Heating Effect and the Fuse
Class 7 Science: electric current and its effects
Add cells and heaters to a circuit and watch the coils get hot. Overload it or make a short circuit and see the fuse melt to keep everyone safe.
Words to know
- Heating effect
- When current flows through a wire, the wire gets hot.
- Element
- The coil of special wire (like nichrome) in a heater or iron that gets hot.
- Fuse
- A safety device with a thin wire that melts and breaks the circuit when the current is too large.
- Short circuit
- When wires touch so current skips the appliance; the current becomes very large.
- MCB
- Miniature circuit breaker: a switch that turns off by itself when the current is too large. Used instead of fuses in many homes.
Quick check
Answer 3 questions to check what you learned.
Try at home
With an adult, look at the main switch board at home. Do you see fuses or MCBs? Count how many. Never open or touch them yourself.