Short circuit - A clarifying point

This a so-called big mouth engineer degree versus sifu.

What is Short Circuit

A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an accidental low-resistance connection between two nodes of an electrical circuit that are meant to be at different voltages.

Explanation

In circuit analysis, the term short circuit is used by analogy to designate a zero-impedence connection between two nodes. This forces the two nodes to be at the same voltage. In an ideal short circuit, this means there is no resistance and no voltage drop across the short. In simple circuit analysis, wires are considered to be shorts. In real circuits, the result is a connection of nearly zero impedance, and almost no resistance. In such a case, the current drawn is limited by the rest of the circuit.

Example

A short circuit is to connect the positive and negative terminals of a battery together with a low-resistance conductor, like a wire. With low resistance in the connection, a high current flows, causing the cell to deliver a large amount of energy in a short time. (See also:

Ohm's law, power).

In electrical devices, unintentional short circuits are usually caused when a wire's insulation breaks down, or when another conducting material (such as water) is introduced, allowing charge to flow along a different path than the one intended.

MY style of explaining

Short Circuit: If electricity has a choice between travelling through

a device (high resistance) or a wire (low resistance) it will always choose the wire! And because it can travel much faster with low resistance, electricity creates more heat in a short circuit. If you feel your batteries getting hot, you've got a short circuit! Disconnect a wire to the battery a.s.a.p. because the batteries will quickly be ruined.

For the record wiht my limited engineering knowledge, air kenot short circuit. 1000 apologies sifu