CBSE Class 11-science Answered

A circuit breaker is an automatically-operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then has to be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset (either manually or automatically) to resume normal operation.

The circuit breaker must detect a fault condition; in low-voltage circuit breakers this is usually done within the breaker enclosure. Circuit breakers for large currents or high voltages are usually arranged with pilot devices to sense a fault current and to operate the trip opening mechanism.

Once a fault is detected, contacts within the circuit breaker must open to interrupt the circuit; some mechanically stored energy within the breaker is used to separate the contacts, although some of the energy required may be obtained from the fault current itself. The stored energy may be in the form of springs or compressed air. Small circuit breakers may be manually operated;