fuses

Increasing demand from electronic equipment suppliers is boosting production of circuit and fuse production. In China, 2006 output is forecast to jump 21％ — to one-half of the global total. In electronics and electrical engineering a fuse, short for 'fusible link', is a type of overcurrent protection device. It has as its critical component: a metal wire or strip that will melt when heated by a prescribed electric current, opening the circuit of which it is a part, and so protecting the circuit from an overcurrent condition. Fuses have the advantages of often being less costly and simpler than a circuit breaker for similar ratings. The blown fuse must be replaced with a new device which is less convenient than simply resetting a breaker and therefore likely to discourage people from ignoring faults. On the other hand replacing a fuse without isolating the circuit first (most building wiring designs do not provide individual isolation switches for each fuse) can be dangerous in itself, particularly if the fault is a short circuit.