What is a Fuse? A fuse is an electrical protection device. Anelectric fuse is a very thin wire that is made thin in order to be able to melt or vaporize in the event that the current in the circuit is too high. This thin wire may be made of aluminum, tin-coated copper, or nickel. When too much current flows through the circuit, the electric fuse melts or vaporizes and, as a result, the circuit stops the current flow. The fuses are usually made of cylindrical glass or ceramic t with a metal cap at each end. If you want to know the current value at which a fuse begins to melt, you have to look at the one of the two metal end caps. The current rating of electric fuse is shown there. Fuses are available with current ratings from 1/500 Ampere to hundreds of amperes. There are two popular physical sizes of the fuses: 1¼ X ¼ inch and 5X20mm. Both of these fuse types are used in electronic equipment, but the 5X20mm ones are more common. The 1¼ X ¼ inch fuses are usually used in automobiles. The purpose of the electric fuses is the protection of electric equipment. When current flow exceeds a certain gage, which is determined by the current rating of the fuse, the circuit is opened due to wire melting causing the current flow to stop. The electric fuse can save electronic components from damage and prevents overheating, which could cause a fire.
Source of this article is the MidlandElectricSupply blog. blown fuse, center connector, electric fuse, electronic component, fuse, fuse element