OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines

Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
Course Code ELECTRO 1

Descriptive Title Basic Electricity

Units 4 UNITS

Pre-Requisite -

Academic Year A.Y. 2020-2021

Semester 1st Semester 2020

Course Electricity is a form of energy involving the flow of electrons. All matter is
Description made up of atoms, which has a center called a nucleus. The nucleus
contains positively charged particles called protons and uncharged
particles called neutrons. The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by
negatively charged particles called electrons. The negative charge of an
electron is equal to the positive charge of a proton, and the number of
electrons in an atom is usually equal to the number of protons.
Course Learning On successful completion of this course, the students will be able to:
Outcomes 1. Operate electrical, electronic and control systems.

.2. Maintenance and repair of electrical and electronic equipment

Instructor

Email Address

Facebook

Contact Number

Module Topics Coverage

1 ELECTRICAL THEORY 1st Prelim
1. Ohm’s law, 2. Kirchhoff’s law, 3. Electrical circuit,
4. Impedance and Inductance,

2 Fundamentals of Alternating Current 2nd Prelim

1. Alternating Current, 2. Direct Current, 3. Electromagnetic
induction, 4. Faraday’s law, 5. Lenz’s law

3 Lightings Midterm
1.Incandescent lamp, 2. Tungsten- Halogen lamps, 3.
Fluorescent tubes

4 Cables Semi Final

1. Conductor, 2. Insulations

5 Batteries Final
1. Primary cells, 2. Secondary cells, 3. Insulation tester,
4.Multi-tester, 5. Clampmeter

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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
Grading System
Grade Equivalent Interpretation

1.0 95-100% Excellent

1.1 94%
1.2 93%
1.3 92% Very Good
1.4 91%
1.5 90%
1.6 89%
1.7 88%
1.8 87% Good
1.9 86%
2.0 85%
2.1 84%
2.2 83%
2.3 82%
2.4 81%
2.5 80%
2.6 79% Fair
2.7 78%
2.8 77%
2.9 76%
3.0 75% Passed
5.0 below 75% Failed
Dr Dropped Dropped

This course shall adopt this grade distribution guide as follows:

Quizzes, Assignment – 30%
Oral Recitation, Portfolio, – 30%
Examination/Major Quiz – 40%
100%

MODULE 1
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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
ELECTRICAL
THEORY

No single discovery has affected our lives, our culture and our survival more than
electricity. Electricity is everywhere; it lights our way, cooks our food and can even brush
your teeth. For an example, imagine where the medical field would be without electricity
and in that sense how many lives have been saved due to electrical devices
like defibrillators, pacemakers, etc. From talkies to eight tracks to screaming “I want my
MTV”, even hashtagging, none of it would be possible #WithoutElectricity.
( Read on to discover more about basic electrical theory.)
Understanding Electrical Theory
What is Electricity?
So what is electricity and where does it come from? More importantly, why is carpet, socks
and a doorknob a bad combination? In its simplest terms, electricity is the movement of
charge, which is considered by convention to be, from positive to negative. No matter how
the charge is created, chemically (like in batteries) or physically (friction from socks and
carpet), the movement of the discharge is electricity.
Ohms Law
The most fundamental law in electricity is Ohm’s law or V=IR. The V is for voltage, which
means the potential difference between two charges. In other words, it is a measurement of
the work required to move a unit charge between two points. When we see a value such as
10 Volts, it is a measurement of the potential difference between two reference points.
Normally the two points will be +10V and 0V (also known as ground), but it can also be the
difference between +5V and -5V, +20V and +10V, etc. In the field, you might hear the term
“common grounds” which refers to each device in a system using the same zero-point
reference (or ground) to ensure the same potential difference ( or voltage) is applied
throughout the system. The next component of Ohm’s law is current, the units of which are
Amperes; in the formula, current is represented by the very logical choice of the letter I. As
mentioned previously, current is the measurement of the flow of charge in a circuit. This
leaves us with the letter R which represents Resistance. Electrical resistance, measured in
Ohms, is the measure of the amount of current repulsion in a circuit. Simply, resistance
resists current flow. When electrons flow against the opposition offered by resistance in the
circuit, friction occurs and heat is produced. The most common application for resistance
in a circuit is the light bulb. The light bulb introduces enough resistance in a circuit to heat
up the filament inside, causing light to be emitted. Resistance in a circuit can also be
helpful when needing to alter voltage levels, current paths, etc. Resistors are self-contained
packages of resistance that can be added to a circuit and are commonly used to divide
voltage levels.

What is voltage?
Voltage is the pressure from an electrical circuit's power source that pushes charged
electrons (current) through a conducting loop, enabling them to do work such as
illuminating a light.

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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
In brief, voltage = pressure, and it is measured in volts (V). The term recognizes Italian
physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), inventor of the voltaic pile—the forerunner of
today's household battery.

In electricity's early days, voltage was known as electromotive force (emf). This is why in
equations such as Ohm's Law, voltage is represented by the symbol E.

Example of voltage in a simple direct current (dc) circuit:

In this dc circuit, the switch is closed (turned ON).

Voltage in the power source—the "potential difference" between the battery's two poles—is
activated, creating pressure that forces electrons to flow as current out the battery's
negative terminal.
Current reaches the light, causing it to glow.
Current returns to the power source.
Applying Ohm’s Law
Now, let’s apply Ohm’s law to the following circuit (for exercise purposes only, circuits are
theoretical) and calculate the voltage and current supplied to each load. The schematic
below shows a supply circuit for a child’s bedtime toy. R1 represents the resistance value of
the speaker and R2 shows the resistance value of the LEDs. R1 is equal to 430 Ohms, R2 is
equal to 284 Ohms and the supply is a battery with 5VDC and 5A. What is the voltage
supplied to the LEDs and to the speaker? First, we need to find the current in the loop once
the belly is pressed and switch 1 (S1) closes. The supply offers 5 amps of current but the
circuit will only use what is demanded by the loads. Using Ohm’s law, we can reconfigure
the formula to solve for current in the loop, or I (loop) = V (loop)/ R (loop). Using the
supplied values, we can calculate that I (loop current) = 5VDC/714Ω = 7mA.

Ohm’s Law Applied to a Series Circuit

So now that we know the current in the loop is 7mA and in a series circuit that current is
constant throughout, we can use Ohm’s law to calculate the voltage supplied to the
speaker: V(speaker) = I(loop) x R(speaker) or V(speaker) = (7mA) x (430Ω) or ~ 3VDC. The
LEDs will in turn have a supply voltage of: V(LED) = (7mA) x (284) or ~ 2VDC. This circuit is
known as a voltage divider circuit. The supply voltage was divided among the loads in
proportion to the resistance each load carries. R1 had a higher resistance and received
3VDC of the total 5VDC supply and R2 received the rest or 2VDC. It can otherwise be
stated that R1 has a voltage drop of 3VDC and R2 has a voltage drop of 2VDC.

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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY

What is Current?

Current is the rate at which electrons flow past a point in a complete electrical circuit. At
its most basic, current = flow.
An ampere (AM-pir), or amp, is the international unit used for measuring current. It
expresses the quantity of electrons (sometimes called "electrical charge") flowing past a
point in a circuit over a given time.
A current of 1 ampere means that 1 coulomb of electrons—that's 6.24 billion billion (6.24 x
1018) electrons—is moving past a single point in a circuit in 1 second. The calculation is
similar to measuring water flow: how many gallons pass a single point in a pipe in 1 minute
(gallons per minute, or GPM).

3. What is Amperes?
An ampere hour or amp hour (symbol: A⋅h or A h; sometimes also unofficially denoted as
Ah) is a unit of electric charge, having dimensions of electric current multiplied by time,
equal to the charge transferred by a steady current of one ampere flowing for one hour, or
3,600 coulombs.[1] The commonly seen milliampere hour (symbol: mA⋅h, mA h, or
unofficially mAh) is one-thousandth of an ampere hour (3.6 coulombs).

Defines Ohm’s law to find current, voltage and resistance in simple problems.
An electric circuit is formed when a conductive path is created to allow electric charge to
continuously move. This continuous movement of electric charge through the conductors of
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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
a circuit is called a current, and it is often referred to in terms of “flow,” just like the flow of
a liquid through a hollow pipe.

The force motivating charge carriers to “flow” in a circuit is called voltage. Voltage is a
specific measure of potential energy that is always relative between two points. When we
speak of a certain amount of voltage being present in a circuit, we are referring to the
measurement of how much potential energy exists to move charge carriers from one
particular point in that circuit to another particular point. Without reference to two
particular points, the term “voltage” has no meaning.

Current tends to move through the conductors with some degree of friction, or opposition to
motion. This opposition to motion is more properly called resistance. The amount of current
in a circuit depends on the amount of voltage and the amount of resistance in the circuit to
oppose current flow. Just like voltage, resistance is a quantity relative between two points.
For this reason, the quantities of voltage and resistance are often stated as being “between”
or “across” two points in a circuit.

Units of Measurement: Volt, Amp, and Ohm

To be able to make meaningful statements about these quantities in circuits, we need to be
able to describe their quantities in the same way that we might quantify mass,
temperature, volume, length, or any other kind of physical quantity. For mass we might use
the units of “kilogram” or “gram.” For temperature, we might use degrees Fahrenheit or
degrees Celsius. Here are the standard units of measurement for electrical current, voltage,
and resistance:

units of measurement for electrical current

Kirchhoff’s law
–States and applies
Kirchhoff’s:
Kirchhoff's laws

Most of the circuit problems we encounter can be solved by repeatedly applying the rules
for adding resistors in series or parallel, until the problem has been reduced to one of a
battery connected to a single resistor.
At any junction in a circuit, the sum of the currents arriving at the junction = the sum of
the currents leaving the junction.

But to solve more complex circuit problems, such as those with more than one battery, it is
sometimes necessary instead to write equations based on Kirchhoff's Laws, which are
formal mathematical statements of two physical facts that you already know:

Kirchhoff's law #1 states that the voltage changes around a closed path in a circuit add
up to zero, where the voltage change DV = emf in going through a battery from - terminal to
+ terminal is considered to be positive, and the voltage change DV = I R in going through a
resistor in the assumed direction of the current I is considered to be negative.

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Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY

Current in = Current out

I1 = I 2 + I 3 + I 4

Kirchhoff's law #2 states that the sum of the currents entering any node (i.e., any
junction of wires) equals the sum of the currents leaving that node.

The first law just restates what you already know about electrical potential: every point in a
circuit has a unique value of the potential, so travelling around the circuit by any path
must bring you back to the potential you started from. Using the analogy to elevation, if
you hike from any starting point in the mountains and wander around by any choice of
paths but finish at your original starting point, the sum of the elevation changes along your
path will add up to zero.

The second law just restates the fact that electric charge is conserved: electrons or protons
are not being created or destroyed in the node (or if they are, anti-particles with the
opposite charge are being created or destroyed along with them) so in any given time
interval, the charge that enters is equal to the charge the leaves. The node is assumed to
have negligible capacitance, so charge cannot just build up there. For example, at a point
where three wires are connected as in the diagram below, charge conservation requires that
i1 = i2 + i3.

a)Voltage Law:

Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) is Kirchhoff’s second law

that deals with the conservation of energy around a closed circuit path.

