this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
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Prototype of RTX 5090 Appears With Four 16-Pin Power Connectors, Capable of Delivering 2,400W (www.eteknix.com)
submitted 1 week ago by Allah@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] justJanne@startrek.website 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The recent technology connections video cited a lot of statistics on this topic, and at least household fires are primarily caused by overcurrent, not by arcing.

You probably know more than me — I only studied compsci with ee as minor — but from my personal experience, I've seen many cases where overcurrent caused damage, burns or fire, but I can't remember a single case where arcing caused actual damage.

Even in cheap chinesium powerstrips, the primary cause of fires is overcurrent due to AWG 22 copper clad iron wire, not arcing. (Though the switches usually weld themselves together after a few dozen uses).

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Arcing causes more fires, because over current caused all the fires until we tightened standards and dual-mode circuit breakers.

Now fires are caused by loose connections arcing, and damaged wires arcing to flammable material.

Breakers are specifically designed for a sustained current, but arcing is dangerous because it tends to cascade, light arcing damages contacts, leading to more arcing in a cycle.

The real danger of arcing is that it can happen outside of view, and start fires that aren't caught till everything burns down.