Mobile Phones (Brick to Implant)
The mobile phone was born in 1973. They were the size of a brick and weighed a couple of kg, making them difficult to fit into your pocket. At a few thousand...
How to Check a Circuit is Dead
If you want to check a circuit is dead (not live), you should always use the three point method. First check a known live circuit, then check the dead...
DC Motor Operation
Coils of wire on the rotor carry a d.c. current which generates a magnetic field. A stator magnetic field is created using either permanent magnets or...
Lightning Risk Assessment (IEC 62305)
IEC 62305 'Protection against lightning' requires a risk assessment be carried out to determine the characteristics of any lightning protection system...
Periodic Electrical Installation Inspection – What to Inspect?
This is the second post in a series of two on periodic electrical inspections. In the first post, I discussed how often inspections should be carried out...
Cable Sheath and Armour Loss
When sizing cables, the heat generated by losses within any sheath or armour need to be evaluated. When significant, it becomes a factor to be considered...
IEC 60287 Current Capacity of Cables - An Introduction
IEC 60287 "Calculation of the continuous current rating of cables (100% load factor)" is the International Standard which defines the procedures and equations...
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was born exactly at midnight on July 10, 1856 in the tiny village of Smiljan, Lika in Croatia. In his late teens, Tesla left the village to...
What is a rectifier transformer?
I've recently come across this question a couple times browsing the internet. Decided to give a quick answer here. A rectifier transformer is a transformer...
Cost Performance and Time
Often us engineers get so bogged down in equations, using software, producing drawings and writing specifications that this becomes the sole focus. ...