Gustav Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law is the second of his fundamental laws we can use for
circuit analysis. His voltage law states that for a closed loop series path the algebraic sum
of all the voltages around any closed loop in a circuit is equal to zero. This is because
a circuit loop is a closed conducting path so no energy is lost.
In other words the algebraic sum of ALL the potential differences around the loop must be
equal to zero as: ΣV = 0. Note here that the term “algebraic sum” means to take into
account the polarities and signs of the sources and voltage drops around the loop.
This idea by Kirchhoff is commonly known as the Conservation of Energy, as moving
around a closed loop, or circuit, you will end up back to where you started in the circuit
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Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
and therefore back to the same initial potential with no loss of voltage around the loop.
Hence any voltage drops around the loop must be equal to any voltage sources met along
the way.
So when applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to a specific circuit element, it is important that
we pay special attention to the algebraic signs, (+ and -) of the voltage drops across
elements and the emf’s of sources otherwise our calculations may be wrong.
But before we look more closely at Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) lets first understand the
voltage drop across a single element such as a resistor.

b) Current Law:
What Is Kirchhoff’s Current Law?
Kirchhoff’s Current Law, often shortened to KCL, states that “The algebraic sum of all
currents entering and exiting a node must equal zero.”
This law is used to describe how a charge enters and leaves a wire junction point or node
on a wire.
Armed with this information, let’s now take a look at an example of the law in practice, why
it’s important, and how it was derived.
Parallel Circuit Review
Let’s take a closer look at that last parallel example circuit:

Solving for all values of voltage and current in this circuit:

At this point, we know the value of each branch current and of the total current in the
circuit. We know that the total current in a parallel circuit must equal the sum of the
branch currents, but there’s more going on in this circuit than just that. Taking a look at
the currents at each wire junction point (node) in the circuit, we should be able to see
something else:

At this point, we know the value of each branch current and of the total current in the
circuit. We know that the total current in a parallel circuit must equal the sum of the
branch currents, but there’s more going on in this circuit than just that. Taking a look at
the currents at each wire junction point (node) in the circuit, we should be able to see
something else:

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Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
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Currents Entering and Exiting a Node

At each node on the positive “rail” (wire 1-2-3-4) we have current splitting off the main flow
to each successive branch resistor. At each node on the negative “rail” (wire 8-7-6-5) we
have current merging together to form the main flow from each successive branch resistor.
This fact should be fairly obvious if you think of the water pipe circuit analogy with every
branch node acting as a “tee” fitting, the water flow splitting or merging with the main
piping as it travels from the output of the water pump toward the return reservoir or sump.
If we were to take a closer look at one particular “tee” node, such as node 6, we see that the
current entering the node is equal in magnitude to the current exiting the node:

From the top and from the right, we have two currents entering the wire connection labeled
as node 6. To the left, we have a single current exiting the node equal in magnitude to the
sum of the two currents entering. To refer to the plumbing analogy: so long as there are no
leaks in the piping, what flow enters the fitting must also exit the fitting. This holds true for
any node (“fitting”), no matter how many flows are entering or exiting. Mathematically, we
can express this general relationship as such:

Explains the effect of internal resistance in the supply source

A practical electrical power source which is a linear electric circuit may, according
to Thévenin's theorem, be represented as an ideal voltage source in series with
an impedance. This impedance is termed the internal resistance of the source. When the
power source delivers current, the measured voltage output is lower than the no-
load voltage; the difference is the voltage drop (the product of current and resistance)
caused by the internal resistance. The concept of internal resistance applies to all kinds of
electrical sources and is useful for analyzing many types of electrical circuits.

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Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY

Internal resistance model of a source of voltage

A battery may be modeled as a voltage source in series with a resistance. In practice, the
internal resistance of a battery is dependent on its size, chemical properties, age,
temperature, and the discharge current. It has an electronic component due to
the resistivity of the component materials and an ionic component due
to electrochemical factors such as electrolyte conductivity, ion mobility, and electrode
surface area. Measurement of the internal resistance of a battery is a guide to its condition,
but may not apply at other than the test conditions. Measurement with an alternating
current, typically at a frequency of 1 kHz, may underestimate the resistance, as the
frequency may be too high to take into account slower electrochemical processes. Internal
resistance depends on temperature; for example, a fresh Energizer E91 AA alkaline primary
battery drops from about 0.9 Ω at -40 °C, when the low temperature reduces ion mobility,
to about 0.15 Ω at room temperature and about 0.1 Ω at 40 °C.[1]
The internal resistance of a battery may be calculated from its open circuit voltage VNL, load
voltage VFL, and the load resistance RL:

Electrical circuit
States that current can only flow in a closed circuit
Current flows from higher potential to lower potential. The conventional circuit you must be
thinking about has one battery/cell, so when circuit is completed current flows from higher
potential(+) left side to lower potential (-) right side through the connecting wire which
completes the circuit.

If you consider a circuit with two or more batteries, then the current flows fron higher
voltage to lower voltage, irrespective of the fact it's a complete loop or not, but both the
batteries should be connected.

Explains why some materials are:

a) conductors

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Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
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b) insulators
An electrical insulator is a material in which the electron does not flow freely or the atom
of the insulator have tightly bound electrons whose internal electric charges do not flow
freely; very little electric current will flow through it under the influence of an electric field.
This contrasts with other materials, semiconductors and conductors, which conduct
electric current more easily. The property that distinguishes an insulator is its resistivity;
insulators have higher resistivity than semiconductors or conductors. The most common
examples are non-metals.
c)names commonly used materials in each group
Conductors
Copper is considered to be a conductor because it “conducts” the electron current or flow
of electrons fairly easily. Most metals are considered to be good conductors of electrical
current. Copper is just one of the more popular materials that is used for conductors.
Other materials that are sometimes used as conductors are silver, gold, and aluminum.
Copper is still the most popular material used for wires because it is a very good conductor
of electrical current and it is fairly inexpensive when compared to gold and silver.
Aluminum and most other metals do not conduct electricity quite as good as copper.

Insulators are materials that have just the opposite effect on the flow of electrons. They do
not let electrons flow very easily from one atom to another. Insulators are materials whose
atoms have tightly bound electrons. These electrons are not free to roam around and be
shared by neighboring atoms.
Some common insulator materials are glass, plastic, rubber, air, and wood.

Insulators are used to protect us from the dangerous effects of electricity flowing through
conductors. Sometimes the voltage in an electrical circuit can be quite high and dangerous.
If the voltage is high enough, electric current can be made to flow through even materials
that are generally not considered to be good conductors. Our bodies will conduct electricity
and you may have experienced this when you received an electrical shock. Generally,
electricity flowing through the body is not pleasant and can cause injuries. The function of
our heart can be disrupted by a strong electrical shock and the current can cause burns.
Therefore, we need to shield our bodies from the conductors that carry electricity. The
rubbery coating on wires is an insulating material that shields us from the conductor
inside. Look at any lamp cord and you will see the insulator. If you see the conductor, it is
probably time to replace the cord.
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Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY

Names the different sources of electricity and explains their effect when connected to
a conductor
What are Different Sources of Energy?
There are 10 main different sources of energy that are used in the world to generate power.
While there are other sources being discovered all the time, none of them has reached the
stage where they can be used to provide the power to help modern life go.
All of these different sources of energy are used primarily to produce electricity. The world
runs on a series of electrical reactions – whether you are talking about the car you are
driving or the light you are turning on. All of these different sources of energy add to the
store of electrical power that is then sent out to different locations via high powered lines.
Here is an overview of each of the different sources of energy that are in use, and what’s the
potential issue for each of them.


1. Solar Energy
Solar power harvests the energy of the sun through using collector panels to create
conditions that can then be turned into a kind of power. Large solar panel fields are often
used in desert to gather enough power to charge small substations, and many homes use
solar systems to provide for hot water, cooling and supplement their electricity. The issue
with solar is that while there is plentiful amounts of sun available, only certain
geographical ranges of the world get enough of the direct power of the sun for long enough
to generate usable power from this source.
2. Wind Energy
Wind power is becoming more and more common. The new innovations that are allowing
wind farms to appear are making them a more common sight. By using large turbines to
take available wind as the power to turn, the turbine can then turn a generator to produce
electricity. While this seemed like an ideal solution to many, the reality of the wind farms is
starting to reveal an unforeseen ecological impact that may not make it an ideal choice.
3. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is the energy that is produced from beneath the earth. It is clean,
sustainable and environment friendly. High temperatures are produced continuously inside
the earth’s crust by the slow delay of radioactive particles. Hot rocks present below the
earth heats up the water that produces steam. The steam is then captured that helps to
move turbines. The rotating turbines then power the generators.
Geothermal energy can be used by a residential unit or on a large scale by a industrial
application. It was used during ancient times for bathing and space heating. The biggest
disadvantage with geothermal energy is that it can only be produced at selected sites
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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
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Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
throughout the world. The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located
at The Geysers, a geothermal field in California, United States.
4. Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen is available with water(H2O) and is most common element available on earth.
Water contains two-thirds of hydrogen and can be found in combination with other
elements. Once it is separated, it can be used as a fuel for generating electricity. Hydrogen
is a tremendous source of energy and can be used as a source of fuel to power ships,
vehicles, homes, industries and rockets. It is completely renewable, can be produced on
demand and does not leave any toxic emissions in the atmosphere.
5. Tidal Energy
Tidal energy uses rise and fall of tides to convert kinetic energy of incoming and outgoing
tides into electrical energy. The generation of energy through tidal power is mostly
prevalent in coastal areas. Huge investment and limited availability of sites are few of the
drawbacks of tidal energy. When there is increased height of water levels in the ocean, tides
are produced which rush back and forth in the ocean. Tidal energy is one of the renewable
source of energy and produce large energy even when the tides are at low speed.
6. Wave Energy
Wave energy is produced from the waves that are produced in the oceans. Wave energy is
renewable, environment friendly and causes no harm to atmosphere. It can be harnessed
along coastal regions of many countries and can help a country to reduce its dependance
on foreign countries for fuel. Producing wave energy can damage marine ecosystem and can
also be a source of disturbance to private and commercial vessels. It is highly dependent on
wavelength and can also be a source of visual and noise pollution.
7. Hydroelectric Energy
What many people are not aware of is that most of the cities and towns in the world rely on
hydropower, and have for the past century. Every time you see a major dam, it is providing
hydropower to an electrical station somewhere. The power of the water is used to turn
generators to produce the electricity that is then used. The problems faced with hydropower
right now have to do with the aging of the dams. Many of them need major restoration work
to remain functional and safe, and that costs enormous sums of money. The drain on the
world’s drinkable water supply is also causing issues as townships may wind up needing to
consume the water that provides them power too.
8. Biomass Energy
Biomass energy is produced from organic material and is commonly used throughout the
world. Chlorophyll present in plants captures the sun’s energy by converting carbon dioxide
from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates through the process of
photosynthesis. When the plants are burned, the water and carbon dioxide is again
released back into the atmosphere. Biomass generally include crops, plants, trees, yard
clippings, wood chips and animal wastes. Biomass energy is used for heating and cooking
in homes and as a fuel in industrial production. This type of energy produces large amount
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
9. Nuclear Power
While nuclear power remains a great subject of debate as to how safe it is to use, and
whether or not it is really energy efficient when you take into account the waste it produces
– the fact is it remains one of the major renewable sources of energy available to the world.
The energy is created through a specific nuclear reaction, which is then collected and used
to power generators. While almost every country has nuclear generators, there are
moratoriums on their use or construction as scientists try to resolve safety and
disposal issues for waste.

10. Fossil Fuels (Coal, Oil and Natural Gas)

When most people talk about the different sources of energy they list natural gas, coal and
oil as the options – these are all considered to be just one source of energy from fossil
fuels. Fossil fuels provide the power for most of the world, primarily using coal and oil. Oil
is converted into many products, the most used of which is gasoline. Natural gas is starting
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to become more common, but is used mostly for heating applications although there are
more and more natural gas powered vehicles appearing on the streets. The issue with fossil
fuels is twofold. To get to the fossil fuel and convert it to use there has to be a heavy
destruction and pollution of the environment. The fossil fuel reserves are also limited,
expecting to last only another 100 years given are basic rate of consumption.
It isn’t easy to determine which of these different sources of energy is best to use. All of
them have their good and bad points. While advocates of each power type tout theirs as the
best, the truth is that they are all flawed. What needs to happen is a concerted effort to
change how we consume energy and to create a balance between which of these sources we
draw from.

