Question

What is fuse? Name the material of the fuse. State characteristic of the material used for fuse.

Answer 1

Hint: A fuse wire is a safety device connected in a circuit to protect the appliances that are connected in it. Fuse wire melts when excess current flows through it. Materials used for making fuse must have a low melting point so that it melts when excess current flows through it.

Complete step by step answer:
A fuse is an electrical device used for safety purposes. A fuse is connected in a circuit to limit the current in the circuit. With the help of a fuse, we can protect various appliances that are connected in the circuit from being damaged.

A fuse is usually made of material which melts easily when huge current flows through it. Hence when the current through the circuit becomes excess the fuse wire will melt creating a break in the circuit.

This prevents flow of excess current through the appliances that are connected in the circuit. Thus, we can protect household devices from getting damaged.

The fuse wire should also have a high resistance. The resistance of fuse wire should be much larger than the resistance of live wire.

The metals with low melting point generally have a high specific resistance.

So, the characteristics of material required for making a fuse are low melting point and high resistance.

The materials which easily melt when temperature rises can be used for making fumes. That is the materials with low melting point such as tin lead, zinc etc. can be used to make a fuse.

Generally, alloy of tin and lead is used since it has low melting point and very high resistivity.

Note: The fuse wire works depending on the power dissipated. When current increases to a large amount, then the power dissipated in it is enough to heat the fuse wire. For metals the resistance increases with temperature this in turn dissipates more power. When it reaches at critical temperature the wire will melt.