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A sudden fail-open fault can cause multiple secondary failures if it is fast and the circuit contains an inductance; this causes large voltage spikes, which may exceed 500 volts. A broken metallisation on a chip may thus cause secondary overvoltage damage. [1] Thermal runaway can cause sudden failures including melting, fire or explosions.
Tree limbs cause a short circuit, triggering an electrical arc during a storm. A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit.
Initial reports suggest that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit within an oxygen concentrator. Eyewitness accounts indicate that a nurse allegedly lit a matchstick while handling an oxygen cylinder, igniting the highly flammable environment of the NICU.
Common types of asymmetric fault, and their causes: line-to-line fault - a short circuit between lines, caused by ionization of air, or when lines come into physical contact, for example due to a broken insulator. In transmission line faults, roughly 5% - 10% are asymmetric line-to-line faults. [2]
If an electrical circuit is established by electrodes introduced in the body, bypassing the skin, then the potential for lethality is much higher if a circuit through the heart is established. This is known as a microshock. Currents of only 10 μA can be sufficient to cause fibrillation in this case with a probability of 0.2%. [22]
This discharge generates heat, which can break down the wire's insulation and trigger an electrical fire. Arc faults can range in current from a few amps up to thousands of amps, and are highly variable in strength and duration. Some common causes of arc fault are loose wire connections, over heated wires, or wires pinched by furniture.
Reduced voltages can bring control signals below the threshold at which logic circuits can reliably detect which state is being represented. As the voltage returns to normal levels the logic can latch at an incorrect state; to the extent that even " can't happen " states become possible.
A voltage sag (U.S. English) or voltage dip [1] (British English) is a short-duration reduction in the voltage of an electric power distribution system. It can be caused by high current demand such as inrush current (starting of electric motors, transformers, heaters, power supplies) or fault current (overload or short circuit) elsewhere on the system.