Explains the current flow, stating its symbol(I)

An electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge past a point[1]:2[2]:622 or region.
[2]:614
An electric current is said to exist when there is a net flow of electric charge through a
region.[3]:832 Electric charge is carried by charged particles, so an electric current is a flow of
charged particles. The moving particles are called charge carriers, and in different
conductors may be different types of particle. In electric circuits the charge carriers are
often electrons moving through a wire. In an electrolyte the charge carriers are ions, and in
an ionized gas (plasma) are ions and electrons.[4]
The SI unit of electric current is the ampere, which is the flow of electric charge across a
surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. The ampere (symbol: A) is an SI base
unit[5]:15 Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.[2]:788
Electric currents cause Joule heating, which creates light in incandescent light bulbs. They
also create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, generators, inductors,
and transformers.
Symbol
The conventional symbol for current is I, which originates from the French phrase intensité
du courant, (current intensity).[6][7] Current intensity is often referred to simply as current.
[8]
The I symbol was used by André-Marie Ampère, after whom the unit of electric current is
named, in formulating Ampère's force law (1820).[9] The notation travelled from France to
Great Britain, where it became standard, although at least one journal did not change from
using C to I until 1896

States that current strength is measured in amperes, represented by A

An electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge past a point[1]:2[2]:622 or region.[2]:614 An
electric current is said to exist when there is a net flow of electric charge through a region.
[3]:832
Electric charge is carried by charged particles, so an electric current is a flow of
charged particles. The moving particles are called charge carriers, and in different
conductors may be different types of particle. In electric circuits the charge carriers are
often electrons moving through a wire. In an electrolyte the charge carriers are ions, and in
an ionized gas (plasma) are ions and electrons.[4]
The SI unit of electric current is the ampere, which is the flow of electric charge across a
surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. The ampere (symbol: A) is an SI base
unit[5]:15 Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.[2]:788
Electric currents cause Joule heating, which creates light in incandescent light bulbs. They
also create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, generators, inductors,
and transformers.
“Current measurement”
Current can be measured using an ammeter.
Electric current can be directly measured with a galvanometer, but this method involves
breaking the electrical circuit, which is sometimes inconvenient.
Current can also be measured without breaking the circuit by detecting the magnetic field
associated with the current. Devices, at the circuit level, use various techniques to measure
current:

States that a steady current flowing in a single direction is called:

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a) a direct current (D.C.)
DC (direct current) is the unidirectional flow or movement of electric charge carriers (which
are usually electrons). The intensity of the current can vary with time, but the general
direction of movement stays the same at all times. As an adjective, the term DC is used in
reference to voltage whose polarity never reverses.
In a DC circuit, electrons emerge from the negative, or minus, pole and move towards the
positive, or plus, pole. Nevertheless, physicists define DC as traveling from plus to minus.
Direct current is produced by electrochemical and photovoltaic cells and batteries. In
contrast, the electricity available from utility mains in most countries is AC (alternating
current). Utility AC can be converted to DC by means of a power supply consisting of a
transformer, a rectifier (which prevents the flow of current from reversing), and a filter
(which eliminates current pulsations in the output of the rectifier).
Virtually all electronic and computer hardware needs DC to function. Most solid-
state equipment requires between 1.5 and 13.5 volts. Current demands can range from
practically zero for an electronic wristwatch to more than 100 amperes for a radio
communications power amplifier. Equipment using vacuum tubes, such as a high-power
radio or television broadcast transmitter or a CRT (cathode-ray tube) display, require from
about 150 volts to several thousand volts DC.
b) alternating current (A.C.)

What is Alternating Current (AC)?

Basic AC Theory
Most students of electricity begin their study with what is known as direct current (DC),
which is electricity flowing in a constant direction, and/or possessing a voltage with
constant polarity.
DC is the kind of electricity made by a battery (with definite positive and negative
terminals), or the kind of charge generated by rubbing certain types of materials against
each other.
AC Alternators
If a machine is constructed to rotate a magnetic field around a set of stationary wire coils
with the turning of a shaft, AC voltage will be produced across the wire coils as that shaft is
rotated, in accordance with Faraday’s Law of electromagnetic induction.
This is the basic operating principle of an AC generator, also known as an alternator: Figure
below

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Alternator operation
Notice how the polarity of the voltage across the wire coils reverses as the opposite poles of
the rotating magnet pass by.
Connected to a load, this reversing voltage polarity will create a reversing current direction
in the circuit. The faster the alternator’s shaft is turned, the faster the magnet will spin,
resulting in an alternating voltage and current that switches directions more often in a
given amount of time.
While DC generators work on the same general principle of electromagnetic induction, their
construction is not as simple as their AC counterparts.
With a DC generator, the coil of wire is mounted in the shaft where the magnet is on the AC
alternator, and electrical connections are made to this spinning coil via stationary carbon
“brushes” contacting copper strips on the rotating shaft.
All this is necessary to switch the coil’s changing output polarity to the external circuit so
the external circuit sees a constant polarity:

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DC generator operation

Describes electrostatic charging and the principles of overcoming potential hazards

Static Electricity / Electrostatic Hazards
Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material.
The charge remains until it is able to move away by means of an electric current or
electrical discharge. Static electricity is electricity that does not flow in a current. Static
electricity generated by rubbing two nonmagnetic objects together. The friction between the
two objects generates attraction because the substance with an excess of electrons
transfers them to the positively-charged substance. Usually, substances that don’t conduct
current electricity (insulators) are good at holding a charge. These substances may include
rubber, plastic, glass or pitch. The electrons that are transferred are stored on the surface
of an object.
Static electricity presents fire and explosion hazards during the handling of petroleum and
tanker operations. Certain operations can give rise to accumulations of electric charge
which may be released suddenly in electrostatic discharges with sufficient energy to ignite
flammable hydrocarbon gas/air n-fixtures; there is, of course, no risk of ignition unless a
flammable mixture is present. There are three basic stages leading up to a potential static
hazard:
1. Charge separation,
2. Charge accumulation and
3. Electrostatic discharge.
All three of these stages are necessary for an electrostatic ignition.

Charge Separation
Whenever two dissimilar materials come into contact charge separation occurs at the
interface. The interface may be between two solids, between a solid and a liquid or between
two immiscible liquids. At the interface, a charge of one sign (say positive) moves from
material A to material B so that materials A and B become respectively negatively and
positively charged. Whilst the materials stay in contact and immobile relative to one
another, the charges arc extremely close together. The voltage difference between the

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charges of opposite sign is then very small, and no hazard exists. The charges can be
widely separated by many processes, such as:
1. The flow of liquids (e.g. petroleum or mixtures of petroleum and water) through pipes
or fine filters.
2. The settling of a solid or an immiscible liquid through a liquid (e.g. rust or water
through petroleum).
3. The ejection of particles or droplets from a nozzle (e.g. steaming operations).
4. The splashing or agitation of a liquid against a solid surface (e.g. water washing
operations or the initial stages of filling a tank with oil).
5. The vigorous rubbing together and subsequent separation of certain synthetic
polymers (e.g. the sliding of a polypropylene rope through PVC gloved hands).

When the charges are separated, a large voltage difference develops between them. Also, a
voltage distribution is set up throughout the neighboring space and this is known as an
electrostatic field. As examples, the charge on a charged petroleum liquid in a tank
produces an electrostatic field throughout the tank, both in the liquid and in the ullage
space, and the charge on a water mist by tank washing produces a field throughout the
tank.
If an uncharged conductor is present in an electrostatic field it has approximately the same
voltage as the region it occupies. Furthermore, the field causes a movement of charge
within the conductor, a charge of one sign is attracted by the field to one end of the
conductor and an equal charge of opposite sign is left at the opposite end. Charges
separated in this way are known as induced charges and as long as they are kept separate
by the presence of the field, they are capable of contributing to an electrostatic charge.
Charge Accumulation
Charges, which have been separated, attempt to recombine and neutralise each other. This
process is known as charge relaxation. If one, or both, of the separated materials carrying a
charge, is a very poor electrical conductor, recombination is impeded and the material
retains or accumulates the charge upon it. The period of time for which the charge is
retained is characterized by the relaxation time of the material, which is related to its
conductivity; the lower the conductivity the greater is the relaxation time.
If a material has a comparatively high conductivity, the recombination of charges is very
rapid and can counteract the separation process, and consequently little or no static
electricity accumulates on the material. Such a highly conducting material can only retain
or accumulate charge if it is insulated by means of a poor conductor, and the rate of loss of
charge is then dependent upon the relaxation time of this lesser conducting material.
The important factors governing relaxation are therefore the electrical conductivities of the
separated materials and of any additional materials, which may be interposed between
them after their separation.

Electrostatic Discharges
The electrostatic breakdown between any two points, giving rise to a discharge, is
dependent upon the strength of the electrostatic field in the space between the points. This
field strength, or voltage gradient, is given approximately by dividing the difference in
voltage between the points by their distance apart. The field strength of about 3,000
kilovolts per meter is sufficient to cause breakdown of air or petroleum gases.
The field strength near protrusions is greater than the overall field strength in the vicinity
and discharges therefore generally occur at protrusions. A discharge may occur between a
protrusion and space in its vicinity without reaching another object. These single electrode
discharges are rarely, if ever, the incentive in the context of normal tanker operations. The
alternative is a discharge between two electrodes adjacent to each other. Examples are:
1. Between sampling apparatus lowered into a tank and the surface of a charged
petroleum liquid.
2. Between an unearthed object floating on the surface of a charged liquid and the
adjacent tank structure.
3. Between unearthed equipment suspended in a tank and the adjacent tank structure.
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Two-electrode discharges may be an incentive if various requirements arc met. These
include:
1. A discharge gap short enough to allow the discharge to take place with the voltage
difference present, but not so short that any resulting flame is quenched.
2. Sufficient electrical energy to supply the minimum amount of energy to initiate
combustion.
3. The nearly instantaneous release of this energy into the discharge gap.
Whether the last requirement can be fulfilled depends to a large extent on the conductivity
of the electrodes. In order to consider this further it is necessary to classify solids and
liquids into three main groups:
The first group is the conductors. In the case of solids, these are the metals, and in the
case of liquids the whole range of aqueous solutions including seawater. The human body,
consisting of about 60% water, is effectively a liquid conductor. The important property of
conductors is that not only are they incapable of holding a charge unless insulated, but
also that if they are insulated and an opportunity for an electrical discharge occurs, all the
charge available is almost instantaneously released into the discharge.
Discharges between two conductors occur as sparks and are much more energetic and
potentially dangerous than those occurring between objects, one of which is not a
conductor. In the latter case, discharges often take a more diffuse and much less
dangerous form, known as corona or brush discharge, rather than a spark.

Impedance and Inductance

Explains what is meant by “impedance” and uses the correct symbol
Definition of 'impedance'
Word Frequency
1. a measure of the opposition to the flow of an alternating current equal to
the square root of the sum of the squares of the resistance and
the reactance, expressed in ohms
Symbol: Z
2. a component that offers impedance
3. Also called: acoustic impedance
the ratio of the sound pressure in a medium to the rate of alternating flow of the medium
through a specified surface due to the sound wave
Symbol: Za
4. Also called: mechanical impedance
the ratio of the mechanical force, acting in the direction of motion, to the velocity of
the resulting vibration
Symbol: Zm

Compares impedance of an A.C. circuit with resistance of a D.C. circuit

Difference Between Resistance and Impedance
The Difference Between Resistance and Impedance is explained below keeping in mind
the various factors like the basic definition of resistance and impedance, a type of circuit
they work in, elements on which they depends, their symbolic representation, real and
imaginary numbers, the effect of frequency on them, phase angle, power dissipation and
energy stored.
BASIS RESISTANCE IMPEDANCE

Definition The opposition offered to The opposition offered to the

the flow of current in an flow of current in an AC
electric circuit is known circuit because of resistance,
as the Resistance. capacitance and inductance is
known as Impedance.

Circuit Resistance occurs in Impedance occurs only in an

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BASIS RESISTANCE IMPEDANCE

both AC and DC circuit. AC circuit.

Elements It is the contribution of It is the contribution of both

the resistive element in resistance and reactance.
the circuit.

Symbol It is denoted by R It is denoted by Z

Real and Resistance is a simple Impedance is a complex value

Imaginary value consisting of only consisting of real and
Value real numbers. Eg: 3.4 imaginary values. Eg: R+ij
ohms, 6.2 ohms etc.

Frequency Resistance is constant in Impedance varies according to

a circuit and does not the frequency of AC current.
vary according to the
frequency of AC or DC.

Phase angle Resistance does not have Impedance have magnitude

any phase angle. and phase angle.

Power It only represents power If kept in an electromagnetic

Dissipation & dissipation in any field it represents both power
energy stored material if kept in an dissipation and energy stored.
electromagnetic field.
Resistance is simply defined as the opposition to the flow of electric current in the circuit.
Impedance is opposition to the flow of AC current because of any three components that is
resistive, inductive or capacitive. It is a combination of both resistance and reactance in a
circuit.
The various Difference Between Resistance and Impedance are described below in detail.
 The opposition offered to the flow of current in an electric circuit whether AC or DC is
known as the Resistance. The opposition offered to the flow of current in an AC
circuit because of resistance, capacitance and inductance is known as Impedance.
 Resistance occurs in both AC and DC circuit, whereas Impedance takes place only in
an AC circuit.
 Resistance is the contribution of the resistive element in the circuit, whereas the
contribution of both resistance and reactance forms Impedance.
 Resistance is denoted by (R) whereas impedance by (Z).
 Resistance is a simple value consisting of only real numbers. Example: 3.4 ohms, 6.2
ohms etc. Impedance comprise of both real and imaginary numbers. Example: R+ij,
where R is a real number and ij is imaginary part.
 The Resistance of the circuit does not vary according to the frequency of AC or DC,
whereas Impedance varies with the change in frequency.
 Impedance have both magnitude and phase angle, whereas Resistance does not have
phase angle.
 Resistance if kept in an electromagnetic field represents power dissipation in any
material. Similarly, if Impedance is subjected to magnetic field it represents both
power dissipation and energy storage.
States the relationship between impedance, voltage and current
Impedance
Ohm's law describes the relationship between current and voltage in circuits that are in
equilibrium- that is, when the current and voltage are not changing. When we have a

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situation where the current changes (often called an AC circuit) more factors have to be
taken into account.
Reactance
There are devices that oppose any change in current flow. They are not noticed until the
voltage changes, but when it does, these gadgets show some surprising properties, soaking
up current and giving it back later, so that Ohm's law calculations come out wrong. The
property of opposing change is called reactance. It is also measured in ohms.

