Circuit Breakers Are There For A Reason
Circuit breakers have been around for a long time but nobody really realises why all of these electrical components actually come in useful.
Brief History
The very earliest form of the circuit breaker was actually talked about by Edison in a patent application back in 1879 so the idea has been around for a long time. The master himself Edison wanted to protect circuits from short-circuiting and overloading.
What They Do
All circuit breakers big or small have something in common when it comes to their operation but it does of course depends on the voltage class and the type of the circuit breaker itself.
The circuit breaker will not jsut shut the power off for no reason so do not get annoyed if it does this, it will do it if there is something wrong. What happens is that once a fault has been found contacts within the breaker will open and put a stop to the circuit. The current can be switched off manually on many of the smaller ones.
An arc is created if a current is interrupted and this will actually be contained, cooled and then taken away in a very controlled way. This means that the gap between contacts can continue to take the voltage of the circuit.
Saving Lives
Lives are saved through these circuit breakers everyear which is pretty cool. The problem occurs when somebody starts to plug in items that simply should not be put into the same place. If a circuit breaker is not in place these appliances could be too much and could start a fire. If a fire breaks out it could of course burn down the entire house and sometimes this can be avoided if you had that important circuit breaker. Fires are prevented as the circuit breaker will cut the power before the wire has a chance to burn.
So although you may not think all of those mil spec cables are important it would seem that they are.
