Editing Fuse (electrical) (section)

==History==
{{Electrical Wiring Sidebar}}

[[Louis Clément François Breguet]] recommended the use of reduced-section conductors to protect telegraph stations from [[Lightning|lightning strikes]]; by melting, the smaller wires would protect apparatus and wiring inside the building.<ref>Walter Schossig ''Introduction to the history of selective protection'', ''PAC Magazine'', Summer 2007 pp. 70–74</ref> A variety of wire or foil fusible elements were in use to protect telegraph cables and lighting installations as early as 1864.<ref>Arthur Wright, P. Gordon Newbery ''Electric fuses 3rd edition'', Institution of Electrical Engineers (IET), 2004, {{ISBN|0-86341-379-X}}, pp. 2–10</ref>

A fuse was patented by [[Thomas Edison]] in 1890 as part of his electric distribution system.<ref>[http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents/00438305.PDF edison.rutgers.edu/patents/&nbsp;— U.S. Patent Office number 438305 "Fuse Block" (.pdf)] Edison writes, "The passage of an abnormal electric current fuses the safety-catch and breaks the circuit, as will be understood."</ref>