Abstract :
W. H. Lesser: I want to ask which is preferable, the multiple-break or the plain type of circuit breaker? R. M. Spurck: The problem of economically producing interrupting capacity in an oil circuit breaker is fundamentally a problem of reducing gas formation. That breaker which produces the minimum amount of gas under any particular operating conditions is the most economical. Gas formation depends upon the total length and the total duration of the arc; that is, an arc two inch long will result in greater gas formation than an arc one inch long, first because more gas is formed per second; and, second, if speed of opening and all other factors are equal, the period of gas formation will be, of course, twice as long.
