In our lives, we often see electric sparks, especially when it comes to plugs or sockets. The common term for "electric spark" among ordinary people is actually a professional term called "arc".

　　Generation of electric arc:

　　An arc occurs when two conductors (one of which has a voltage exceeding 20V) are closed but not in direct contact (virtual connection state), and the voltage directly passes through the air to generate current. Due to the high resistance of air, the current in the air has the characteristics of high temperature and light emission - when the current flows through almost all high resistance conductors, it will emit high temperature and light, such as tungsten wire (incandescent lamp), electric furnace, etc.

　　Let's elaborate more: When two conductors are incorrectly connected, the electric field strength is greatly affected by the curvature of the contact surface. Under the action of a strong electric field, the surrounding air is ionized, producing a large number of charged ions.

　　These ions move under the action of an electric field and generate an electric current. But the electric field here is not closed, but in the air. When neutral particles in the air (dust, non ionized air, etc.) come into contact with charged ions, they release kinetic energy, causing luminescence and heat generation.

　　Arc hazard:

　　There are two main hazards of electric arcs:

　　The temperature of the arc itself is very high, which is a test for the flame retardancy of plugs and sockets. If the arc is large, it may pop out and injure people, or ignite other objects.

　　2. Electric arcs have a certain corrosiveness to metals. Frequent ignition of sockets may affect the flatness of internal spring clips - damaged spring clips not only affect conductivity, but also lead to stronger ignition next time.

　　Arc protection

　　In order to prevent the generation of electric arcs, people have come up with many methods. There are three commonalities in our lives:

　　1. Increase the strength of the spring clip and the thickness of the plug, tighten the plug directly, shorten the virtual connection time, and avoid air ionization.

　　2. The circuit breaker is equipped with an arc extinguishing barrier. After the arc is generated, it will be stretched, cooled, and promptly extinguished with air (all household circuit breakers are also known as "air switches").

　　3. Improve the popularization rate of safe electricity usage knowledge, and try to cut off the power supply as much as possible when plugging and unplugging high-power electrical appliances (directly cut off the line, or turn off the electrical power before plugging and unplugging).

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