Wires | Electricity | Physics | FuseSchool

Wires | Electricity | Physics | FuseSchool

A broken wire means two things;
1. It won’t work properly anymore.
2. It’s dangerous and shouldn’t be used.
In this video we’re going to look at wires, the wiring of a plug and why insulation is important.

Wires inside walls carry electricity to electrical sockets and lights in a house.
Whenever you plug in an appliance, you’re connecting it to an electrical circuit.
A appliance is anything that transfers energy from one form to another.
Different countries have different plugs, for connecting devices to the mains.

Each of the pins in the plug is connected to a different type of wire. We’re going to look at a 3 pin plug with 3 wires, but 2 pins are pretty much the same.

If we look inside a plug we can see the different wires.
The brown live wire
The blue neutral
And the green and yellow earth.

The brown live wire and the blue neutral wire carry the current around the circuit.

The live wire is the route into the plug for the electric current. The current is alternating current, which travels back and forth approximately 50 times a second.

The neutral wire completes the circuit. It is the route the electric current takes when it exits an appliance. Neutral wires have a voltage close to zero.

The green and yellow earth wire is a safety wire. Many electrical appliances have metal casings.
If a loose wire touches the metal casing, anyone who touches the appliance would get an electrical shock. Which is where the earth wire comes in. The earth wire connects to the earth pin, which takes the current away from the appliance into the wiring of your house and down to the earth through the house’s earthing system. So the current runs through the earth wire, rather than running through you if you touch the appliance. Much safer!
The earth pin on a plug is longer than the live and neutral pins. Therefore whenever you plug in a plug, the earth pin always connects with the socket first. Providing you with that earthing safety.

The fuse is a very thin wire between the live terminal and the live pin. It has a very low melting point, so if a too large current flows through the fuse, then the wire heats up and melts. Thus breaking the circuit. Which is why you might hear the phrase “the fuse has blown”. If there is a gap in the circuit, electricity cannot flow and so the device will not work, but the user is safe.
The main role of a fuse is to prevent fires starting, due to too large currents.
Another safety feature is the outer insulation of wires attached to plugs.
Plastic is an electrical insulator meaning electricity cannot travel through it. If electrical wires are surrounded by a plastic casing, then they are safe to touch. If there is a break in the plastic or it is damaged, you could come into contact with the wire inside and have an electrical shock. So do yourself a favour, if your phone charger looks like this, get yourself a new one!
Different countries have slightly different colour combinations for these wires, but they’re pretty much the same.

There’s a really easy way to remember where each wire goes…
Take the 2nd letters of the colours
BLue L Left
BRown R Right
STriped T Top

So there we have our current carrying live and neutral wires, and our protective earth wire and fire stopping fuses.

CREDITS
Animation & Design: Reshenda Wakefield
Narration: Dale Bennett
Script: Bethan Parry

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[rajkiran]

The concept of electricity was established before the discovery of electrons. So, it was believed that the passage of current is due to the flow of positive charges. This is what we call the conventional flow of current, i.e. in the direction of flow of positive charges. After the discovery of electrons, it was observed that the electron are the particles that flow in a conductor. Electrons being negatively charged flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of the voltage source. So, the actual direction of current should be from negative to positive terminal. However, the conventional direction had already been established firmly in scientific fraternity. So, the current flow is considered in the direction opposite to the direction of flow of electrons.

[alpachino]

There's also a simple way to remember that brown is the live in the UK, because that's the colour your pants are going to turn if you ever dare touch one...

[aoi]

Where i learn:
School 10%
YouTube 90%

[chuchumint]

I was so confused about the lesson yesterday, but you guys saved me 2 whole hours!

[williambineke]

Thank you fuse school.With your help I scored an A in my science assignment

[Cryph]

A broken wire means two things;
1. It won’t work properly anymore.
2. It’s dangerous and shouldn’t be used.
In this video we’re going to look at wires, the wiring of a plug and why insulation is important.

