What is an electrical short circuit?
How does an electrical short circuit work? What happens during a short circuit may seem like a mystery, because electric circuits are complicated systems. Simply put, electricity flows through the circuit to power devices such as lamps, household appliances and phone chargers. However, when a "hot wire" touches a neutral or earth conductor in a socket or appliance, a so-called "short circuit" occurs. When a short circuit occurs, excess current flows through the circuit for a short time until the fuse blows or the circuit breaker turns off the circuit. The excessive current flow can lead to such serious consequences as damaged appliances or even a house fire, which can cause devastating damage. What causes an electrical short circuit? An electrical short circuit occurs when the hot wire comes into contact with the neutral wire (the wire that makes the return path to the control panel) or the earth wire (the green or bare wire that also returns current to the contr...