Fundamental electrical engineering concepts and theory
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 circuit and finally recheck the live circuit. Carry... read more..
If you are working on a large plan, get the real coordinates [latitude, longitude] for two or more points and add them to the drawing. That way you can always work out the scale and dimensions.
Electrical engineering has a multitude of laws and theorems. It is fair to say the Ohm's Law is one of the more widely known; it not the most known. Developed in 1827 by Georg Ohm the law defines the re... read more..
The term 'N+1' relates to redundancy and simply means that if you required 'N' items of equipment for something to work, you would have one additional spare item. If any one item of equipment breaks dow... read more..
A lot of our members work in countries where PPE (personal protective equipment) is regulated or they work for companies/organizations which take employee safety seriously. Unfortunately, there are plac... read more..
When thinking about watts (W) or kilowatt (kW = 1000 W) it can be useful too keep in mind the fundamental ideas behind the unit. Watt is not a pure electrical or mechanical unit, but is a measure of the... read more..
It's been a busy few months on different projects or busy couple of decades depending on how I look at it. I can say that on the odd (frequent) occasion when trying to explain something (i.e. electricit... read more..
Battery powered cars are a hot topic and widely debated. The pros, cons, issues and time frames can be talked about endlessly. An article by the Telegraph looks at some of the issues in an A to Z format... read more..
I received this question by email a few weeks. First thoughts was that it is a product of the mathematics of rotating a straight conductor in a magnetic field. While I guess this is the primary issue... read more..
ABB has produced a range of technical guides that offer concise explanations of the major technologies and technical issues in low voltage AC drives. The technical guides cover subjects such as th... read more..
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 pursue a career in electrical engineering. He sta... read more..
Using software in our work is essential for most of us and we are becoming even more dependant on it's use. While software is a great asset, many times using it can be more problematic ... read more..
How often installations are inspected is up to the owner of the installation, provided such durations do not exceed any regulatory maximums in force. ...
Motor starting and its associated problems are well-known to many people who have worked on large industrial processes. However, these things are, of course...
The IET site has a video of a visit showing of a high tech meeting room developed at Napier University in Edinburgh. It a good demonstration of innovative...
When selecting a cable, the performance of the cable under fault conditions is an important consideration. It is important that calculations be carried...
The new standard IEC 61439 replaces the old 60439. Compared to the old standard, the new 61439 is a more clearly defined and takes into account the assembly...
The other day I came across an article in Technology Review on the development of a smart transformer. A professor at North Carolina State University is...
One of the requirements to ensuring that everything works is to have equipment selected, manufactured and verified [tested] to IEC standards. Not all equipment...
Problems on achieving maximum voltage drop within an installation come up often. Depending where you live, local regulations will have different limits...
In a previous article I looked at the dc resistance of conductors and in this article we turn our attention to ac resistance. If you have not read the...
Cable insulation is used to provide electrical separation between conductors of a cable. During the historical development of cables, numerous types...
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