Ampere

An ampere is a unit of measure of the rate of electron flow or current in an electrical conductor. One ampere of current
represents one coulomb of electrical charge (6.24 x 1018 charge carriers) moving past a specific point in one second.
Physicists consider current to flow from relatively positive points to relatively negative points; this is called conventional
current or Franklin current

volt-amperes reactive (vars): In alternating-current power transmission and distribution, the product of the rms voltage and
amperage, i.e., the apparent power, multiplied by the sine of the phase angle between the voltage and the current. Note 1:
Vars represents the power not consumed by a reactive load, i.e., when there is a phase difference between the applied
voltage and the current. Note 2: Only effective power, i.e., the actual power delivered to or consumed by the load, is
expressed in watts. Volt-amperes reactive is properly expressed only in volt-amperes, never watts. Note 3: To maximize
transmission efficiency, vars must be minimized by balancing capacitive and inductive loads, or by the addition of an
appropriate capacitive or inductive reactance to the load.

Volt-Ampere
Volt-ampere (VA) is a measurement of power in a direct current (DC) electrical circuit. The VA specification is also used in
alternating current (AC) circuits, but it is less precise in this application, because it represents apparent power, which often
differs from true power.

In a DC circuit, 1 VA is the equivalent of one watt (1 W). The power, P (in watts) in a DC circuit is equal to the product of the
voltage V (in volts) and the current I (in amperes):

P = VI

In an AC circuit, power and VA mean the same thing only when there is no reactance. Reactance is introduced when a
circuit contains an inductor or capacitor. Because most AC circuits contain reactance, the VA figure is greater than the actual
dissipated or delivered power in watts. This can cause confusion in specifications for power supplies. For example, a supply
might be rated at 600 VA. This does not mean it can deliver 600 watts, unless the equipment is reactance-free. In real life,
the true wattage rating of a power supply is 1/2 to 2/3 of the VA rating.

When purchasing a power source such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for use with electronic equipment
(including computers, monitors, and other peripherals), be sure the VA specifications for the equipment are used when
determining the minimum ratings for the power supply. The VA figure is nominally 1.67 times (167 percent of) the power
consumption in watts. Alternatively, you can multiply the VA rating of the power supply by 0.6 (60 percent) to get a good idea
of its power-delivering capability in watts.

Watt
The watt (abbreviated W) is the standard unit of >power (or energy per unit time) and is the equivalent of one joule per
second.? The watt is used to specify the rate at which electrical energy is dissipated, or the rate at which electromagnetic
energy is radiated, absorbed, or dissipated.

Question
If volts measure the potential for energy to travel and ohms measure the resistance to the electrical flow, but then what are
amps and watts?

Answer
The three most basic units in electricity are voltage (V), current (A) and resistance (r). Voltage is measured in volts, current is
measured in amps and resistance is measured in ohms.

A neat analogy to help understand these terms is a system of plumbing pipes. The voltage is equivalent to the water
pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate, and the resistance is like the pipe size.

There is a basic equation in electrical engineering that states how the three terms relate. It says that the current is equal to
the voltage divided by the resistance.

A = V/r

Let's see how this relation applies to the plumbing system. Let's say you have a tank of pressurized water connected to a
hose that you are using to water the garden.

What happens if you increase the pressure in the tank? You probably can guess that this makes more water come out of the
hose. The same is true of an electrical system: Increasing the voltage will make more current flow.
Let's say you increase the diameter of the hose and all of the fittings to the tank. You probably guessed that this also makes
more water come out of the hose. This is like decreasing the resistance in an electrical system, which increases the current
flow.
Electrical power is measured in watts. In an electrical system power (P) is equal to the voltage multiplied by the current.
P = VA

The water analogy still applies. Take a hose and point it at a waterwheel like the ones that were used to turn grinding stones
in watermills. You can increase the power generated by the waterwheel in two ways. If you increase the pressure of the
water coming out of the hose, it hits the waterwheel with a lot more force and the wheel turns faster, generating more power.
If you increase the flow rate, the waterwheel turns faster because of the weight of the extra water hitting it.

In an electrical system, increasing either the current or the voltage will result in higher power. Let's say you have a system
with a 6-volt light bulb hooked up to a 6-volt battery. The power output of the light bulb is 100 watts.
A transformer is an electrical device that takes electricity of one voltage and changes it into another voltage. You'll see
transformers at the top of utility poles and even changing the voltage in a toy train set.

Basically, a transformer changes electricity from high to low voltage using two properties of electricity. In an electric circuit,
there is magnetism around it. Second, whenever a magnetic field changes (by moving or by changing strength) a voltage is
made. Voltage is the measure of the strength or amount of electrons flowing through a wire.

If there's another wire close to an electric current that is changing strength, the current of electricity will also flow into that
other wire as the magnetism changes.

A transformer takes in electricity at a higher voltage and lets it run through lots of coils wound around an iron core. Because
the current is alternating, the magnetism in the core is also alternating. Also around the core is an output wire with fewer
coils. The magnetism changing back and forth makes a current in the wire. Having fewer coils means less voltage. So the
voltage is "stepped-down."

You know that P = 100 W, and V = 6 V. So you can rearrange the equation to solve for I and substitute in the numbers.
I = P/V = 100 W / 6 V = 16.66 amps
What would happen if you use a 12-volt battery and a 12-volt light bulb to get 100 watts of power?
100 W / 12 V = 8.33 amps

So this system produces the same power, but with half the current. There is an advantage that comes from using less
current to make the same amount of power. The resistance in electrical wires consumes power, and the power consumed
increases as the current going through the wires increases. You can see how this happens by doing a little rearranging of
the two equations. What you need is an equation for power in terms of resistance and current. Let's rearrange the first
equation:

I = V / R can be restated as V = I R

Now you can substitute the equation for V into the other equation:

P = V I substituting for V we get P = IR I, or P = I2R

What this equation tells you is that the power consumed by the wires increases if the resistance of the wires increases (for
instance, if the wires get smaller or are made of a less conductive material). But it increases dramatically if the current going
through the wires increases. So using a higher voltage to reduce the current can make electrical systems more efficient. The
efficiency of electric motors also improves at higher voltages.

This improvement in efficiency is what is driving the automobile industry to adopt a higher voltage standard. Carmakers are
moving toward a 42-volt electrical system from the current 12-volt electrical systems. The electrical demand on cars has
been steadily increasing since the first cars were made. The first cars didn't even have electrical headlights; they used oil
lanterns.

Today cars have thousands of electrical circuits, and future cars will demand even more power. The change to 42 volts will
help cars meet the greater electrical demand placed on them without having to increase the size of wires and generators to
handle the greater current.