I dont know what it actually is ‼️
In: Chemistry
A short circuit is a path between the + and – connections from the power source – a battery, a voltage adapter, a power socket in the wall of your house – that doesn’t go through anything properly designed to use electricity, or at least there’s a bypass that lets electricity just go from the + to the – going around the intended appliance/device. Alternatively, one of the two connections could be a ground connection as long as the other is a non-zero voltage connection. They’re directly connected to each other by some well-conducting thing… a wire, a fork, a paperclip, a wrench… something that conducts electricity nicely.
Onto the math. Current (amps) = volts divided by the resistance of the load. Since there is almost no load with only wires being involved, resistance will be very low, maybe less than 1, and could result in 100 amps wanting to go through this wire. This is very bad in most situations.
Thankfully we have fuses and circuit breakers designed to shut off electricity when too many amps are flowing. For most outlets in your home, it’ll be 15 amps or so. Specific appliances needing more may have 30 to 40, like air conditioners, stoves, clothes dryers, and lately electric car chargers.
Latest Answers