[potmat]

"Under the words 'Contact Position' there's a button that says 'Push to Close'".

"Push it."

When Spielberg was on he was ON! Who else could take a scene like "they have to reset the circuit breakers" and make you absolutely on the edge of your seat over it.

[hlandau]

Out of curiosity I actually looked up the details on this scene a while back. There is some actual real model of circuit breaker this scene was based on; I think someone dug up the model number, but I can't remember it now.

It turns out a lot of high-power circuit breakers need the energy from a clockwork mechanism in order to open in the event of a fault. So the thing where you have to pump the handle is actually to charge a clockwork mechanism to ensure there's enough mechanical energy to open in the event of a fault - AIUI. Presumably, the breaker is designed with safety in mind and won't let you push-to-close until you've done this.

[potmat]

Neat! I just looked it up now, it's a Westinghouse SPB-100 (https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Circuit_Breakers).

I always thought that the main breaker looked much more real than the "individual park systems". Turns out it was! The other "breakers" with the backlit names are definitely from the prop department