What is meant by a short circuit?
A short circuit occurs when electric current flows through an unintended low-resistance path in a circuit, bypassing the normal path.
This usually happens when the live wire and neutral wire come into direct contact, or when insulation fails. As a result, a very large amount of current flows suddenly, because the resistance becomes extremely low.
The effects of a short circuit include:
Short circuits are dangerous, which is why safety devices like fuses and MCBs are used to automatically break the circuit when such conditions occur.