Describes what is meant by “reactance” and uses the correct symbol

Electrical reactance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
"Reactance (physics)" redirects here. For other uses, see Reactance.
In electric and electronic systems, reactance is the opposition of a circuit element to the
flow of current due to that element's inductance or capacitance. Greater reactance leads to
smaller currents for the same voltage applied. Reactance is similar to electric resistance,
but it differs in several respects.
Reactance is used to compute amplitude and phase changes of sinusoidal alternating

current (AC) going through a circuit element. It is denoted by the symbol . An

ideal resistor has zero reactance, whereas ideal inductors and capacitors have zero
resistance – that is, respond to current only by reactance. As frequency increases, inductive
reactance also increases and capacitive reactance decreases.

Calculates impedances and power factors, given the resistance and reactance of coils
As was mentioned before, the angle of this “power triangle” graphically indicates the ratio
between the amount of dissipated (or consumed) power and the amount of
absorbed/returned power.
It also happens to be the same angle as that of the circuit’s impedance in polar form. When
expressed as a fraction, this ratio between true power and apparent power is called
the power factor for this circuit.
Because true power and apparent power form the adjacent and hypotenuse sides of a right
triangle, respectively, the power factor ratio is also equal to the cosine of that phase angle.
Using values from the last example circuit:

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It should be noted that power factor, like all ratio measurements, is a unitless quantity.
Power Factor Values
For the purely resistive circuit, the power factor is 1 (perfect), because the reactive power
equals zero. Here, the power triangle would look like a horizontal line, because the opposite
(reactive power) side would have zero length.
For the purely inductive circuit, the power factor is zero, because true power equals zero.
Here, the power triangle would look like a vertical line, because the adjacent (true power)
side would have zero length.
The same could be said for a purely capacitive circuit. If there are no dissipative (resistive)
components in the circuit, then the true power must be equal to zero, making any power in
the circuit purely reactive.
The power triangle for a purely capacitive circuit would again be a vertical line (pointing
down instead of up as it was for the purely inductive circuit).
Importance of Power Factor
Power factor can be an important aspect to consider in an AC circuit because of any power
factor less than 1 means that the circuit’s wiring has to carry more current than what
would be necessary with zero reactance in the circuit to deliver the same amount of (true)
power to the resistive load.
If our last example circuit had been purely resistive, we would have been able to deliver a
full 169.256 watts to the load with the same 1.410 amps of current, rather than the mere
119.365 watts that it is presently dissipating with that same current quantity.
The poor power factor makes for an inefficient power delivery system.
Poor Power Factor
Poor power factor can be corrected, paradoxically, by adding another load to the circuit
drawing an equal and opposite amount of reactive power, to cancel out the effects of the
load’s inductive reactance.
Inductive reactance can only be canceled by capacitive reactance, so we have to add
a capacitor in parallel to our example circuit as the additional load.
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The effect of these two opposing reactances in parallel is to bring the circuit’s total
impedance equal to its total resistance (to make the impedance phase angle equal, or at
least closer, to zero).
Since we know that the (uncorrected) reactive power is 119.998 VAR (inductive), we need to
calculate the correct capacitor size to produce the same quantity of (capacitive) reactive
power.
Since this capacitor will be directly in parallel with the source (of known voltage), we’ll use
the power formula which starts from voltage and reactance:

Let’s use a rounded capacitor value of 22 µF and see what happens to our circuit: (Figure
below)

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Parallel capacitor corrects lagging power factor of inductive load. V2 and node numbers: 0, 1,
2, and 3 are SPICE related, and maybe ignored for the moment.

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The power factor for the circuit, overall, has been substantially improved. The main current
has been decreased from 1.41 amps to 994.7 milliamps, while the power dissipated at the
load resistor remains unchanged at 119.365 watts. The power factor is much closer to
being 1:

Since the impedance angle is still a positive number, we know that the circuit, overall, is
still more inductive than it is capacitive.
If our power factor correction efforts had been perfectly on-target, we would have arrived at
an impedance angle of exactly zero, or purely resistive.
If we had added too large of a capacitor in parallel, we would have ended up with an
impedance angle that was negative, indicating that the circuit was more capacitive than
inductive.
States that, in practice, an inductor will always have a resistance
In simple terms the effect of a real inductor can be thought of as being due the resistance of
the inductor (the wires have resistance) and the inductance of the inductor.
If the current is steady (dc) then the inductance of the inductor plays no part in controlling
the current in the circuit.
So doubling the inductance by winding more turns will increase the inductance and the
resistance.
The resistance has increased because there is a longer length of wire which makes up the
inductor.
If the current is steady then only the increase in resistance will affect the current which will

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be decreased if the emf of the battery stays constant.
A reduced current would mean that the drift speed of the electrons would be smaller.
If you are going to consider the time it takes for the current to reach a steady value after
completing the circuit then the important parameter is the time constant of the circuit
which is inductance/resistance.
If the length of wire is doubled and this doubles the number of turns then the inductance
increases by a factor 22=422=4 and the resistance increases by a factor 22 and the time
constant increases by a factor 22..
In the equation which you referred to V=LdIdtV=LdIdt the VV is the voltage induced across
the inductor due to the current in the circuit changing.
If the current is not changing then V=0V=0.

States that shipboard installations produce power demand with a lagging power
factor
Ships electrical plant and distribution system for the A.C. generators
Alternating current (AC) –
Alternating current is a form of electricity in which the current alternates in direction (and
the voltage alternates in polarity) at a frequency defined by the generator (usually between
50 and 60 times per second, i.e., 50 – 60 hertz). AC was adopted for power transmission in
the early days of electricity supply because it had two major advantages over direct current
(DC): its voltage could be stepped up or down according to need using transformers, and it
could be interrupted more easily than DC. Neither advantage is as relevant today as it once
was because power electronics can solve both issues for DC.

How alternating current is produced onboard ?

A coil of wire rotating in a magnetic field produces a current. The current can be brought
out to two slip rings which are insulated from the shaft. Carbon bushes rest on these rings
as they rotate and collect the current for use in an external circuit. Current collected in this
way will be alternating, that is, changing in direction and rising and falling in value. To
increase the current produced, additional sets of poles may be introduced.
The magnetic field is provided by electromagnets so arranged that adjacent poles have
opposite polarity. These 'field coils', as they are called, are connected in series to an
external source or the machine output.
If separate coils or conductors are used then several outputs can be obtained. Three
outputs are usually arranged with a phase separation of 120°, to produce a three-phase
supply.
The supply phasing is shown in fig below . The three-phase system is more efficient in that
for the same mechanical power a greater total electrical output is obtained. Each of the
three outputs may be used in single-phase supplies or in conjunction for a three-phase
supply. The separate supplies are connected in either star or delta formation .

Fig: Three-phase alternator output

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The star formation is most commonly used and requires four sliprings on the alternator.
The three conductors are joined at a common slipring and also have their individual
siipring. The central or neutral line is common to each phase. The delta arrangement has
two phases joined at each of the three sliprings on the alternator. A single-phase supply
can be taken from any two sliprings.

Fig: Star and delta three-phase connections

Explains the effect of varying power factor on the power consumed

Power factor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
For the firearms cartridge ranking system, see Power factor (shooting sports).
In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC electrical power system is defined as
the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the
circuit, and is a dimensionless number in the closed interval of −1 to 1. A power factor of
less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the
average product of the two. Real power is the instantaneous product of voltage and current
and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the
product of RMS current and voltage. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the
source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from
the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power. A negative power factor
occurs when the device (which is normally the load) generates power, which then flows
back towards the source.
In an electric power system, a load with a low power factor draws more current than a load
with a high power factor for the same amount of useful power transferred. The higher
currents increase the energy lost in the distribution system, and require larger wires and
other equipment. Because of the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical
utilities will usually charge a higher cost to industrial or commercial customers where there
is a low power factor.
Power-factor correction increases the power factor of a load, improving efficiency for the
distribution system to which it is attached. Linear loads with low power factor (such
as induction motors) can be corrected with a passive network of capacitors or inductors.
Non-linear loads, such as rectifiers, distort the current drawn from the system. In such
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cases, active or passive power factor correction may be used to counteract the distortion
and raise the power factor. The devices for correction of the power factor may be at a
central substation, spread out over a distribution system, or built into power-consuming
equipment.

Activity 1
Instruction: Answer comprehensively as possible.
ASSIGNMENT
Explain the following:
1. what is Electricity?
2. Voltage?
3. Amperes?
4. Ohms law?
5. Current
Assessment:
1. What is the unit of measurement of the following:
a. Voltage
b. Amperes
c. Current
2. Explain Kirchhoff's law # 1 and # 2.
3. Explain what is What Is Kirchhoff’s Current Law?
4. Explain what is electrical conductor and insulator?
5. what is the different between electrical conductor and insulator?
6. Name 5 common materials of electrical conductor and 5 electrical insulator.
7. Names 10 different sources of electricity.
8. Explain what is AC current and advantage over DC current?
9. What is DC current?
10. What is static electricity?
REFERENCES
https://www.fluke.com/en-ph/learn/best-practices/measurement-basics/
electricity/what-is-voltage
https://www.fluke.com/en-ph/learn/best-practices/measurement-basics/
electricity/what-is-current
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampere
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2000fall/phy232/lectures/kirchhoff/kirchhoff.html
https://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/physics/kirchoffs-laws-and-potential-dividers/
revise-it/kirchoffs-first-and-second-laws
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/which-materials-conduct-electricity/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulator_(electricity)
https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Electricity/
conductorsinsulators.htm
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DC-direct-current
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/alternating-current/chpt-1/what-is-
alternating-current-ac/

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Module 2
2.Fundamentals of : Alternating Current
What is Alternating Current (AC)?
Chapter 1 - Basic AC Theory
Most students of electricity begin their study with what is known as direct current (DC),
which is electricity flowing in a constant direction, and/or possessing a voltage with
constant polarity.
DC is the kind of electricity made by a battery (with definite positive and negative
terminals), or the kind of charge generated by rubbing certain types of materials against
each other.
Alternating Current vs Direct Current
As useful and as easy to understand as DC is, it is not the only “kind” of electricity in use.
Certain sources of electricity (most notably, rotary electromechanical generators) naturally
produce voltages alternating in polarity, reversing positive and negative over time.
Either as a voltage switching polarity or as a current switching direction back and forth,
this “kind” of electricity is known as Alternating Current (AC):

Explains how alternating current is produced in a simple loop rotating in a magnetic field.
An alternating emf can be developed in a coil of wire in one of the three ways:
1. By changing the flux through a coil.
2. By moving the coil through a magnetic field.
3. By altering the direction of the flux with respect to a coil.
These procedures are adapted in an AC alternator for producing alternating emf/current.
Explains the relationship between:
a) instantaneous voltage
Any instantaneous voltage or current value across or through the components of a dc
resistive-capacitive circuit during the charge and discharge of the capacitor can be
determined by using the Universal Time Constant Chart. (Later in this chapter, it will also
be used to predict values of current and voltage while current is increasing and decreasing
in dc resistive-inductive circuits.) For instance, using the UTCC the percent of full charge
on the capacitor after any charging time or time constant period can be determined.
Figure 10.22 shows that after one and one-half time constants the percent of full charge,
from the UTCC chart, is approximately 78 percent. If the applied voltage is 10 volts, as
shown in Figure 10.23a, the voltage across the capacitor, EC at this time is 78 percent of 10
volts which is 7.8 volts. This is shown graphically in Figure 10.23b. If 50 volts were applied,
as shown in the circuit of Figure 10.24a, EC is 78 percent of 50 volts which is 39 volts. This
is shown graphically in Figure 10.24b.

