What does it do? Why is it needed?
In: Engineering
The outlet may have a fuse built into it to prevent the chance of short circuiting. So if the outlet draws too much current, the fuse trips, disabling the outlet. The reset button just resets the fuse so that you can use the outlet again.
EDIT: Actually, this is to prevent electrocution by detecting current “leaking” from the circuit. If too much current is leaking (the current leaving is not equal to the current coming back), the circuit will trip. The leaking current usually is going to ground, potentially through a person, which is why they exist.
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