![Takes a break for safety -[ HMM ]- | by Carbon Arc](http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50896280328_b0e1389b92.jpg)
Takes a break for safety -[ HMM ]-
A North American residential circuit breaker. This particular style, known as ganged, is used for 240-volt circuits to ensure both hot legs trip, otherwise there would be a live 120-volt circuit from either hot leg to neutral, an unsafe condition. Industrial buildings with three-phase power use three-breaker ganged units where required for similar reasons.
While the term “circuit breaker” mainly refers to the electrical safety device in its many varieties, the name has been used in other fields to suggest a overload shutoff mechanism, such as in the world of finance and even in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Takes a break for safety -[ HMM ]-
A North American residential circuit breaker. This particular style, known as ganged, is used for 240-volt circuits to ensure both hot legs trip, otherwise there would be a live 120-volt circuit from either hot leg to neutral, an unsafe condition. Industrial buildings with three-phase power use three-breaker ganged units where required for similar reasons.
While the term “circuit breaker” mainly refers to the electrical safety device in its many varieties, the name has been used in other fields to suggest a overload shutoff mechanism, such as in the world of finance and even in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.