Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Safety fuse
open-in-new
<p> The safety fuse is a type of <a href="/facts/Fuse_(explosive)/BLv0GeAN">fuse</a> invented and <a href="/facts/Patent/LjT2bG3A">patented</a> by English inventor <a href="/facts/William_Bickford_(1774%25E2%2580%25931834)/9CL9N5hk">William Bickford</a> in 1831. Originally it consisted of a "tube" of gunpowder surrounded by a waterproofed varnished jute "rope." It replaced earlier and less reliable methods of igniting gunpowder blasting charges which had caused many injuries and deaths in the <a href="/facts/Mining/g6uDIFab">mining</a> industry. The safety fuse burns at a rate of typically about 30 seconds per foot (1 second per cm). </p>