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Unlike load switches and circuit breakers, disconnectors lack a mechanism for suppression of electric arcs which occur when conductors carrying high currents are mechanically interrupted. Thus, they are off-load devices, with very low breaking capacity , intended to be opened only after the current has been interrupted by some other control device.
These safety devices work by comparing the currents flowing in the live and neutral conductors, and disconnect the circuit if their difference exceeds 4 to 6 milliamperes. Installing a single receptacle is often cheaper or more convenient than providing this GFCI protection at the circuit breaker.
A wire or cable has a voltage (to neutral) rating and a maximum conductor surface temperature rating. The amount of current a cable or wire can safely carry depends on the installation conditions. The international standard wire sizes are given in the IEC 60228 standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission.
The standard includes preferred current ratings and wire gauges for both International (deemed Series I) and North American (deemed Series II) applications. Series I preferred current ratings (in amps) are: 16, 32, 63, 125, 250, 400, 630 and 800, with wire gauges specified as mm 2 .
AWG is colloquially referred to as gauge and the zeros in thick wire sizes are referred to as aught / ˈ ɔː t /. Wire sized 1 AWG is referred to as "one gauge" or "No. 1" wire; similarly, thinner sizes are pronounced "x gauge" or "No. x" wire, where x is the positive-integer AWG number. Consecutive AWG wire sizes thicker than No. 1 wire are ...
In both those instances the white wire should be identified as being hot, usually with black tape inside junction boxes. The neutral wire is identified by gray or white insulated wire, perhaps using stripes or markings. With lamp cord wire the ribbed wire is the neutral, and the smooth wire is the hot. NEC 2008 400.22(f) allows surface marking ...
In product innovation, he devised the company's lines of Twist-Lock industrial connectors with new 2-, 3-, and 4-wire devices of various ratings, designed a whole new series of locking connectors for industrial use which he named "Hubbellock", and introduced heavy-duty, circuit-breaking devices.
The terminal system consists of tabs (male) and receptacles (female). There are free-hanging wire and circuit board mounted versions of both tabs and receptacles. All widths come mostly in one of two tab thicknesses: 0.032 and 0.020 in (0.8 and 0.5 mm). A hand tool exists for inserting the terminals: the AMP Universal Handle. [citation needed]