Question

Which of the following is the property of material used in fuse wire ?
A.High Melting point.
B.High resistance
C.Low melting point
D.Low specific heat

Answer 1

Hint: A fuse is used in electric circuits to prevent overloading of current. The fuse wire is the fundamental part of a fuse which prevents overloading.

Complete answer:
Sometimes due to overloading of current or short circuit electrical appliances gets damaged or fire is caused. In order to avoid these misfortunes, we usually use a fuse in our electrical circuits. The function of the fuse is that it cuts off the electrical appliances from the mainline in the event of overloading or short circuit. It is considered as a sacrificial device.
Since the fuse wire is responsible for the proper working of the fuse it needs to satisfy certain conditions. It should not have high resistivity since it should allow current to pass through it easily. It should not oxidize after several months or years of use, so it should have low electrode potential. The basic principle behind a fuse is that the fuse wire should melt when a high amount of current passes through it. It should have a high specific heat in order to avoid heat being released into the surroundings. The current passing through the circuit wire always produces a heating effect, so the fuse wire should melt when excess current passes through it. So the fuse wire should have a very low melting point in order to protect the electrical appliances.

So the answer to the question is option (C)-Low melting point.

Note:
Fuse wires are made up of alloys which will have suitable properties suitable for a fuse wire.
Nichrome, an alloy of Nickel and Chromium is a suitable alloy for fuse wires.