Wires inside walls carry electricity to electrical sockets and lights in a house.
Whenever you plug in an appliance, you’re connecting it to an electrical circuit.
A appliance is anything that transfers energy from one form to another.
Different countries have different plugs, for connecting devices to the mains.

Each of the pins in the plug is connected to a different type of wire. We’re going to look at a 3 pin plug with 3 wires, but 2 pins are pretty much the same.

If we look inside a plug we can see the different wires.
The brown live wire
The blue neutral
And the green and yellow earth.

The brown live wire and the blue neutral wire carry the current around the circuit.

The live wire is the route into the plug for the electric current. The current is alternating current, which travels back and forth approximately 50 times a second.

The neutral wire completes the circuit. It is the route the electric current takes when it exits an appliance. Neutral wires have a voltage close to zero.

The green and yellow earth wire is a safety wire. Many electrical appliances have metal casings.
If a loose wire touches the metal casing, anyone who touches the appliance would get an electrical shock. Which is where the earth wire comes in. The earth wire connects to the earth pin, which takes the current away from the appliance into the wiring of your house and down to the earth through the house’s earthing system. So the current runs through the earth wire, rather than running through you if you touch the appliance. Much safer!
The earth pin on a plug is longer than the live and neutral pins. Therefore whenever you plug in a plug, the earth pin always connects with the socket first. Providing you with that earthing safety.

The fuse is a very thin wire between the live terminal and the live pin. It has a very low melting point, so if a too large current flows through the fuse, then the wire heats up and melts. Thus breaking the circuit. Which is why you might hear the phrase “the fuse has blown”. If there is a gap in the circuit, electricity cannot flow and so the device will not work, but the user is safe.
The main role of a fuse is to prevent fires starting, due to too large currents.
Another safety feature is the outer insulation of wires attached to plugs.
Plastic is an electrical insulator meaning electricity cannot travel through it. If electrical wires are surrounded by a plastic casing, then they are safe to touch. If there is a break in the plastic or it is damaged, you could come into contact with the wire inside and have an electrical shock. So do yourself a favour, if your phone charger looks like this, get yourself a new one!
Different countries have slightly different colour combinations for these wires, but they’re pretty much the same.

There’s a really easy way to remember where each wire goes…
Take the 2nd letters of the colours
BLue L Left
BRown R Right
STriped T Top

So there we have our current carrying live and neutral wires, and our protective earth wire and fire stopping fuses.

[rezwana]

I don’t get it
How does the neutral wire flow current out of the appliance when your showing an arrow of current flowing to the appliance
And how is the live wire used for electric current to go INTO the plug -doesn’t the live wire have 230 volts and moves it out of the plug
Sorry just abit confused great video though

[thenouriya]

Well explained... I really appreciate it. Thanks a million 🌹

[JK-rukt]

Is the direction of the electrical flow wrong in live and neutral at the start? The live current flows into the plug but the arrow direction at 1:25 is showing the current in the brown leaving through the plug, through the fuse and back into the wall. Very confusing

[maryamsalama]

Thank you truly frm my heart ❤️ and please continue making these videos you are really helping people's lives

[ruxiangg]

I'm so glad I found your channel!

[sithirasamarawickrama]

Very good explanation by this teacher❤️. Awesome video about the electricity.

[musicmade]

Ohh my god !!! Thankyou so much you explained it very easily. Thankyou sooo much

[pragun]

At 1.26, when you're displaying current direction, is it correct? Live wire is the one which carries current from source to your appliance. And the image is of appliance socket plug. So, technically your plug and wire of appliance should receive live current as incoming. Direction should be from socket plug to wired appliance.

[shweetaa]

I found your channel...couldn't be more glad :)

[geethatk]

Excellent video! This was very helpful for my son who is in 7th grade! Keep going!

[spiceleo]

Simple and lucid articulation. Thank you

[deenbean]

Wow! Really good quality nice video... Keep up the amazing content!

[free]

Thanks. Since the blue wires 0 volts does this mean you cannot get electricuted by touching only the blue wire?

[madhumitasingh]

He explain very good i cleared mine doubt thanku soo much 👌👌👌