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Circuit breakers have been around for a long time but nobody really realises why all of these electrical components actually come in useful.

Brief History

Edison actually thought of the very first circuit breaker way back in 1879 so it is safe to say that the idea has been around for a long while. Edison wanted to protect a circuit from accidental short-cirtcuits and overloads.

What They Do

All circuit breakers big or small have something in common when it comes to their operation but it does of course depends on the voltage class and the type of the circuit breaker itself.

The circuit breaker will not jsut shut the power off for no reason so do not get annoyed if it does this, it will do it if there is something wrong. Once a fault has actually been detected contacts within the circuit breaker will open up to interrupt the circuit. Some of the smaller ones can be manually used to shut off the electricity at a fast rate.

An arc is created if a current is interrupted and this will actually be contained, cooled and then taken away in a very controlled way. This enables the gap between all of the contacts to continue which is always good.

Saving Lives

These circuit breakers work to actually save lives of many people every single year. The problem occurs when somebody starts to plug in items that simply should not be put into the same place. With too many appliances plugged in to one place it can be very easy for a fire to start. If a fire breaks out it could of course burn down the entire house and sometimes this can be avoided if you had that important circuit breaker. The circuit breaker will cut off all of the power before a fire starts.

So although you may not think all of those mil spec cables are important it would seem that they are.