Electronics & Technology (Q&A)

Answer:

An entire string of festival lights fail when a single bulb burns out or fuses because:

• Festival lights are generally of two types - single series and parallel series. It is generally the single series type of cord light that fails when even one bulb fuses out. In single wired series - electricity passes through single wire which connects all bulbs. The electricity continues to flow through the wire to the next bulb in the series. When one bulb burns out or is removed from the socket, the electrical circuit cannot be completed and all of the remaining lights do not glow.  

• In a parallel Christmas light scheme, two wires carry the electricity through each bulb. Theoretically at least, if one bulb's filament burns out, the remaining lights should remain lit. The problem with a parallel system is the complete removal of a Christmas bulb from its socket. Unless the parallel string of Christmas lights has a special shunt installed in the socket to bridge the gap, all of the lights may still go out.

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