News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V?. Parent comment

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by bitdivision on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @02:18PM (#37311758)
Bulbs normally burn out open, breaking the circuit. And in the unusual case that they don't, I would imagine the thin wires leading to the filament will melt, also breaking the circuit.

And if all else fails you your circuit breaker should flip.

If bulbs normally failed short, then you'd have circuit breaker's flipping a lot more often.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by eythian on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @11:50AM (#37323975)
They can be a little spectacular when they fail short. My last incandescent (a bathroom light) did it a few weeks ago, exploding the glass of the bulb and popping the breaker for my downstairs circuit.
[ Parent | on HN ]