BEM Co. type 2965 two-position fuse block
date: label: date made
content: ca 1900
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: A ceramic base with two medium screw fuse sockets. Molded on top: "BEM Co.", "30A", "125V". This early 20th century fuse block was designed to protect two circuits in a power system or a radio setup. The holders are of the then-standard medium screw base adopted from Edison’s incandescent lamps. Refinements later in the century altered the sizes of the holders so that only fuses of a specific rating could be used, thereby preventing users from circumventing the safety feature by installing a replacement fuse of higher rating rather than fixing the core malfunction.
label: Description (Brief)
content: An electric lighting system is just that–a system–and it requires multiple components to function safely. Fuses are important components in these systems, providing a point of controlled failure in the circuit that protects users and equipment from damage in case of malfunctions. Fuses (first designed by Thomas Edison for his lighting systems) are deliberately designed to be the weak spot in a circuit, so that they fail and cut power in the system before a surge can cause damage. They are also designed to be accessible and easily repairable so that service can be quickly restored once the root cause of the malfunction is corrected. Electricity (in the form of lightning) has been known to be dangerous since antiquity, and the development and adoption of electrical safety systems was critical in gaining public, investor, and underwriters’ acceptance.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2023.0177.10
label: accession number
content: 2023.0177
label: catalog number
content: 2023.0177.10
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fuse holder
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 in x 2 3/4 in x 1 1/2 in; 7.62 cm x 6.985 cm x 3.81 cm