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An arc fault is a high power discharge of electricity between two or more conductors. This discharge generates heat, which can break down the wire's insulation and trigger an electrical fire. Arc faults can range in current from a few amps up to thousands of amps, and are highly variable in strength and duration.
One of the most common causes of arc-flash injuries happens when switching on electrical circuits and, especially, tripped circuit-breakers. A tripped circuit-breaker often indicates a fault has occurred somewhere down the line from the panel. The fault must usually be isolated before switching the power on, or an arc flash can easily be generated.
A burn in a plug caused by an electric arc during a short circuit. Undesired or unintended electric arcing can have detrimental effects on electric power transmission, distribution systems and electronic equipment. Devices which may cause arcing include switches, circuit breakers, relay contacts, fuses and poor cable terminations.
Every time an electrical power device (for example: heaters, lamps, motors, transformers or similar power loads) turns on or off, its switch, relay or contactor transitions either from a CLOSED to an OPEN state ("BREAK") or from an OPEN to a CLOSED state ("MAKE"), under load, an electrical arc occurs between the two contact points (electrodes) of the switch.
If the power supply continues to supply current, the spark will evolve into a continuous discharge called an electric arc. An electric spark can also occur within insulating liquids or solids, but with different breakdown mechanisms from sparks in gases. Sometimes, sparks can be dangerous. They can cause fires and burn skin.
Arcing horns (sometimes arc-horns) are projecting conductors used to protect insulators or switch hardware on high voltage electric power transmission systems from damage during flashover. Overvoltages on transmission lines, due to atmospheric electricity , lightning strikes, or electrical faults, can cause arcs across insulators (flashovers ...
A power flash is a flash of light caused by arcing electrical discharges from damaged electrical equipment, most often severed or arcing power lines. They are often caused by strong winds, especially those from tropical cyclones and tornadoes, and occasionally by intense downbursts and derechoes.
In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a failure of a current-carrying wire (phase or neutral) or a blown fuse or circuit breaker.