Question

What is the difference between heating wire and fuse wire?

Answer 1

Hint: Fuse wires are used for protection in a circuit while a heating wire is used for heating purposes in heating appliances. They are made of different materials and have different properties from each other; they also have different practical applications.

Complete solution:
Heating wire is a wire also known as a heating element; converts electrical energy into heat energy by joule’s heating process. The heating wire has a large resistance, so the current flowing through it encounters resistance and hence heats it up. Heating wires are used in heating appliances like hair dryers, heaters, toasters etc.

The heating wire can be straight, ribbon or coiled. The materials which are used to make heating wires have a very high melting point, the most commonly used material to make heating wires is Nichrome; it is an alloy of nickel and chromium.

A fuse wire is used as a safety device in an electrical circuit. It provides protection if a large current flows through a circuit which can potentially damage the appliances connected in the circuit. The fuse wire has a very low melting point as well as low resistance. When large current flows through the fuse wire, it heats up and melts thereby breaking the circuit. Alloys of tin and lead are used to make fuse wires.

Note:
The joule’s heating process says that when current flows through a resistance, the electrical energy is converted to heat. The opposition provided by the material to the flow of current through it is called the resistance. Usually heating wires and fuse wires are made of a combination of metals called alloys as alloys have improved properties of metals which have many practical uses.