Final answer:
The Electrical Safety Authority's primary activities include investigating workplace accidents, developing safety standards, regulating nuclear material usage, and supervising energy transmission. They also focus on electrical safety systems that prevent thermal and shock hazards using devices like circuit breakers, fuses, and the three-wire system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary activities of the Electrical Safety Authority include investigating accidents at workplaces, enforcing regulations to ensure the safety of employees, and developing safety standards for consumer goods. Additionally, this organization regulates the civilian use of nuclear materials and facilities, and supervises the transmission of various forms of energy.
When it comes to electrical safety systems and devices, their purpose is to mitigate the risks of thermal and shock hazards. For instance, circuit breakers and fuses are designed to interrupt excessive currents, thereby preventing thermal hazards, and the three-wire system protects against both shock and thermal hazards. It employs live/hot, neutral, and earth/ground wires, with the neutral wire and the case of the appliance being grounded. Transformers also have numerous applications in such systems to enhance safety.
Understanding how these systems and devices operate, such as the use of induction, can further help prevent a range of electrical hazards, and such knowledge is essential for environments with heightened safety requirements like hospitals, where even very low currents can pose significant risks to microshock-sensitive patients.