses a potential safety hazard:
    o If a live wire (inside the appliance) came into contact with the case, the case would become
    electrified and anyone who touched in would risk electrocution.
     The earth wire is an additional safety wire that can reduce this risk

    A diagram showing the three wires going to a mains powered appliance: live, neutral and earth

     If this happens:
    o The earth wire provides a low resistance path to the earth.
    o This causes a surge of current in the earth wire and hence also in the live wire.
    o The high current through the fuse causes it to melt and break.
    o This cuts off the supply of electricity to the appliance, making it safe.

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