system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If in an AC circuit, current goes both ways, why are the switch and fuse connected to the live wire?

From my understanding, there should also be current flowing from the neutral wire (correct me on this if necessary). If so, why is the live wire so special that the fuse and switch are connected to it?
gpt
The same current flows through both the live and neutral wires when the circuit is closed (turned on) and functioning correctly.

The difference between live and neutral is when the circuit is open (switch is off); then *only the live wire* is connected to the electrical grid. If you were to connect a wire from live to the ground, current would flow, but neutral to ground would not. This makes the live wire the dangerous one; if the switch is between the device and neutral instead of device and live, the whole device is still getting voltage applied to it, and is therefore dangerous if short circuits happen. If the switch is between live and the device, there's no voltage at all past the switch and the device is safe.

This is also why the fuse must be there---otherwise a short circuit to ground would bypass the fuse entirely.