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Figure 10.22. EC After 1.5τ

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Figure 10.23. a. Circuit with a 10-Volt Source Voltage; b. EC After 1.5 τ

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Figure 10.24. a. Circuit with a 50-Volt Source Voltage; b. EC After 1.5τ
b) conductor velocity
Multichannel Time Delay Estimation
The accuracy of the conduction velocity estimate can be expected to improve when the time
delay estimation is based on a multichannel EMG recording since more information is
available on how the signal propagates along the muscle fiber. Therefore, it is desirable to
generalize the two-channel model in (5.46) and (5.47) so that it accounts for the signal
delay from one electrode location to another. For the case when the multichannel recording
is acquired by a linear electrode array positioned away from the innervation zone, it may be
assumed that the time delay between adjacent channels is fixed,

AC Waveform and AC Circuit Theory

AC Sinusoidal Waveforms are created by rotating a coil within a magnetic field and
alternating voltages and currents form the basis of AC Theory
In our tutorial about Waveforms ,we looked at different types of waveforms and said that
“Waveforms are basically a visual representation of the variation of a voltage or current
plotted to a base of time”. Generally, for AC waveforms this horizontal base line represents
a zero condition of either voltage or current. Any part of an AC type waveform which lies
above the horizontal zero axis represents a voltage or current flowing in one direction.
Likewise, any part of the waveform which lies below the horizontal zero axis represents a
voltage or current flowing in the opposite direction to the first. Generally for sinusoidal AC
waveforms the shape of the waveform above the zero axis is the same as the shape below it.

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However, for most non-power AC signals including audio waveforms this is not always the
case.
The most common periodic signal waveforms that are used in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering are the Sinusoidal Waveforms. However, an alternating AC waveform may not
always take the shape of a smooth shape based around the trigonometric sine or cosine
function. AC waveforms can also take the shape of either Complex Waves, Square
Waves or Triangular Waves and these are shown below.
Types of Periodic Waveform

Shows diagrammatically a simple circuit for a three-phase supply from an alternator

Three Phase Wiring
The need for three-phase supply or service occurs when heavy equipments are present
such as large motors (beyond 5 HP motors), because such large equipments need high
starting and running currents.
Large buildings, plants and offices have greater power requirements than the power used in
domestic installations. Therefore, generally they are often installed with three phase wiring
or three-phase supply.

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The three-phase power service is generally used for high power rated equipments such as
large air conditioners, high rated pump sets, air compressors and high torque motors.
Therefore, it is rarely used for domestic installations, but commonly used in commercial
buildings, offices and industrial installations.
Three Phase AC Supply
Three-phase AC power is generated by a three-phase alternator (also called as AC
generators) in the power plants.
In the alternator, three stator windings (or say three independent coils) typically separated
by some number of degree of rotation and hence the current produced by that coils is also
separated by some degrees of rotation, which is typically 120 degrees.
This three phase power from the alternators is further transmitted to the distribution end
through transmission lines.

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Uses the correct symbols and conventions for:

a) Rotation
To Control Text During Symbol Rotation
If you are rotating a symbol you may want to set controls to manage the orientation of any
text contained within the symbol. By doing so you can ensure that the text meets the
appropriate standards and is readable.
You can control the text during symbol rotation in the following ways:
• Define the text behavior within the symbol definition. By setting the Fixed text
angle symbol attribute, the text will maintain its orientation no matter how the symbol is
positioned.

1. The symbol in its original position.

2. The symbol created when using the Fixed text angle check box.
3. The symbol created when using Fixed text angle and rotating the symbol during
instance creation.

b) angular velocity
n physics, angular velocity refers to how fast an object rotates or revolves relative to
another point, i.e. how fast the angular position or orientation of an object changes with
time. There are two types of angular velocity: orbital angular velocity and spin angular
velocity. Spin angular velocity refers to how fast a rigid body rotates with respect to its
centre of rotation. Orbital angular velocity refers to how fast a point object revolves about a
fixed origin, i.e. the time rate of change of its angular position relative to the origin. Spin
angular velocity is independent of the choice of origin, in contrast to orbital angular velocity
which depends on the choice of origin.
In general, angular velocity is measured in angle per unit time, e.g. radians per
second (angle replacing distance from linear velocity with time in common). The SI unit of
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angular velocity is expressed as radians per second with the radian having a dimensionless
value of unity, thus the SI units of angular velocity are listed as 1/s or s −1. Angular velocity
is usually represented by the symbol omega (ω, sometimes Ω). By convention, positive
angular velocity indicates counter-clockwise rotation, while negative is clockwise.
For example, a geostationary satellite completes one orbit per day above the equator, or 360
degrees per 24 hours, and has angular velocity ω = (360°)/(24 h) = 15°/h, or
(2π rad)/(24 h) ≈ 0.26 rad/h. If angle is measured in radians, the linear velocity is the

radius times the angular velocity, . With orbital radius 42,000 km from the earth's
center, the satellite's speed through space is thus v = 42,000 km × 0.26/h ≈ 11,000 km/h.
The angular velocity is positive since the satellite travels eastward with the Earth's rotation
(counter-clockwise from above the north pole.)
In three dimensions, angular velocity is a pseudovector, with its magnitude measuring the
rate at which an object rotates or revolves, and its direction pointing perpendicular to the
instantaneous plane of rotation or angular displacement. The orientation of angular velocity
is conventionally specified by the right-hand rule.[1]

c. periodic time
The interval of time which elapses from the moment when a planet or comet leaves any
point in its orbit, until it returns to it again.
Images & Illustrations of periodic time

1.

d) frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time.[1] It is also
referred to as temporal frequency, which emphasizes the contrast to spatial
frequency and angular frequency. Frequency is measured in units of hertz (Hz) which is
equal to one occurrence of a repeating event per second. The period is the duration of time
of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency.[2] For
example: if a newborn baby's heart beats at a frequency of 120 times a minute (2 hertz), its
period, T, — the time interval between beats—is half a second (60 seconds divided by
120 beats). Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify
the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio
signals (sound), radio waves, and light.
e) peak value
Peak Value, Average Value and RMS Value
Peak Value
Definition: The maximum value attained by an alternating quantity during one cycle is
called its Peak value. It is also known as the maximum value or amplitude or crest value.
The sinusoidal alternating quantity obtains its peak value at 90 degrees as shown in the
figure below.
The peak values of alternating voltage and current is represented by E m and Im respectively.

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Average Value
Definition: The average of all the instantaneous values of an alternating voltage and
currents over one complete cycle is called Average Value.
If we consider symmetrical waves like sinusoidal current or voltage waveform, the positive
half cycle will be exactly equal to the negative half cycle. Therefore, the average value over a
complete cycle will be zero.
f) amplitude
Amplitude, in physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a
vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the
length of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance
that the bob traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by
vibrating sources, their amplitude being proportional to the amplitude of the source.
Explains what is meant by phase difference between voltage and current values

Explains why root mean square (r.m.s.) values are used

Attempts to find an average value of AC would directly provide you the answer zero...
Hence, RMS values are used. They help to find the effective value of AC (voltage or current).
This RMS is a mathematical quantity (used in many math fields) used to compare both
alternating and direct currents (or voltage). In other words (as an example), the RMS value
of AC (current) is the direct current which when passed through a resistor for a given
period of time would produce the same heat as that produced by alternating current when
passed through the same resistor for the same time.
Practically, we use the RMS value for all kinds of AC appliances. The same is applicable to
alternating voltage also. We're taking the RMS because AC is a variable quantity
(consecutive positives and negatives). Hence, we require a mean value of their squares
thereby taking the square root of sum of their squares...
Peak value is I20I02 is the square of sum of different values. Hence, taking an average
value (mean) I20/2I02/2 and then determining the square root I0/2–√I0/2 would give the
RMS.

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Electromagnetic induction

Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (i.e.,

voltage) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field.
Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, and James
Clerk Maxwell mathematically described it as Faraday's law of induction. Lenz's
law describes the direction of the induced field. Faraday's law was later generalized to
become the Maxwell–Faraday equation, one of the four Maxwell equations in his theory
of electromagnetism.
Electromagnetic induction has found many applications, including electrical components
such as inductors and transformers, and devices such as electric motors and generators.

Describes the principle of electromagnetic induction and states its main applications
Electromagnetic Induction or Induction is a process in which a conductor is put in a
particular position and magnetic field keeps varying or magnetic field is stationary and a
conductor is moving. This produces a Voltage or EMF (Electromotive Force) across the
electrical conductor. Michael Faraday discovered Law of Induction in 1830. Let us now
study the Electromagnetic Induction in detail.
Note: Suggested videos Presentation

Explains how the following factors affect the induced voltage:

a) flux density
In physics, specifically electromagnetism, the magnetic flux (often denoted Φ or ΦB)
through a surface is the surface integral of the normal component of the magnetic field flux
density B passing through that surface. The SI unit of magnetic flux is the weber (Wb; in
derived units, volt–seconds), and the CGS unit is the maxwell. Magnetic flux is usually
measured with a fluxmeter, which contains measuring coils and electronics, that evaluates
the change of voltage in the measuring coils to calculate the measurement of magnetic flux.
b) number of turns in the coil
How about the issue of the number of turns in each coil?
Is it better to use wire that's small with many turns, or wire that's big with fewer turns?

b) number of turns in the coil

Number of Turns
The number of turns will have a direct effect on the coil's d.c. resistance. A large resistance
will decrease the current if the power supply is not changed. But if you build the coil first,
and choose the voltage of the power supply second, then you can achieve any current you
want. So I don't see a problem with resistance; just concentrate on the coil and projectile
first, and then choose an electrical source that can provide both the voltage and current
you need. And select power output transistors that can handle your voltage and current
and power.
Just keep in mind a very basic, very simple rule: The coil's magnetic field is directly
proportional to the number of turns (actually turns/inch), and to the coil current. Really!
It easy to maximize performance: just keep piling on turns, and increasing the current.
That rule is why I ended up with fat coils on my coilgun. I could add turns more easily than
I could make a bigger power supply.
This whole exercise of designing a coilgun is
1. Figure out how to store as much energy as possible in the magnetic field around a
coil.
2. Then figure out a projectile that can couple with the field as much as possible, and
has the minimum mass possible.
When you put the projectile near the coil, the system seeks the minimum energy state.
That occurs when the projectile is in the center of the coil. So the system dumps a bunch of
mechanical energy into the projectile so the whole thing can finally reach that minimum
energy state.

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Anyway, back to the number of turns question. Which is also related to the wire size. I
haven't been able to identify all the variables and equations that need to be optimized. This
is all such an iterative process. But I think it's really a matter of maximizing
turns and maximizing coil current, until you run into some practical limitation. Here's a
few limitations that occurred to me:
1) Current density inside the wire. Once this gets too high, the coil can't dissipate the heat
fast enough. You can get around it a little bit by reducing the duty cycle, but eventually the
wire melts during a single shot. For that reason, thicker wire is better. And that's why big
motors have thick wires. This should lead to a discussion of the theory and design of
thermal dissipation, but I won't go into it.
2) Power supply voltage. There can be problems switching high voltages. I used 2N2955
for switching transistors, and they're only rated up to 60 vdc. So that puts an upper limit
on my power supplies. You could use other switching devices with much higher ratings. For
example, an IGBT (insulated gate transistor) has a maximum voltage of 400 or 600 or even
1200 vdc.
3) Power supply instantaneous current. The only economical way to supply huge current
is from big capacitors. (Or perhaps a car battery?) There's a limit to the price of the
capacitors you can afford. And if you want portability, there's a limit to their physical
dimensions. And the physical dimensions are a trade-off between the capacitance and the
wvdc (working voltage dc) rating. By the way, one researcher has an article "optimizing a
capacitor-driven coilgun" in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. I need to find a copy of that
someday.
4) Output current. There are limits to managing high currents. The 2N2955 are rated for
15A continuous current, or 150W total power dissipation. You could use another device
with higher ratings. For example, the IGBT is intended for electric motor control and can
handle a lot more current.

Explains Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction

10.3 Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction (ESBPY)
Current induced by a changing magnetic field (ESBPZ)
While Oersted's surprising discovery of electromagnetism paved the way for more practical
applications of electricity, it was Michael Faraday who gave us the key to the practical
generation of electricity: electromagnetic induction.
Faraday discovered that when he moved a magnet near a wire a voltage was generated
across it. If the magnet was held stationary no voltage was generated, the voltage only
existed while the magnet was moving. We call this voltage the induced emf (\(\
mathcal{E}\)).
A circuit loop connected to a sensitive ammeter will register a current if it is set up as in
this figure and the magnet is moved up and down:

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Explains Lenz’s law

Lenz’s law, in electromagnetism, statement that an induced electric current flows in
a direction such that the current opposes the change that induced it. This law was
deduced in 1834 by the Russian physicist Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (1804–65).

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Work, energy and power

Work done is generally referred in relation to the force applied while energy is used in
reference to other factors such as heat. Power is defined as work done per unit time.

