You are asked to connect a stereo, a television, a VCR, and a lamp in a single, complex circuit. Would you connect these appliances in parrallel or in series? How would you prevent an electrical fire?
2007-05-23 15:08:59 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
I would connect them all in parallel to each other so that if the light goes out you can still watch TV. But to prevent a fire I would connect a fuse in series to the parallel branches - a fuse right from the main power coming into the circuit.
This fuse should be rated to all of the devices being on at the same time - this is the highest requirement.
2007-05-23 16:48:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I would connect them in series. A series circuit creates voltage drops and keeps a constant current. So basically, the same current would travel to each device. If you connect them in parallel the total current needed would be the sum of all the appliances and then you WOULD have an electrical fire on your hands. To help prevent an electric fire you would add a circuit break or fuse before the devices so that if they ever exceed the threshhold current that the wires are rated for, the circuit would simply be open and and current would stop flowing
2007-05-23 22:16:53 · answer #2 · answered by HornetB 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In a series circuit, each device would would drop a certain percentage of the voltage - leaving each seceding device with less voltage. Since each device operates on 120V AC, the only way to connect them would be in parallel. To prevent an electrical fire, the wiring would have to be chosen to conform to the circuit breaker or fuse, i.e. 12 guage for 20 Amp, 14 guage for 15 Amp and so forth.
2007-05-23 22:31:09 · answer #3 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