6.b) Write a note on electrical safety.
Answer:
Electrical Safety
Electrical faults rank highly, along with careless smoking, heating, and cooking. Electrical causes include distribution wiring, appliances, portable tools, and other electrical processes that produce ignition sources such as welding. Fire can be ignited by overheating or by sparks created by arcing.
Electrical equipment operates because electrical energy flows through a circuit. The potential of energy of the circuit, which is voltage, is given by the relation:
E= IR
where EEE is voltage or potential (in volts), III is the current measured in amperes, and RRR is resistance measured in ohms. The power PPP in any circuit is measured in watts and is given by the relation:
P=IE
P=I2E
Heat is generated within the wires of a circuit when current flows and can be described by the relation:
H=I2Rt
Where, t = time
All materials conduct electricity if the conditions are right. Resistance is important when determining the effects of electricity. It is the current that injures people in contact with electricity.
The hazards of electrical appliances are due to the resistance of our skin to the conduction of current. Once skin resistance is overcome, current flows readily through blood and body tissues. The effect can vary from slight sensations to painful muscle contractions, burns, and death. Death can result from asphyxiation caused by respiratory interference either from muscular contraction or paralysis of the central nervous system and can affect the heart. Electrical burns are usually deep, very painful, and slow to heal.