Fuse wire is a wire of

Asked in CBSE AIPMT 2003 · Fuse and circuit protection

Answer: (2) high resistance and low melting point

Step-by-step solution

A fuse must heat up quickly and melt when the current exceeds its rating.

High resistance (for its size) gives more Joule heating, I²R.

Low melting point lets it melt at a modest temperature.

So fuse wire has high resistance and low melting point.

(1) A high melting point would stop the fuse melting on overload, which is its whole job.
(3) A low resistance heats less, so the fuse would be slow to melt on overload.
(4) Both properties are the wrong way round for a fuse; this describes an ordinary connecting wire.

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