What is Work, Energy and Power?

Work

Definition Work is said to be done when a force applied to an object moves that
object.

Formula We can calculate work by multiplying the force by the movement of the
object.
W=F×d

Unit The SI unit of work is the joule (J)

Energy

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Definition In physics, we can define energy as the capacity to do work.

Formula For the potential energy the formula is

P.E. = mgh

Unit The SI unit of energy is joules (J), which is named in honour of James
Prescott Joule.

Power

Definition Power can be defined as the rate at which work is done i.e. energy
converted.

Formula The formula for power is

P = W/t

Unit The unit of power is watt (W).

Explains the difference between work, energy and power, giving the units and
symbols commonly used
“do”

Home > High School > AP Physics > Notes > Work, Energy, and Power
Work
Work has a specific definition in physics. Work is done when a force is exerted on an object,
and the object moves from one place to another. Work is the result of a force, acting over a
certain distance. This distance is called the displacement of the object. If the force F, and
the displacement d, are in the same direction, then the work W is given by the formula,

W = Fd

The work is the product of the force and the displacement. In SI (international system)
units, the unit of force is the Newton (N), and the unit of distance or displacement is the
meter (m). Therefore, the unit of work can be expressed as a Newton-meter, N∙m. This is
also known as a Joule, J. The Newton is a compound unit, and so a Joule is also equal to,

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The equation W = Fd depends on the force and the displacement being in the same
direction. There are many situations in which their directions are different, for example, a
person pushing on a box close to the ground. A component of the force the person applies
is directed down, even though the resulting direction of the box is forward. In a case like
this, only the component of the force that is along the path of the box's displacement
contributes to the work done. If we treat the force and the displacement as vectors, the
work can be found by using the dot product (also known as the scalar product).
In this formula, θ is the angle between the force and displacement vectors, and F and d are
the magnitudes of the vectors.

Energy

The kinetic energy (K) of an object is equal to the amount of work that is required to
accelerate the object from rest to a certain velocity, v. This relationship between kinetic
energy and work is called the work-energy theorem. The kinetic energy of an object is a
scalar value, meaning it does not depend on the direction the object moves in. The value of
kinetic energy is always positive or zero. The unit of kinetic energy is the same as the unit
of work, the Joule (J).

The kinetic energy of an object can be related to its mass and velocity with the formula,

This formula for kinetic energy can be found from the equation for work, if the force is in
the same direction as the object's displacement. This formula depends on the kinematic
formula,

The change in position, (x - x0), is equal to the displacement magnitude, d. The formula can
be rearranged to isolate for the acceleration, a,

Force is equal to the mass of an object multiplied by its acceleration, so the force is,
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F = ma

This formula for force can be substituted in to the formula for work,

W = Fd

Therefore, the work done by the force on an object is equal to the change in the object's
kinetic energy,

W = K2 - K1

W = ΔK

In this formula, the Greek uppercase letter Δ ("delta") is used to mean "the change in".

Work can be used to understand the energy of many objects that experience forces. One
example is the work required to stretch a spring. If the magnitude of the displacement of
the object is labeled x, and this represents the displacement away from an equilibrium
position x = 0, then the force required to pull the object on the spring to a position x is,

F = kx

The constant k in this equation is the spring constant, which is different for every spring.
The spring constant has units Newtons per meter, N/m. The work required to pull the
spring from any starting position x1 to a final position x2 is,
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Power

Power is a rate of doing work. It is a measure of how quickly work is done. For a quantity of
work W that is done in an amount of time t, the power done is,

The unit for power is the Watt (W), which is equal to a Joule per second,

1 W=1 J/s

Power can also be expressed in as force F times velocity v. Since work is given by force
times distance, W = Fd, and velocity is distance divided by time, v = d/t, then power is,

Another Explanation:
Difference Between Energy and Power
Energy is the strength needed to perform work, while the rate at which work is performed is
called power. The unit of measurement in energy is termed as joules, whereas, a watt is the
measurement unit of power.
A fine line of difference exists in the way we use the word ‘work’, in our routine activities
and in science. As in our day to day life, work entails the physical and mental strain, such
as dancing, singing, cooking, bathing washing, learning, etc. However, in science work
implies the outcome of force acted upon an object, to cause or stop-motion, which is
measured in terms of joules.
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Energy and power are the two fundamental concepts related to work, which is used as the
synonym, but they are not one and the same thing. So, come let’s discuss the difference
between them.

Energy Vs Power
1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR
ENERGY POWER
COMPARISON

Meaning Energy is described as Power alludes to the rate at

the object's ability to which work is performed
perform work. upon an object.

Represents How much work a How quickly work can be

person can do? done?

SI unit Joules Watt

Denoted by W P

Conversion It can be converted from It cannot be converted from

one form to another. one form to another.

Storage It can be stored. It cannot be stored.

Definition of Energy

The term ‘energy’ refers to the ability of someone or something to do work. It indicates a
person’s endurance of performing work, i.e. how long, one can do a certain activity. Hence,
energy is associated with a time component.

In finer terms, if an object is capable of doing work, he is said to have energy. Further, it
can be transferred from one object to another, such that the object which does work, loses
energy and the object on which work is done gains it. The law of conservation of energy
states that energy neither produced nor destroyed, but it only changes its form. The
various forms of energy are:

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 Kinetic energy
 Potential energy
 Heat energy
 Light energy
 Electric energy
 Nuclear energy
 Mechanical energy

There are two sources of energy, which are renewable sources (one that can be
replenished) and non-renewable sources (one that cannot be replenished). The SI unit of
energy is joules, i.e. watt-hour. Thermometer, calorimeter, bolometer, etc. are several
instruments which are used to measure energy.

Definition of Power

In science, power is a measure, which determines the speed of performing work, i.e. how
quick or slow work is performed by an object. It is the rate at which the object performs an
activity. It is the quantity of energy consumption per unit of time, i.e. if an object can
transfer more energy in less time, that means the object possess greater power. In other
words, it is nothing but the net force applied to an object with a specific average velocity.

Power is a quantity associated with time. Suppose, in a cycle race of 100 meters, A, B and C
started riding a bicycle, in which A completed the race in 2 min, B in 1 min 40 sec and C in
3 min. The work done is same by all the three, but the difference is in their power applied
by them.

The standard unit of power is Watt, expressed by symbol W and equals to Joules per
second. The power delivered by a machine is measured in horsepower (hp),
one hp = 746 W.

Key Differences Between Energy and Power

The points provided below explain the difference between energy and power:

1. Energy can be defined as the capacity of the object to perform work. On the other
hand, power implies the rate at which work is done upon an object.
2. Energy indicates how much work a person can do? whereas power represents how
quickly work can be done?
3. Energy can be measured in terms of Joules, which is equal to watt-seconds. As
against this, power is expressed in terms of Watt, which equals Joules per second.
4. Energy is indicated by W, while power is indicated by P.
5. Energy is neither generated nor destroyed; it is only turned from one form to
another. On the contrary, power cannot be transformed from one form to another.
6. Conservation of energy is possible. However, power cannot be stored.

Conclusion

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So, with the above explanation, you might be clear on the differences between the two
quantities. While energy is the amount of work done by force, power is the rate of energy
transmission from one object to another.

MODULE 3

3. Lighting
A basic understanding of lighting fundamentals is essential for specifiers and decision-
makers who are evaluating lighting upgrades. This document provides a brief overview of

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design parameters, technologies, and terminology used in the lighting industry. For more
detailed information about specific energy-efficient lighting technologies, refer to the
Lighting Upgrade Technologies document.
Quantity of Illumination
Light Output
The most common measure of light output (or luminous flux) is the lumen. Light sources
are labeled with an output rating in lumens. For example, a T12 40-watt fluorescent lamp
may have a rating of 3050 lumens. Similarly, a light fixture's output can be expressed in
lumens. As lamps and fixtures age and become dirty, their lumen output decreases (i.e.,
lumen depreciation occurs). Most lamp ratings are based on initial lumens (i.e., when the
lamp is new).
Light Level
Light intensity measured on a plane at a specific location is called illuminance.
Illuminance is measured in footcandles, which are workplane lumens per square foot. You
can measure illuminance using a light meter located on the work surface where tasks are
performed. Using simple arithmetic and manufacturers' photometric data, you can predict
illuminance for a defined space. (Lux is the metric unit for illuminance, measured in
lumens per square meter. To convert footcandles to lux, multiply footcandles by 10.76.)
Brightness
Another measurement of light is luminance, sometimes called brightness. This measures
light "leaving" a surface in a particular direction, and considers the illuminance on the
surface and the reflectance of the surface.
The human eye does not see illuminance; it sees luminance. Therefore, the amount of light
delivered into the space and the reflectance of the surfaces in the space affects your ability
to see.
States that correct levels of lighting are vital to safety, efficiency and comfort
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic
effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light
fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Daylighting (using windows,
skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in
buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a
major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task
performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on
occupants.
Indoor lighting is usually accomplished using light fixtures, and is a key part of interior
design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscape projects.

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Describes the principle of the incandescent lamp
The electrical light source which works on the principle of incandescent phenomenon is
called Incandescent Lamp. In other words, the lamp working due to glowing of the
filament caused by electric current through it, is called incandescent lamp.
How do Incandescent Lamps Work?
When an object is made hot, the atoms inside the object become thermally excited. If the
object does not melt, the outer orbit electrons of the atoms jump to higher energy level due
to the supplied energy. The electrons on these higher energy levels are not stable, they
again fall back to lower energy levels. While falling from higher to lower energy levels, the
electrons release their extra energy in a form of photons. These photons are then emitted
from the surface of the object in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

Explains the difference between lamps for general lighting and for rough service
What are they?
Rough service lamps are designed to be resistant to vibration and other external stresses
that can damage the filament of a regular lamp, causing failure. They are available in a
variety of wattages and finishes. They are known for their durability and long life as
compared to regular incandescent bulbs.
How do they work?
Rough service lamps function identically to regular incandescent lamps, but generally have
additional wire within the glass enclosure that serves to protect and support the filament.
Where are they used?
Rough service lamps are ideal for use in any area where bumps, shocks, or vibrations are a
primary concern. Some examples would be garage door openers, lamps near machinery,
lamps near doors that slam regularly, or those used anywhere else where early failure is an
issue due to a harsh usage.

Describes briefly the principle, application and care when handling tungsten- halogen
lamps.
A Tungsten Halogen lamp also known as Halogen Lamp is an incandescent light source. It
consists of a tungsten filament, enclosed in an environment of an inert gas and a small
amount of a halogen (bromine or iodine). The combination of the tungsten filament and the
halogen results in a chemical reaction called the halogen cycle, which increases the lifetime
of the filament.
Working Principle
Due to high temperature tungsten filament gets evaporated during working & also due to
conventional flow of gas inside the bulb, the evaporated tungsten is transported away from

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the filament. The wall of the bulb is relatively cool. Hence the evaporated tungsten then is
adhered to the inner bulb wall. This is not the case when halogen like iodine is used in the
bulb container.
The temperature of the filament of the halogen lamp is maintained at about 3300K. Hence
here also tungsten will be evaporated from lamp filament. Due to conventional flow of gas
inside the bulb, the evaporated tungsten atoms are transported away from the filament to
relatively lower temperature zone where they combine with the iodine vapor and form the
tungsten iodide. The temperature required for combination of tungsten and iodine is
2000K.
Then the same convectional flow of gas inside the bulb carries the tungsten iodide to the
wall of relatively lower temperature. But the bulb is so designed that the temperature of the
glass wall remains between 500K and 1500K and at that temperature tungsten iodide does
not adhere to the bulb wall. It goes back to towards the filament due to same convectional
flow of gas inside the bulb. Again, at the close vicinity of the filament where temperature is
more than 2800K, the tungsten iodide gets broken into the tungsten and iodine vapor.
Because this is the required temperature for breaking tungsten iodide into tungsten and
iodine atoms is >2800K.
Then these tungsten atoms further proceed and get re-deposited on the filament to
compensate previously vaporized tungsten. After that they again get evaporated due to high
filament temperature and become free to acquire iodine to form iodide. This cycle repeats
again and again. Hence the filament does not get evaporated permanently so temperature of
the filament can be maintain at very high level compared to normal incandescent lamp
which makes it more efficient i.e. more lumen/watt rating. As there is no permanent
evaporation of filament, the lifespan of the Tungsten Halogen Lamps gets much longer with
clarity of illumination.
Spectrum
The spectral output of halogen lamps is continuous, and is similar to that of a blackbody
radiator. A major portion (up to 85%) of the emitted light lies in the infrared and near
infrared regions; the rest (15-20%) lies in the visible region, and less than 1% of the light
falls in the ultraviolet region.
Construction
Quartz is widely used to make halogen bulb glass. Quartz is transparent silica and pure
silicon dioxide. It is very stronger and it withstands higher temperature as compared to the
borosilicate or alumina silicate glass. Quartz bulb can be soft material above 1900K. Again
around the filament 2800K must be maintained to get continuous halogen cycle. So the
distance between the filament and quartz bulb wall must be maintained in such a way that
the quartz bulb wall gets temperature below 1900K. The bulb wall should be stronger and

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smaller in volume such that the lamp can be operated at the inner pressure of several
atmospheres. Again higher pressure inside the bulb reduces the rate of evaporation of the
tungsten filament. A certain amount of nitrogen and argon are mixed in addition to the
halogen gas inside the bulb to maintain this higher gas pressure inside. Thus the lamp can
be operated at the higher temperature and with higher luminous efficacy for long time.
Most of the lamps in present days are with bromine instead of iodine.

