Blowing up fuses!!

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sasuto
 
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Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 8:36 pm

Blowing up fuses!!

Post by sasuto »

So I have a couple of fuses laying around and I'm trying to blow them up.
I have 1 of each fuses 100mA, 200mA, 300mA, 400mA, and 500mA.
Any ideas on how I should blow them up??

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zener
 
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Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:38 am

Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by zener »

What is the purpose? Blowing fuses is pretty easy. However nothing will appear to happen. ?????

sasuto
 
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 8:36 pm

Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by sasuto »

No purpose. Just trying to blow em up. question is..how?

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zener
 
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Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by zener »

Connect a battery to it.

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blind-summit
 
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Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:38 am

Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by blind-summit »

Why not post them to someone that can make use of them rather than needlessly wasting components, no matter how cheap or surplus they are?

bakelite
 
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Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by bakelite »

Hook them up to a wall outlet...

uoip
 
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Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:48 pm

Re: Blowing up fuses!!

Post by uoip »

Blow them, or blow them up? Some people seem to be mixing the two terms.

To blow a fuse means to make it go open circuit. Any fuse should blow if you put a reasonable overload on it. Connecting it directly across even a fairly small battery should do the trick.

To blow a fuse UP means to make it explode violently.

This can, of course, be extremely dangerous.

The requirements to blow a fuse up depend on the ratings of the fuse. Not just the current rating, but the interrupt rating. If you search for the term "HRC fuse" you may get some background. But basically, if you connect a typical miniature glass fuse across a low-impedance, high voltage, high energy power supply (say, the bus bars of an electrical distribution panel) the little wire inside will not just melt, but will vaporize, producing a plasma which will still conduct electricity, and will produce an incredible amount of heat in a small space. The glass container for the fuse will shatter and send shrapnel everywhere, and the arcing plasma may vaporize wires and do severe damage. If you do a web search for the term "arc flash", you'll get some info.

This is one of the most hazardous phenomena that professional electricians face, and it has killed many professionals. That's why the meters they use don't use little miniature glass fuses, but use big expensive HRC fuses. Don't mess around with it.

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