What does an electric circuit mean?

Answer 1

Current is supplied through metal, usually copper wires. Wiring within a typical house is divided into several circuits. Thus a group of lights in a room or group of rooms may be on a circuit. Also a group of power sockets (into which you can plug in toasters, radios, TV's etc.) may form a circuit. A clothes washer may be on a separate circuit. The clothes dryer may be on a separate circuit. The central Air Conditioning unit cum heating unit may be on a separate circuit. The electric stove and oven may be on a separate circuit and so on. The reason for segmenting the circuits is safety, cost, and Electrical Codes established by the government. Remember also that each of the circuits has its own circuit breaker. The current carrying capacity of a wire depends on its diameter. If the diameter is large it can carry more current. However bigger the diameter, more expensive is the wire. The architect and builder must first estimate the total amperes that will nominally be used by the house and ask the power company to provide say 100 Amp service or 200 Amp service etc. The power company will then provide wires and circuitry to the power box just outside the house capable of supporting that required amperes. The architect and the builder will then design circuits within the house to support the different appliances. Low consumption lights and fans may be on one circuit (smaller diameter wires) with its own circuit breaker for safety. High current consuming appliances will usually be on separate circuits (bigger diameter wires) with their own circuit breakers, again for safety. Now if you plug in an electric stove cum oven into a circuit designed and designated for lights, you will overload the circuit and hopefully the circuit breaker on the lights circuit will pop and cut off the current. If this safety feature was not there, then the light circuit which was designed to carry less current (small diameter wire) will now have to carry a much larger current to run the electric stove cum oven. The current carried will be too great for the small diameter wire and hence the circuit gets overloaded. If the circuit breaker was not there, the small diameter wire will be heated to a very high temperature and a wire accident will be imminent. HENCE IN A NUTSHELL OVERLOADING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MEANS PASSING MORE CURRENT THAN THE CIRCUIT WAS DESIGNED FOR. Recognize that the voltage used also has an effect on the load characteristics of a circuit/appliance. Thus appliances designed for 110V use will pose problems when used with 220V including fire and electrocution.

Circuit overloading occurs in audio circuits as well leading to frequency and/or amplitude distortion.