Explains the principle of discharge lamps

Discharge Lamp
HID lamps produce light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed
inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube.
Gas-discharge lamps
Discharge tubes were made as early as 1856, but commercially discharge lamps came into
the market only in the 1930s. Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources
that emit light by sending an electrical discharge through an ionised gas, i.e. plasma.
Typically, such lamps are filled with a noble gas (argon, neon, krypton and xenon) or a
mixture of these gases. Most lamps are filled with additional materials, such as mercury,
sodium, and metal halides. When the gas is ionised, free electrons are accelerated by the
electrical field in the tube and collide with gas and metal atoms. Some electrons in the
atomic orbital of these atoms are excited by these collisions to a higher energy state. When
the excited atom falls back to a lower energy state, it emits a photon of a characteristic
energy, resulting in infrared, visible light, or ultraviolet radiation. Some lamps convert the
ultraviolet radiation to visible light with a fluorescent coating on the inside of the lamp’s
glass surface. The fluorescent lamp is perhaps the best known gas-discharge lamp. The
spectral energy distribution of the electrical discharge lamp depends primarily on the type
of vapour or gas, vapour pressure, the nature of electrode and the electrical energy.

Explains how fluorescent tubes are started up

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at HOW FLUORESCENT LIGHTS WORK we explain that

Fluorescent lamps have two electrical requirements.
To start the lamp, a high voltage surge is needed to establish an arc in the mercury vapor.
Once the lamp is started, the gas offers a decreasing amount of resistance, which means that
current must be regulated to match this drop. Otherwise, the lamp would draw more and
more power and rapidly burn itself out.
This is why fluorescent lamps ... must be operated by a ballast, which provides the required
starting voltage and then controls the subsequent flow of current to the lamp
There are two different break-downs of fluorescent light fixture ballast types, as we explain
here.
1. Magnetic vs. Electronic ballasts
2. Ballast designs using different lamp-starting strategies.
Above: top of photo: an older magnetic ballast produced by Advance Transformer Co, used
to support a 30-Watt or 40-Watt rapid-start fluorescent lamp. This ballast was retrieved
from a fluorescent light fixture installed in 1963 in a home in northern Minnesota. Watch
out: older ballasts may contain harmful PCBs.
[Click to enlarge any image]
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Bottom of same photo: a new magnetic ballast from Phillips Advance, designed to support a
range of fluorescent lamps from 13-Watts to 20-Watts. This transformer / ballast is PCB-
free.
Magnetic vs Electronic Ballast / Transformer
Magnetic ballast: (shown in the photo above) used in high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps
and in older fluorescent light fixtures, a magnetic ballast is an older and simple ballast
design using a magnetic core and coil transformer to produce high voltage.
Electronic ballast: (shown below) used in newer fluorescent light fixtures, electronic
components (rather than a heavy wire winding core) are used to produce the high voltage
needed to start the light fixture.

Explains how the power factor of fluorescent tubes is improved

A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge
lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites
mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor
coating on the inside of the lamp to glow. A fluorescent lamp converts electrical energy into
useful light much more efficiently than incandescent lamps. The typical luminous efficacy
of fluorescent lighting systems is 50–100 lumens per watt, several times the efficacy of
incandescent bulbs with comparable light output.

Fluorescent lamp fixtures are more costly than incandescent lamps because they require a
ballast to regulate the current through the lamp, but the lower energy cost typically offsets
the higher initial cost. Compact fluorescent lamps are now available in the same popular
sizes as incandescents and are used as an energy-saving alternative in homes.

Because they contain mercury, many fluorescent lamps are classified as hazardous waste.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends that fluorescent lamps be
segregated from general waste for recycling or safe disposal, and some jurisdictions require
recycling of them.[3]

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Top: two compact fluorescent lamps without integrated ballast. Bottom: two fluorescent
tube lamps. A matchstick, left, is shown for scale.

Compact fluorescent lamp with electronic ballast

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Typical F71T12 100 W bi-pin lamp used in tanning beds. The (Hg) symbol indicates that this lamp
contains mercury. In the US, this symbol is now required on all mercury-containing fluorescent lamps.[1]

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One style of lamp holder for T12 and T8 bi-pin fluorescent lamps

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Inside the lamp end of a preheat bi-pin lamp. In this lamp the filament is surrounded by an oblong
metal cathode shield, which helps reduce lamp end darkening.

Physical discoveries
Fluorescence of certain rocks and other substances had been observed for
hundreds of years before its nature was understood. By the middle of the 19th
century, experimenters had observed a radiant glow emanating from partially
evacuated glass vessels through which an electric current passed. One of the
first to explain it was the Irish scientist Sir George Stokes from the University of
Cambridge in 1852, who named the phenomenon "fluorescence" after fluorite, a
mineral many of whose samples glow strongly because of impurities. The
explanation relied on the nature of electricity and light phenomena as developed
by the British scientists Michael Faraday in the 1840s and James Clerk Maxwell
in the 1860s.[4]

Little more was done with this phenomenon until 1856 when German glassblower
Heinrich Geissler created a mercury vacuum pump that evacuated a glass tube
to an extent not previously possible. Geissler invented the first gas-discharge
lamp, the Geissler tube, consisting of a partially evacuated glass tube with a

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metal electrode at either end. When a high voltage was applied between the
electrodes, the inside of the tube lit up with a glow discharge. By putting different
chemicals inside, the tubes could be made to produce a variety of colors, and
elaborate Geissler tubes were sold for entertainment. More important, however,
was its contribution to scientific research. One of the first scientists to experiment
with a Geissler tube was Julius Plücker who systematically described in 1858 the
luminescent effects that occurred in a Geissler tube. He also made the important
observation that the glow in the tube shifted position when in proximity to an
electromagnetic field. Alexandre Edmond Becquerel observed in 1859 that
certain substances gave off light when they were placed in a Geissler tube. He
went on to apply thin coatings of luminescent materials to the surfaces of these
tubes. Fluorescence occurred, but the tubes were very inefficient and had a short
operating life.[5]

Inquiries that began with the Geissler tube continued as even better vacuums
were produced. The most famous was the evacuated tube used for scientific
research by William Crookes. That tube was evacuated by the highly effective
mercury vacuum pump created by Hermann Sprengel. Research conducted by
Crookes and others ultimately led to the discovery of the electron in 1897 by J. J.
Thomson and X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen. But the Crookes tube, as it
came to be known, produced little light because the vacuum in it was too good
and thus lacked the trace amounts of gas that are needed for electrically
stimulated luminescence.

Early discharge lamps

Thomas Edison briefly pursued fluorescent lighting for its commercial potential.
He invented a fluorescent lamp in 1896 that used a coating of calcium tungstate
as the fluorescing substance, excited by X-rays, but although it received a patent
in 1907,[6] it was not put into production. As with a few other attempts to use
Geissler tubes for illumination, it had a short operating life, and given the success
of the incandescent light, Edison had little reason to pursue an alternative means
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of electrical illumination. Nikola Tesla made similar experiments in the 1890s,
devising high-frequency powered fluorescent bulbs that gave a bright greenish
light, but as with Edison's devices, no commercial success was achieved.

One of Edison's former employees created a gas-discharge lamp that achieved a

measure of commercial success. In 1895 Daniel McFarlan Moore demonstrated
lamps 2 to 3 meters (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in length that used carbon dioxide or nitrogen
to emit white or pink light, respectively. They were considerably more
complicated than an incandescent bulb, requiring both a high-voltage power
supply and a pressure regulating system for the fill gas.[7]

Peter Cooper Hewitt

Moore invented an electromagnetically controlled valve that maintained a
constant gas pressure within the tube, to extend the working life.[8] Although
Moore's lamp was complicated, expensive, and required very high voltages, it
was considerably more efficient than incandescent lamps, and it produced a
closer approximation to natural daylight than contemporary incandescent lamps.
From 1904 onwards Moore's lighting system was installed in a number of stores
and offices.[9] Its success contributed to General Electric’s motivation to improve
the incandescent lamp, especially its filament. GE's efforts came to fruition with
the invention of a tungsten-based filament. The extended lifespan and improved
efficacy of incandescent bulbs negated one of the key advantages of Moore's
lamp, but GE purchased the relevant patents in 1912. These patents and the
inventive efforts that supported them were to be of considerable value when the
firm took up fluorescent lighting more than two decades later.

At about the same time that Moore was developing his lighting system, Peter
Cooper Hewitt invented the mercury-vapor lamp, patented in 1901 (US 682692).
Hewitt's lamp glowed when an electric current was passed through mercury

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vapor at a low pressure. Unlike Moore's lamps, Hewitt's were manufactured in
standardized sizes and operated at low voltages. The mercury-vapor lamp was
superior to the incandescent lamps of the time in terms of energy efficiency, but
the blue-green light it produced limited its applications. It was, however, used for
photography and some industrial processes.

Mercury vapor lamps continued to be developed at a slow pace, especially in

Europe, and by the early 1930s they received limited use for large-scale
illumination. Some of them employed fluorescent coatings, but these were used
primarily for color correction and not for enhanced light output. Mercury vapor
lamps also anticipated the fluorescent lamp in their incorporation of a ballast to
maintain a constant current.

Cooper-Hewitt had not been the first to use mercury vapor for illumination, as
earlier efforts had been mounted by Way, Rapieff, Arons, and Bastian and
Salisbury. Of particular importance was the mercury vapor lamp invented by
Küch and Retschinsky in Germany. The lamp used a smaller bore bulb and
higher current operating at higher pressures. As a consequence of the current,
the bulb operated at a higher temperature which necessitated the use of a quartz
bulb. Although its light output relative to electrical consumption was better than
that of other sources of light, the light it produced was similar to that of the
Cooper-Hewitt lamp in that it lacked the red portion of the spectrum, making it
unsuitable for ordinary lighting. Due to difficulties in sealing the electrodes to the
quartz, the lamp had a very short life.[10]

Neon lamps
Main article: Neon lighting
The next step in gas-based lighting took advantage of the luminescent qualities
of neon, an inert gas that had been discovered in 1898 by isolation from the
atmosphere. Neon glowed a brilliant red when used in Geissler tubes.[11] By

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1910, Georges Claude, a Frenchman who had developed a technology and a
successful business for air liquefaction, was obtaining enough neon as a
byproduct to support a neon lighting industry.[12][13] While neon lighting was
used around 1930 in France for general illumination, it was no more energy-
efficient than conventional incandescent lighting. Neon tube lighting, which also
includes the use of argon and mercury vapor as alternative gases, came to be
used primarily for eye-catching signs and advertisements. Neon lighting was
relevant to the development of fluorescent lighting, however, as Claude's
improved electrode (patented in 1915) overcame "sputtering", a major source of
electrode degradation. Sputtering occurred when ionized particles struck an
electrode and tore off bits of metal. Although Claude's invention required
electrodes with a lot of surface area, it showed that a major impediment to gas-
based lighting could be overcome.

The development of the neon light also was significant for the last key element of
the fluorescent lamp, its fluorescent coating.[14] In 1926 Jacques Risler received
a French patent for the application of fluorescent coatings to neon light tubes.[15]
The main use of these lamps, which can be considered the first commercially
successful fluorescents, was for advertising, not general illumination. This,
however, was not the first use of fluorescent coatings; Becquerel had earlier
used the idea and Edison used calcium tungstate for his unsuccessful lamp.[16]
[17][18] Other efforts had been mounted, but all were plagued by low efficiency
and various technical problems. Of particular importance was the invention in
1927 of a low-voltage “metal vapor lamp” by Friedrich Meyer, Hans-Joachim
Spanner, and Edmund Germer, who were employees of a German firm in Berlin.
A German patent was granted but the lamp never went into commercial
production.

