Generation of a Sine Wave

By Steven McFadyen on 4/16/2012 1:57 PM

A fundamental concept behind the operation of alternating current systems is that voltage and current waveforms will be sinusoidal – a Sine Wave. This is best explained by considering how a coil of wire... read more..


Michael Faraday (the father of electrical engineering)

By Steven McFadyen on 2/22/2009 8:22 PM

Famed English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, a suburb of Surrey just south of the London Bridge. His family was not very well off and could onl... read more..


Lithium Ion Battery

By Steven McFadyen on 11/11/2012 11:46 AM

Over recent years the Lithium Ion battery has become popular in applications requiring high power densities with small weight and footprint.  Today Lithium Ion batteries are commonly found in mobil... read more..


Low Voltage Fault Tables

By Steven McFadyen on 6/24/2012 7:11 AM

The following tables provide quick order of magnitude fault levels for a a range of typical low voltage situations.

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9 power supply issues solved by using a UPS

By Steven McFadyen on 7/3/2012 1:58 PM

Installation of a UPS can help in reducing problems due to issues with the power supply.  A lot of people relate this to nine key issues.  Depending on the type of UPS installed it is possible... read more..


IEC 61439 Verification Methods

By Steven McFadyen on 3/3/2012 3:33 PM

The (relatively new) switchgear and control gear standard, IEC 61439 'Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies' has three methods which can be used to verify the characteristics of an assemb... read more..


8 Steps to Low Voltage Power Cable Selection and Sizing

By Steven McFadyen on 7/25/2011 2:48 AM

A recurring theme on our forums is cable sizing. Now many installations are unique and require special consideration. However, a lot of the time things are just repeated. When looking at low voltage pow... read more..


Questions - Reputation and Privilege

By Steven McFadyen on 6/15/2012 9:08 AM

Our question and answer system while letting you do exactly what it says, is much more.  It is a dynamic user driven system, where our users not only ask and answer questions, but can manage the... read more..


Famous Scientists

By Steven McFadyen on 3/22/2012 11:35 AM

Here’s list of some famous scientists. Deliberately short, with the aim to provide a quick memory jog or overview. If your looking for more detailed information, Google and Wikipedia have tons of ... read more..


Material Properties

By Steven McFadyen on 5/10/2012 2:15 PM

Everything physical in electrical engineering from insulations to conductors revolves around materials. Here we are listing common materials along with their most useful properties in relation to electr... read more..


Surface Treatment – Ladders, Trays and Baskets

By Steven McFadyen on 5/22/2012 8:41 AM

Steel ladders, trays and baskets form the backbone of cable containment systems. Often these items need some form of surface treatment to prevent corrosion due to the installed environmental conditio... read more..


DC Motor Operation

By Steven McFadyen on 3/28/2012 1:00 PM

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 mag... read more..




Back to Basics - Ohm’s Law

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...

New Mail Chimp

We've been sending out Newsletters on a regular basis for a few weeks now. To do this we have been using Google's Feedburner service. While Feedburner...

Cold Fusion (or not?)

Recently I have seen a few interesting articles on viable cold fusion; the combining of atoms at room like temperatures to create boundless energy. Now...

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...

Autonomous Vehicle Challenge

Two driverless and solar power vans have departed from Italy on their way to China via the silk road. During the 13,000 kM trip the vans will drive themselves...

Induction Motor Equivalent Circuit

Induction motors are frequently used in both industrial and domestic applications.  Within the induction motor, an electrical current in the rotor is induced...

Low Voltage Switchroom Design Guide

Low voltage (LV) switchrooms are common across all industries and one of the more common spatial requirements which need to be designed into a project...

Electromechanical Relays

Electromechanical relays have been the traditional backbone of electrical protection systems.  While over recent years these have been replaced by microprocessor...

Difference Between Live and Dead Tank Circuit Breakers

A quick post in connection with an email question: Live Tank - the circuit breaker the switching unit is located in an insulator bushing which is live...

Generator Sizing & Operation Limits

When selecting a generator, there are inherent limits on the active and reactive power which can be delivered. Generators are normally sized for a certain...

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