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The
History of the fuse
Quite how long the electrical
fuse has been in existence is open to some conjecture. There is
evidence that platinum wire fuses were used as far back as the 1860’s
to protect submarine cables. And there is even conjecture surrounding
the invention of the first enclosed fuse links. History defines
these as having been patented by Edison in 1880. Yet there is also
suggestion that the great English physicist, Sir Joseph Swan, had
some part to play in the history of the fuse principle.
In Swan’s instance, his fuses were
not so much employed to protect electrical wiring against overloading
or short-circuits but to safeguard against filament failure in what
were then comparatively crude light bulbs. Typically, each incandescent
lamp was fitted with a separate tinfoil fuse.
This latter period of the 19th Century also saw some
moves towards more sophistication in fuse design when W M Mordy,
chief engineer to the Brush Electrical Engineering Company, patented
the first cartridge fuse link filled with arc-quenching materials.
One of the problems with early high voltage fuse designs was their
ability to allow arcing after a fuse had supposedly failed safe.
Mordy’s design prevented this problem.
Today high performance, space-economical fuses are
in massive abundance throughout the world, protecting simple domestic,
automotive and industrial devices through to large-scale high-voltage
electrical distribution networks to ensure safety and continuity
of supply at the highest level.
Often complex by way of construction, modern fuses
are the culmination of high design and manufacturing standards.
This ensures that they will perform to a carefully prescribed limit
and, in turn, conform to strict internationally recognised safety
standards.
The continuing emergence of new materials and new
technology ensures that fuse design today remains an ongoing volatile
process. For example, computer modelling of fuse link behaviour
is allowing greater understanding by designers in producing fuse
distribution boards and switchgear to meet today’s challenging
technological demands.
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