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| Why don’t we use copper wire as a fuse wire |
Fuse is a Safety device which protects an electrical device from fault. Whenever there is a fault, a short circuit current will flow that leads to the generation of high heat. This heat will damage the electrical appliance if the circuit does not open in time. So a fuse is placed in the circuit that will melt and cut the circuit from the source in case of high temperature which is generated due to faults in the circuit. Fuse is basically a piece of wire of a material with a low melting point. When a high current flows through the circuit due to Overloading or a Short circuit, the wires get heated and melts. As a result, the circuit is broken and current stops flowing.
On the other hand, copper wire cannot be used as a fuse wire because it has a high melting point(1094 deg C approx). Copper will not melt easily when a high electric current passes through it and may damage the electrical appliances.
Here are some points regarding fuse wire material that you should understand.
- Fuse element will not melt or heated during normal rated current.
- Fuse element with the lower melting point is used i.e. an alloy of copper, tin etc.
