PDX_21_Electrical Vocabulary Flashcards
The standard measurement of power, equivalent to one joule per second
Watt
Electrically charged atom or group of atoms
Ion
1000 W
Kilowatt
A measure of power equal to 746 W
Horsepower
A conductor, flow of energy, and electric potential difference (voltage), and some type of medium that creates resistance to flow
Circuit
The building block to energy. It states that current is directly proportional to voltage and indirectly proportional to resistance. If voltage goes up, current goes up. If voltage goes down, current will go down
OHM’s law
Measured and amps, it’s the amount of flow through a circuit
Current (I)
Measured in volts, the amount of force or potential in a circuit
Voltage (V)
Measured in ohms, the amount that slows down the current
Resistance (R/Ω)
The rate of energy transfer, expressed his energy/time (in hours)
Power (P)
When one column of charge passes a point in one second
Amp
Current that flows in one direction with constant voltage (example: batteries)
Typical for low-voltage applications which are less dangerous as there is less current.
DC current
Direction of the flow can be reversed rapidly by reversing the voltage resulting in a sine wave one plotted. The standard form of electrical current supplied by the utility grade and by most fuel powered generators.
AC current
Distribution of AC power using a system in which all the voltages of the sully vary in unison, when used when loads are mostly lighting and heating with a few large electric motors
Single phase electric power
Like an AC current but three different circuits each 120° out of phase with the other and one neutral current
Three phase AC current
The resistance in and alternating current, measured in ohms
Impedance
The face difference between voltage and current in AC circuits.
A.k.a. cosine of the angle between the voltage wave and resultant current wave, ranges from 0 to 1 and expressed as a percentage.
Power factor (PF)
The ratio between the average and maximum power demands of the building
Load factor
Part of the electrical resistance in an alternating current circuit caused by inductance and capacitance
Reactance
A machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy
Motor
In machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy
Generator
Generator that commonly produces AC current by converting mechanical energy
Alternator
Device that transfers energy from one circuit to another bye-bye not a couple and with no moving parts. It changes the voltage (or force) of an AC circuit to a higher or lower value
Transformer
The unit used for the apparent power in an electrical circuit, only useful in the context of AC circuits.
Volt-Ampere (VA)
A rating for transformers equal to the product of volts and amperes divided by 1000. The product of the kVA in the power factor gives the power in kilowatts.
KVA
Ratio of maximum demand or expected power usage to the total connected load
Demand factor
R1+R2+R3…
Series resistance (R total)
1/R1+1/R2+1/R3…
Parallel resistance (1/Rtotal)