"Byrne's Law: In any electrical circuit, appliances and wiring will burn out to protect fuses"

Byrne's Law is an amusing method of stating that when something fails in an electrical circuit, it is typically the appliance or wiring that stops working, rather than the fuse. This is due to the fact that the fuse is created to secure the circuit from overloads and short circuits, and will blow before the device or wiring is damaged. Simply put, the fuse is a sacrificial element that will take the impact of the damage, rather than the more costly and difficult to change devices and electrical wiring. This is why it is important to utilize the appropriate size of fuse for the circuit, as a fuse that is too little will blow too easily, while a fuse that is too big will not blow at all, leaving the circuit unguarded.