Fuse, safety device used to protect an electrical circuit from the effect of excessive current.

Its essential
component is usually a strip of metal that will melt at a given temperature. A fuse is so designed that the strip of
metal can easily be placed in the electric circuit. If the current in the circuit exceeds a predetermined value, the
fusible metal will melt and thus break, or open, the circuit.

Fuses can be of cylindrical type. A cylindrical fuse consists of a ribbon of fusible metal enclosed in a ceramic or
fiber cylinder. Metal end caps fastened over the cylinder make contact with the metal ribbon. This type of fuse
is placed in an electric circuit so that the current must flow through the metal strip to complete the circuit. If
excess current surges through the circuit, the metal link will heat to its melting point and break. This action will
open the circuit, stop the current flow, and thus protect the circuit. The cylindrical type of fuse is used mostly to
protect electrical equipment and appliances.

Recent fuse developments include types that will permit a momentary overload without breaking the circuit.
These are necessary for circuits that are used to power air conditioners or electric broilers, because initial surges
of power can be expected with such appliances. Another recently developed type of fuse contains several links
that can be selected by the flip of a switch. If the fuse is blown, another link can be switched in without
replacing the fuse.

In high-voltage circuits, subject to frequent interruptions, and increasingly in residential wiring, protection is
provided by circuit breakers instead of fuses.

Diode, electronic device that allows the passage of current in only one direction. The first such devices were
vacuum-tube diodes, consisting of an evacuated glass or steel envelope containing two electrodesa cathode
and an anode. Because electrons can flow in only one direction, from cathode to anode, the vacuum-tube diode
could be used as a rectifier. The diodes most commonly used in electronic circuits today are semiconductor
diodes. The simplest of these, the germanium point-contact diode, dates from the early days of radio, when the
received radio signal was detected by means of a germanium crystal and a fine, pointed wire that rested on it. In
modern germanium (or silicon) point-contact diodes, the wire and a tiny crystal plate are mounted inside a small
glass tube and connected to two wires that are fused into the ends of the tube. See Electronics; Vacuum Tubes.

Junction-type diodes consist of a junction of two different kinds of semiconductor material. The Zener diode is
a special junction-type diode, using silicon, in which the voltage across the junction is independent of the
current through the junction. Because of this characteristic, Zener diodes are used as voltage regulators. Another
special junction-type diode is used in solar cells; a voltage appears spontaneously when the junction is
illuminated. In light-emitting diodes (LEDs), on the other hand, a voltage applied to the semiconductor junction
results in the emission of light energy. LEDs are used in numerical displays such as those on electronic digital
watches and pocket calculators. See Photoelectric Effect.

Light-Emitting Diode (LED)

A diode is an electronic component through which current passes in only one direction. Light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) are semiconductors that produce light when current passes through them. They are used in many
common devices, such as the tuning indicator on a radio. An arrangement of seven LEDs in the shape of an 8
can be used to display any number from 0 to 9. This arrangement is often used on calculators and digital
watches.

Resistor, component of an electric circuit that resists the flow of direct or alternating electric current.
Resistors can limit or divide the current, reduce the voltage, protect an electric circuit, or provide large amounts
of heat or light. See also Resistance.

An electric current is the movement of charged particles called electrons from one region to another. The
amount of resistance to the flow of current that a resistor causes depends on the material it is made of as well as
its size and shape. Resistors are usually placed in electric circuits, which are devices formed when current
moves through an electrical conductor (a material that allows the current to flow without much resistance, such
as copper wire) and when the conductor makes a complete loop.

When a voltage, or electric potential, is applied to opposite ends of a circuit, it causes current to flow through
the circuit. As the current flows, it encounters a certain amount of resistance from the conductor and any
resistors in the circuit. Each material has a characteristic resistance. For example, wood is a bad conductor
because it offers high resistance to the current; copper is a better conductor because it offers less resistance. In
any electric circuit, the current in the entire circuit is equal to the voltage across that circuit divided by the
resistance of the circuit. Resistors are often made to have a specific value of resistance so that the characteristics
of the circuit can be accurately calculated.

Physicists sometimes explain the flow of current through a material, such as a resistor, by comparing it to water
flowing through a pipe. A pressure difference maintained across two ends of the pipe by a pump is like the
potential difference, or voltage, across a wire maintained by a battery. The rate of flow of water, analogous to
the rate of flow of charge (current), depends on the type of pipe used. A long and thin water pipe offers more
resistance than a short and thick one or a pipe that has obstructions. Similarly, the resistance of a conductor is
dependent upon several factors, including its length, cross section, temperature, and a property called resistivity.
Resistivity is an intrinsic characteristic of the material itself defined by the voltage divided by the density of
current (current per unit cross section area) flowing across the material.

A material of high resistivity will require a higher electrical field to cause a given current density. If the
resistivity of a material is known, as well as its dimensions, it can be used to calculate the resistance of a
particular piece of material. The resistivity of a material is also dependent upon temperature. When a material
resists the flow of current, it converts the electrical energy into other kinds of energy such as heat and light. This
energy causes resistors to heat up and glow when enough current flows through them.

Resistors are designed to have a specific value of resistance. Most resistors used in electric circuits are
cylindrical items a few millimeters long with wires at both ends to connect them to the circuit. Resistors are
often color coded by three or four color bands that indicate the specific value of resistance. Some resistors obey
Ohms law, which states that the current density is directly proportional to the electrical field when the
temperature is constant. The resistance of a material that follows Ohms law is constant, or independent of
voltage or current, and the relationship between current and voltage is linear. Modern electronic circuits depend
on many devices that deviate from Ohms law. In devices such as diodes, the current does not increase linearly
with voltage and is different for two directions of current.

Resistors can help divide voltages, and when combined with other elements can help convert voltages for a
specific electrical design. Resistors can also be used to provide intense light or heat. For example, the heating
element in a household cooking range is a resistor, as is the tungsten filament in a common incandescent lamp.
Resistors with adjustable resistance are called rheostats or potentiometers. These types of resistors are used in
appliances when the current needs to be adjusted or when the resistance needs to be varied, as with lights that
dim or adjustable generators.

Capacitor, or electrical condenser, device for storing an electrical charge. In its simplest form a capacitor
consists of two metal plates separated by a nonconducting layer called the dielectric. When one plate is charged
with electricity from a direct-current or electrostatic source, the other plate will have induced in it a charge of
the opposite sign; that is, positive if the original charge is negative and negative if the charge is positive. The
Leyden jar is a simple form of capacitor in which the two conducting plates are metal-foil coatings on the inside
and outside of a glass bottle or jar that serves as the dielectric. The electrical size of a capacitor is its
capacitance, the amount of electric charge it can hold.

Capacitors are limited in the amount of electric charge they can absorb; they can conduct direct current for only
an instant but function well as conductors in alternating-current circuits. This property makes them useful when
direct current must be prevented from entering some part of an electric circuit. Fixed-capacity and variable-
capacity capacitors are used in conjunction with coils as resonant circuits in radios and other electronic
equipment. Large capacitors are also employed in power lines to resonate the load on the line and make it
possible for the line to transmit more power.

Capacitors are produced in a wide variety of forms. Air, mica, ceramics, paper, oil, and vacuums are used as
dielectrics, depending on the purpose for which the device is intended.

Transistor, in electronics, common name for a group of electronic devices used as amplifiers or
oscillators in communications, control, and computer systems (see Amplifier; Computer; Electronics). Until the
advent of the transistor in 1948, developments in the field of electronics were dependent on the use of
thermionic vacuum tubes, magnetic amplifiers, specialized rotating machinery, and special capacitors as
amplifiers.