Electric power

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Jump to: navigation, search For delivered electric energy, see Electric power industry. For physics concept of expenditure of energy, see Power (physics). Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The S unit of power is the watt.

!lectric energy is transmitted with overhead lines on pylons like these in "risbane, #ustralia. For underground transmission see high voltage cables. When electric current flows in a circuit, it can transfer energy to do mechanical or thermodynamic work. $evices convert electrical energy into many useful forms, such as heat %electric heaters&, light %light bulbs&, motion %electric motors&, sound %loudspeaker&, information technological processes %computers&, or even chemical changes. !lectricity can be produced mechanically by generation, or chemically, or by direct conversion from light in photovoltaic cells, also it can be stored chemically in batteries.

Contents

' (athematics of electric power o '.' )ircuits

'.'.' $irect current '.'.* #lternating current o '.* n space * See also o *.' +ower generation , -eferences

. !/ternal links

[edit] Mathematics of electric power

[edit] Circuits
!lectric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical e0uations. The term wattage is used collo0uially to mean 1electric power in watts.1 [edit] Direct current n direct current resistive circuits, electrical power is calculated using Joule2s law:

where P is the electric power, V the potential difference, and I the electric current. n the case of resistive %3hmic, or linear& loads, Joule2s law can be combined with 3hm2s law %I 4 V/ & to produce alternative e/pressions for the dissipated power:

where

is the electrical resistance.

[edit] Alternating current (ain article: #) power n alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductance and capacitance may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. The portion of power flow that, averaged over a complete cycle of the #) waveform, results in net transfer of energy in one direction is known as real power %also referred to as active power&. That portion of power flow due to stored energy, that returns to the source in each cycle, is known as reactive power.

+ower triangle The components of #) power The relationship between real power, reactive power and apparent power can be e/pressed by representing the 0uantities as vectors. -eal power is represented as a hori5ontal vector and reactive power is represented as a vertical vector. The apparent power vector is the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by connecting the real and reactive power vectors. This representation is often called the power triangle. 6sing the +ythagorean Theorem, the relationship among real, reactive and apparent power is:

%apparent power&* 4 %real power&* 7 %reactive power&*

-eal and reactive powers can also be calculated directly from the apparent power, when the current and voltage are both sinusoids with a known phase angle between them:

%real power& 4 %apparent power&cos%8& %reactive power& 4 %apparent power&sin%8&

The ratio of real power to apparent power is called power factor and is a number always between 9 and '. Where the currents and voltages have non:sinusoidal forms, power factor is generali5ed to include the effects of distortion.

[edit] In space
!lectrical power flows wherever electric and magnetic fields e/ist together and fluctuate in the same place. The simplest e/ample of this is in electrical circuits, as the preceding section showed. n the general case, however, the simple e0uation P 4 IV must be replaced by a more comple/ calculation, the integral of the cross:product of the electrical and magnetic field vectors over a specified area, thus:

The result is a scalar since it is the surface integral of the Poynting vector.

[edit] See also

Energy portal

;igh voltage cable #) power !<- $ !lectric energy consumption -ural electrification

[edit] Power generation

!lectricity generation !nergy development =uclear +ower Fossil fuel power plant <eothermal +ower

[edit] References

-eports on #ugust *99, "lackout, =orth #merican !lectric -eliability )ouncil website )roft, Terrell> Summers, Wilford . %'?@A&. !"erican Electricans# $and%oo& %!leventh !dition ed.&. =ew Bork: (c<raw ;ill. S"= 9:9A9:',?,*:C. http:DDbooks.mcgraw:hill.comDgetbook.phpEisbn499A',AA,F*. Fink, $onald <.> "eaty, ;. Wayne %'?A@&. 'tandard $and%oo& for Electrical Engineers %!leventh !dition ed.&. =ew Bork: (c<raw ;ill. S"= 9:9A9:*9?A.: G. http:DDbooks.mcgraw:hill.comDgetbook.phpEisbn499A9**99F9.

[edit] E ternal lin!s

6.S. $epartment of !nergy: !lectric +ower

-etrieved from 1http:DDen.wikipedia.orgDwikiD!lectricHpower1 )ategories: !lectric power I !lectromagnetism

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