Why the wire burns in short current with flow of current?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the phenomenon of wire burning during a short circuit, examining the concepts of resistance in ideal versus real-world scenarios. Participants explore the implications of current flow, heat generation, and the conditions under which wires can burn out in short circuits.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that in an ideal short circuit, there is no resistance, leading to heat generation and potential wire burning.
  • Others clarify that in reality, even good conductors like copper have some resistance, which contributes to Joule heating as described by the formula W=R*I^2.
  • A participant emphasizes the importance of considering multiple resistances in a circuit, including contact resistance, wire resistance, and internal battery resistance.
  • One participant mentions that superconductors exhibit no resistance only below a critical current, suggesting that exceeding this current can introduce resistance and complicate the short circuit scenario.
  • Another participant provides a numerical example, illustrating the significant power dissipation and temperature rise that can occur in a short circuit with a typical copper wire and a 12-volt battery.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that an ideal short circuit has no resistance, but there is contention regarding the implications of resistance in real-world scenarios, with multiple competing views on how to interpret the effects of resistance and heat generation.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the limitations of ideal models versus practical applications, noting that assumptions about resistance and current flow may vary significantly in real-world conditions.

123kid
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In short circuit it is said that there is no resistance. So the current produce heat and wire is burnt. But as the rise in temperature increase the resistance then in short circuit heat must rise the resistance. How can we say there is no resistance in short circuit?
 
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There is no resistance in an ideal short circuit. In a real world situation even a good conductor such as a copper wire will have some (small) resistance, which in turn means that there will be Joule heating W=R*I^2 when a current flows through it.
 
123kid said:
In short circuit it is said that there is no resistance. So the current produce heat and wire is burnt. But as the rise in temperature increase the resistance then in short circuit heat must rise the resistance. How can we say there is no resistance in short circuit?

What f95toli said. Only an ideal short circuit has no resistance.

You need to look at the whole situation and understand the difference between real world and ideal case. Consider a battery with two wires connected to it. If the ends of the wires are connected together then we say that there is a "short circuit" but in reality there might be THREE resistors in such a circuit...

1) Where the wires are connected together. Is it a good electrical contact? Are they just touching? Is the metal oxidised? etc
2) In the wires themselves. Copper has some resistance.
3) In the battery. A battery is not an ideal voltage source. Most have some internal resistance even if its a few milli ohms.

The current that flows in the so called short circuit will depend on the sum of all these resistances.

PS. Super conductors have no resistance BUT only below a critical current. If you used a super conductor to short circuit a power supply it's likely that the critical current would be exceeded and the super conductor would suddenly have some resistance again.
 
f95toli said:
There is no resistance in an ideal short circuit. In a real world situation even a good conductor such as a copper wire will have some (small) resistance, which in turn means that there will be Joule heating W=R*I^2 when a current flows through it.

The numbers here can be fairly striking. One meter of 12-gauge copper wire has a resistance of about ##5\times{10}^{-3}## ohms. If we were to connect the two terminals of a typical 12-volt lead-acid auto battery (which would be a very stupid dangerous thing to do - we're calculating here, not planning an experiment!) with that length of wire we'd have a pretty decent approximation of an an ideal short circuit.

The current through the wire will be 2.4 kiloamps until something burns or explodes (or both). The power dissipated in the wire will be about 30 kilowatts. The wire only has a total volume of about 3 cc and a mass of about 25 grams, so we're talking enough power to raise the temperature of the wire by 3000 degrees celsius (that's well above the boiling point of molten copper) in one second if something doesn't break or burn during that second. Of course something does break or burn... but it happens very quickly and it is exciting, not in a good way.
 
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