Power Factor
Power factor is the ratio between the real power (P in kW) and apparent power (S in kVA) drawn by an electrical load. The reactive power (Q in kVAr)...
The ac resistance of conductors
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...
Electromechanical Relays
Electromechanical relays have been the traditional backbone of electrical protection systems. While over recent years these have been replaced by microprocessor...
Railway Electrification Voltages
This post is quick introduction and overview to different railway electrification voltages used in answer to a question sent in via email. While there...
Why a Sine Wave?
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...
Understanding Motor Duty Rating
One of the comments on my Motor Starting Series was asking for something on duty cycles. Here it is.
As a purchaser of a motor, you have responsibility...
Batteries
A battery consists of one or more cells, each of which use stored chemical energy to produce electrical energy, There are many types of cells and these...
Useful Motor Technical Information
Sometimes it’s useful to be able to quickly lookup a piece of technical information. This note is a collection of information related to motors, and in...
Generation of a Sine Wave
A fundamental concept behind the operation of alternating current systems is that voltage and current waveforms will be sinusoidal – a Sine Wave. This...
The dc resistance of conductors
This is the first of two posts on the resistance of conductors. In the next post I will look at the ac resistance, including skin effect and we deal with...