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They stop electrical applications like washing machines from harming us if they malfunction.

Suppose something goes wrong and the live wire gets connected to the casing. You are now at risk from a fatal electric shock but the fuse stops this. Because the earthing wire is connected to the case and it offers little resistance energy surges down it. This overloads the fuse which melts thus breaking the circuit and protecting you.

Additional Answer

It should be noted that a fuse or circuit breaker is designed to protect a circuit against an over current. It is not designed to protect people!

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9y ago
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9y ago

A fuse or circuit breakers are used to prevent oerload of a curcuit by the fact that they have a trip in them wich will open the curcuit if it is tripped preventing a curcuit overload in the system it will cut off the power to any wires wired to that curcuit.
if the circuit overloads the amp rating of the breaker it trips thats why it is important not to oversize breakers because if circuit is overloaded it will cause damage to wire

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10y ago

There are many different thicknesses and designs of wires for carrying electrical current, and some wires can carry more than others, so, for a given wiring system, you can determine the maximum amount of electric current that can be safely carried by those wires and then put in a fuse or circuit breaker that will turn off the electricity if the amount of current exceeds that maximum. If this is not done, then there is the possibility that by putting too much electric current in the wires, you can cause the wires to overheat, and if they overheat they may cause a fire, or they may melt their own insulation, which creates a risk of electrocution if you touch the exposed wire.

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15y ago

A fuse is not in the circuit to prevent overloading of a circuit it is there for current limiting protection. A circuit breaker on the other hand has both function available to it. Over load protection through a thermal trip mechanism and current limiting protection through a magnetic trip mechanism.

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Q: Contrast how a fuse and a circuit breaker work to prevent overloading in circuits?
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Related questions

Protects buildings from overloading circuits and fires?

Circut Breaker


In science to prevent overloading in a parallel circuit you could install a what?

you can use a fuse or circuit breaker


The role of the circuit breaker is what?

to prevent a circuit from overloading if too much current flow safely interrupt the circuit if it becomes overloaded


Why won't the receptacle reset?

Check your circuit breaker. The receptacle may be malfunctioning or you may be overloading the circuit when trying to do the reset.


Where can purchase a breaker box?

A breaker box can be bought from many offline retailers such as Home Depot and Walmart and general hardware stores. Online retailers such as Amazon or eBay will also supply them. A breaker box protects your electricity circuits from overloading and will trip out, temporarily breaking the circuit to avoid damage.


What is the purpus of a circute breaker?

The purpose of a circuit breaker is to protect electrical circuits from short circuiting.


Which is the most important device to protect electric circuits from the harm caused by short circuit and overloading?

There are two main devices. One is the circuit breaker. It provides a dual function where in it can detect short circuits with its internal magnetic sensor and overloads with its internal bi metallic strip. The other device is a fuse. It operates by melting a fusible link, that breaks the fault current that is in the circuit, when a high current rush through the fuse.


Why does an electrical kettle switch itself off when the water boils?

Check the wattage or amperage of your kettle. It sounds like you are overloading the circuit. Most circuits will be on a 15 amp breaker. If the circuit has more that one receptacle on it there may be other appliances drawing amps off of the same breaker. To test this theory try the kettle in other parts of the house and see if it trips a different breaker.


Can you have two circuits off one breaker?

No, a breaker is designed to handle the load of only one circuit. Connecting two circuits to one breaker can overload the circuit and potentially lead to electrical hazards such as overheating, tripping the breaker, or causing a fire. Each circuit must have its own dedicated breaker.


How does a circuit breaker help to protect against short circuits and circuit overloads?

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What devices can help protect homes from overloaded circuits?

Circuit breaker or fuse.fuse


What is the switch on a overload?

to protect the source from overloading a switch can be opened as a circuit breaker, fuse, overload protection schemes