At 12:44 PM Tuesday 3/14/2006, Mauro Diotallevi wrote:
A couple of semi-random questions...
I was recently watching yet another scifi tv episode where a hit to a
spaceship causes sparks from electrical equipment. I would think something
as simple as fuses would stop that, but I'm not an electrician. In the
"real world," would fuses stop that kind of thing from happening?
It depends on where the short is. And how much
extra current is flowing, and for how long. And
from personal experience I can tell you that you
can get some significant sparks (or one
really big one) before the fuse blows or the
breaker trips. And then there was the time with
an in-line fuse holder and one of those little
glass fuses that apparently the fuse-holder had a
lower rating than the fuse, because the solder on
one of the connections at the end melted and
soldered the fuse into place, while all the while
the equipment attached to the circuit kept right on operating . . .
But the real answer to your question is that TV
is a visual medium, and sparks are visual.
Also, how do you ground electrical equipment in space, where you don't have
easy access to actual ground?
Same thing as in an automobile: chassis =
ground. Or an aircraft, for that matter . . .
--Ronn! :)
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been
added to our country and two words have been
added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER
GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that
is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?"
-- Red Skelton
(Someone asked me to change my .sig quote back, so I did.)
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