A resettable fuse is a polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) device used for overcurrent protection. Under normal current, it has very low resistance. If a short circuit draws excessive current, the device heats up, expanding its polymer matrix and drastically increasing resistance to choke off the flow. Once the power is removed and it cools, the polymer contracts and normal operation resumes.
Heard on the job
The USB port stopped working because the resettable fuse tripped, just unplug the peripheral and wait a minute.
Also heard as
- polyfuse
- PTC
- polyswitch