Fuses having suppressed voltage transients

A shunt device which is used to protect electrical equipment when a fuse blows at a selected blowing voltage by minimizing the inductive spike which occurs when said fuse blows, said device comprising a by-pass across said fuse for permitting a limited amount of current to begin to flow at a lower voltage than said blowing voltage and before said fuse blows, thereby serving as a transitory relief valve for a portion of said current.

A method of suppressing an electrical transient having a transient path within a circuit, comprising:

• A. connecting a fusible link in said transient path, said fusible link developing a voltage drop thereacross before blowing thereof;
• and
• B. connecting at least one partially pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile fiber in parallel with said fusible link, said fiber being capable of switching to a low resistance state while said fusible link is blowing and at a switching voltage that is less than said voltage drop, whereby the rate of change of said electrical transient with time is lowered, thus selectively decreasing the size of said electrical transient.