When are the greater number of amperes of electricity flowing through the zinc shaving? (NOTE. "Amperes" means the amount of current flowing.) Can the zinc shaving stand as many amperes as the fuse wire you ordinarily use? Which lets more electricity pass through it, the lamp or the resistance wire? Why do electric irons and toasters often blow out fuses? If this happens at your home, examine the fuse and see how many amperes (how much current) it will allow to flow through it. It will say _6A_ if it allows 6 amperes to pass through it; _25A_ if it allows 25 amperes to pass through it, etc. The fuse wire across the fuse gap allows about 8 amperes to pass through before it melts. The zinc shaving allows only about 2. Read the marks on the cartridge and plug fuses. How many amperes will they stand? _APPLICATION 60._ A family had just secured an electric heater. The first night it was used, the fuse blew out. The boy said: "Let's put a piece of copper wire across the fuse socket; then there can't be any more trouble." The father said that they had better get a new fuse to replace the old one. The old fuse was marked _10A_. Was the boy or was the father right? If the father was right, should they have got a fuse marked _6A_, one marked _10A_, or one marked _15A_? _APPLICATION 61._ The family were putting up an extension light. They wanted the cord held firmly up out of the way. One suggested that they drive a nail through both parts of the cord and into the wall. Another thought it would be better to put a loop of string around the cord and fasten the loop to the wall. A third suggested the use of a double-pointed carpet tack that would go across the wires, but not through them, and if driven tightly into the wall would hold the wire more firmly than would the loop. Which way was best? INFERENCE EXERCISE Explain the following: 361. If the insulation wears off both wires of a lamp cord, the fuse will blow out. 362. Street cars are heated by electricity. 363. The handles of pancake turners are often made of wood. 364. Glue soaks into the pores of pieces of wood and gradually hardens. 365. The glue then holds the pieces tightly together. 366. You need a fuse of higher amperage, as a 10-ampere fuse, instead of a 6-ampere one, where you use electricity for an iron, and one of still higher amperage for an electric stove. 367. You should be careful about turning on electric lights or doing anything with electric wires when you are on a cement, iron, or earthen floor, or if you are standing in water. 368. The keys and buttons with which you turn on electric lights are usually made of a rubber composition. 369. Defective wiring, because of which bare wires may touch, has caused many fires.