Safety Devices: Circuit Breakers

Inside the circuit breaker panel (right) you can see the two primary wires from the transformer entering the main circuit breaker at the top. The main breaker lets you cut power to the entire panel when necessary. Within this overall setup, all of the wires for the different outlets and lights in the house each have a separate circuit breaker or fuse:

If the circuit breaker is on, then power flows through the wire in the wall and makes its way eventually to its final destination, the outlet.

What an unbelievable story! It took all of that equipment to get power from the power plant to the light in your bedroom.

The next time you drive down the road and look at the power lines, or the next time you flip on a light, you'll hopefully have a much better understanding of what is going on. The power distribution grid is truly an incredible system.