Luana Gay Anderson, age 10, of Murray, Utah, for her question:

How long is a  short circuit?

Pylons and power lines carry current from the generator in a never ending loop called a circuit. This master wire circuit may be many, many miles long. Along the way there axe countless outlets to supply daughter and granddaughter circuits with smaller helpings of power. So long as the master circuit and its offspring are linked together, the generator pushes a never ending current of electric power through the never ending loop. But if a line breaks, a connection comes loose or a wire becomes overloaded and overheated, the big circuit is broken or shortened.

Sometimes a circuit breaker is used to break the current on purpose. It is designed to create safe short circuits. But accidental short circuits are dangerous. The generator goes on pushing current through the wires and searing electricity tries to leap across and bridge the gap. A short circuit may be caused by a paper thin break in the wiring, by wires that are crossed or worn or melted with overloaded power. When a major connection fails, a short circuit may cut out miles of line and whole cities are without electric power until the complete circuit is restored.