Principles of operation
The fundamental mechanism for conversion of electrical energy to light is
emission of a photon when an electron in a mercury atom falls from an excited
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state into a lower energy level. Electrons flowing in the arc collide with the
mercury atoms. If the incident electron has enough kinetic energy, it transfers
energy to the atom's outer electron, causing that electron to temporarily jump up
to a higher energy level that is not stable. The atom will emit an
ultraviolet photon as the atom's electron reverts to a lower, more stable, energy
level. Most of the photons that are released from the mercury atoms
have wavelengths in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the spectrum, predominantly at
wavelengths of 253.7 and 185 nanometers (nm). These are not visible to the
human eye, so ultraviolet energy is converted to visible light by
the fluorescence of the inner phosphor coating. The difference in energy between
the absorbed ultra-violet photon and the emitted visible light photon goes toward
heating up the phosphor coating.
Electric current flows through the tube in a low-pressure arc discharge. Electrons
collide with and ionize noble gas atoms inside the bulb surrounding the filament
to form a plasma by the process of impact ionization. As a result of avalanche
ionization, the conductivity of the ionized gas rapidly rises, allowing higher
currents to flow through the lamp.
The fill gas helps determine the electrical characteristics of the lamp, but does
not give off light itself. The fill gas effectively increases the distance that electrons
travel through the tube, which allows an electron a greater chance of interacting
with a mercury atom. Additionally, argon atoms, excited to a metastable state by
impact of an electron, can impart energy to a mercury atom and ionize it,
described as the Penning effect. This lowers the breakdown and operating
voltage of the lamp, compared to other possible fill gases such as krypton.[26]
Construction
A fluorescent lamp tube is filled with a mix of argon, xenon, neon, or krypton, and
mercury vapor. The pressure inside the lamp is around 0.3% of atmospheric
pressure.[27] The partial pressure of the mercury vapor alone is about 0.8 Pa (8
millionths of atmospheric pressure), in a T12 40-watt lamp.[28] The inner surface
of the lamp is coated with a fluorescent coating made of varying blends of
metallic and rare-earth phosphor salts. The lamp's electrodes are typically made
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of coiled tungsten and are coated with a mixture of barium, strontium and calcium
oxides to improve thermionic emission.
Fluorescent lamp tubes are often straight and range in length from about 100
millimeters (3.9 in) for miniature lamps, to 2.43 meters (8.0 ft) for high-output
lamps. Some lamps have the tube bent into a circle, used for table lamps or other
places where a more compact light source is desired. Larger U-shaped lamps
are used to provide the same amount of light in a more compact area, and are
used for special architectural purposes. Compact fluorescent lamps have several
small-diameter tubes joined in a bundle of two, four, or six, or a small diameter
tube coiled into a helix, to provide a high amount of light output in little volume.
Light-emitting phosphors are applied as a paint-like coating to the inside of the
tube. The organic solvents are allowed to evaporate, then the tube is heated to
nearly the melting point of glass to drive off remaining organic compounds and
fuse the coating to the lamp tube. Careful control of the grain size of the
suspended phosphors is necessary; large grains lead to weak coatings, and
small particles leads to poor light maintenance and efficiency. Most phosphors
perform best with a particle size around 10 micrometers. The coating must be
thick enough to capture all the ultraviolet light produced by the mercury arc, but
not so thick that the phosphor coating absorbs too much visible light. The first
phosphors were synthetic versions of naturally occurring fluorescent minerals,
with small amounts of metals added as activators. Later other compounds were
discovered, allowing differing colors of lamps to be made.[29]

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Close-up of the cathodes of a germicidal lamp (an essentially similar design that
uses no fluorescent phosphor, allowing the electrodes to be seen)

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Explains the effect of variation in voltage on both incandescent and gas-discharge
lamps
Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate light by sending
an electric discharge through an ionized gas, a plasma. Typically, such lamps use a noble
gas (argon, neon, krypton, and xenon) or a mixture of these gases. Some include additional
substances, like mercury, sodium, and metal halides, which are vaporized during startup
to become part of the gas mixture. In operation, some of the electrons are forced to leave
the atoms of the gas near the anode by the electric field applied between the two electrodes,
leaving these atoms positively ionized. The free electrons thus released flow onto the anode,
while the cations thus formed are accelerated by the electric field and flow towards
the cathode. Typically, after traveling a very short distance, the ions collide with neutral gas
atoms, which transfer their electrons to the ions. The atoms, having lost an electron during
the collisions, ionize and speed toward the cathode while the ions, having gained an
electron during the collisions, return to a lower energy state while releasing energy in the
form of photons. Light of a characteristic frequency is thus emitted. In this way, electrons
are relayed through the gas from the cathode to the anode. The color of the light produced
depends on the emission spectra of the atoms making up the gas, as well as the pressure of
the gas, current density, and other variables. Gas discharge lamps can produce a wide
range of colors. Some lamps produce ultraviolet radiation which is converted to visible light
by a fluorescent coating on the inside of the lamp's glass surface. The fluorescent lamp is
perhaps the best known gas-discharge lamp.
Compared to incandescent lamps, gas-discharge lamps offer higher efficiency,[1][2] but are
more complicated to manufacture and most exhibit negative resistance, causing the
resistance in the plasma to decrease as the current flow increases. Therefore, they usually
require auxiliary electronic equipment such as ballasts to control current flow through the
gas, preventing current runaway (arc flash). Some gas-discharge lamps also have a
perceivable start-up time to achieve their full light output. Still, due to their greater
efficiency, gas-discharge lamps were preferred over incandescent lights in many lighting
applications, until recent improvements in LED lamp technology.

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MODULE 4
4.Cables
An electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is
used to carry electric current.
A cable assembly is the composition of one or more electrical cables and their
corresponding connectors.[1] A cable assembly is not necessarily suitable for connecting two devices
but can be a partial product (e.g. to be soldered onto a printed circuit board with a connector
mounted to the housing). Cable assemblies can also take the form of a cable tree or cable harness,
used to connect many terminals together.
The term cable originally referred to a nautical line of specific length where multiple ropes are
combined to produce a strong thick line that was used to anchor large ships. As electric technology
developed, people changed from using bare copper wire to using groupings of wires and various
sheathing and shackling methods that resembled the mechanical cabling so the term was adopted
for electrical wiring. In the 19th century and early 20th century, electrical cable was often insulated
using cloth, rubber or paper. Plastic materials are generally used today, except for high-reliability
power cables. The term has also come to be associated with communications because of its use in
electrical communications.
Electrical cables are used to connect two or more devices, enabling the transfer of electrical signals
or power from one device to the other. Cables are used for a wide range of purposes, and each must
be tailored for that purpose. Cables are used extensively in electronic devices for power and signal
circuits. Long-distance communication takes place over undersea cables. Power cables are used for
bulk transmission of alternating and direct current power, especially using high-voltage cable.
Electrical cables are extensively used in building wiring for lighting, power and control circuits
permanently installed in buildings. Since all the circuit conductors required can be installed in a
cable at one time, installation labor is saved compared to certain other wiring methods.
Physically, an electrical cable is an assembly consisting of one or more conductors with their own
insulations and optional screens, individual covering(s), assembly protection and protective
covering(s). Electrical cables may be made more flexible by stranding the wires. In this process,
smaller individual wires are twisted or braided together to produce larger wires that are more
flexible than solid wires of similar size. Bunching small wires before concentric stranding adds the
most flexibility. Copper wires in a cable may be bare, or they may be plated with a thin layer of
another metal, most often tin but sometimes gold, silver or some other material. Tin, gold, and
silver are much less prone to oxidation than copper, which may lengthen wire life, and
makes soldering easier. Tinning is also used to provide lubrication between strands. Tinning was
used to help removal of rubber insulation. Tight lays during stranding makes the cable extensible
(CBA – as in telephone handset cords).[further explanation needed]
Cables can be securely fastened and organized, such as by using trunking, cable trays, cable
ties or cable lacing. Continuous-flex or flexible cables used in moving applications within cable
carriers can be secured using strain relief devices or cable ties.
At high frequencies, current tends to run along the surface of the conductor. This is known as
the skin effect.
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Fire test in Sweden, showing fire rapidly spreading through the burning of cable insulation, a
phenomenon of great importance for cables used in some installations.

500,000 circular mil (254 mm2) single conductor power cable

Cables and electromagnetic fields[edit]

Coaxial cable

Twisted pair cabling

Any current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates an electromagnetic field. Likewise, any
conductor or cable will pick up energy from any existing electromagnetic field around it. These
effects are often undesirable, in the first case amounting to unwanted transmission of energy which
may adversely affect nearby equipment or other parts of the same piece of equipment; and in the
second case, unwanted pickup of noise which may mask the desired signal being carried by the
cable, or, if the cable is carrying power supply or control voltages, pollute them to such an extent as
to cause equipment malfunction.
The first solution to these problems is to keep cable lengths in buildings short since pick up and
transmission are essentially proportional to the length of the cable. The second solution is to route
cables away from trouble. Beyond this, there are particular cable designs that minimize
electromagnetic pickup and transmission. Three of the principal design techniques
are shielding, coaxial geometry, and twisted-pair geometry.

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Shielding makes use of the electrical principle of the Faraday cage. The cable is encased for its
entire length in foil or wire mesh. All wires running inside this shielding layer will be to a large
extent decoupled from external electrical fields, particularly if the shield is connected to a point of
constant voltage, such as earth or ground. Simple shielding of this type is not greatly effective
against low-frequency magnetic fields, however - such as magnetic "hum" from a nearby
power transformer. A grounded shield on cables operating at 2.5 kV or more gathers leakage
current and capacitive current, protecting people from electric shock and equalizing stress on the
cable insulation.
Coaxial design helps to further reduce low-frequency magnetic transmission and pickup. In this
design the foil or mesh shield has a circular cross section and the inner conductor is exactly at its
center. This causes the voltages induced by a magnetic field between the shield and the core
conductor to consist of two nearly equal magnitudes which cancel each other.
A twisted pair has two wires of a cable twisted around each other. This can be demonstrated by
putting one end of a pair of wires in a hand drill and turning while maintaining moderate tension on
the line. Where the interfering signal has a wavelength that is long compared to the pitch of the
twisted pair, alternate lengths of wires develop opposing voltages, tending to cancel the effect of the
interference.
Fire protection[edit]
In building construction, electrical cable jacket material is a potential source of fuel for fires. To
limit the spread of fire, one may use cable coating materials or jacketing that is fire retardant. The
plastic covering on some metal clad cables may be stripped off at installation to reduce the fuel
source for fires. Inorganic coatings and boxes around cables safeguard the adjacent areas from the
fire threat associated with unprotected cable jacketing. However, this fire protection also traps heat
generated from conductor losses, so the protection must be thin.
To provide fire protection to a cable, the insulation is treated with fire retardant materials, or non-
combustible mineral insulation is used (see Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable).

Names materials commonly used for the following part of cables:

a) conductors
Cable Materials
Metals
We sometimes forget that many cables are not designed to conduct electrical power or signals, such
as cables which support bridges, actuate ailerons, and tow cars, for example. Mechanical wire &
cable is a big (but another) industry.
There are, however, similarities between mechanical and electrical wire and cable — at least in
terms of their means of manufacture.
As strands of wire are made, they are drawn through progressively smaller dies. This is true of all
wire. Diamond dies are used, due to their extreme hardness, and the fact that they retain their
precision size for a long time. In fact, the American Wire Gauge (AWG) sizing system suggests this
drawing procedure. For example, a size 22 AWG wire, smaller than 20 AWG, is drawn, theoretically,
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through 22 progressively smaller dies. Larger wire is drawn through fewer dies; hence, the lower-
number “gauge.” See Table 1.

Copper is regarded as the standard in electrical conductors, second only to silver in

conductivity, but far more plentiful and therefore economical.
Because soldering copper can be difficult unless a flux is used (which can leave corrosive residues
behind), it is usually tinned or plated if it is intended to be soldered. (This does not preclude the use
of flux, but the coating makes soldering easier, and affords some protection against corrosion
overall.)
Bare copper is perfectly suited for pressure terminations (crimping, etc.) which break through
surface oxidation.

b) insulation
Electrical Insulators
Types of insulators and history
Insulators are used in all electrical devices from tiny capacitors to giant generators. Engineers need
to understand how to design devices with the proper insulator. Unfortunately insulator failure is a
primary reason why electrical devices stop working.
1.) Basics
2.) List of Common Insulating Materials
3.) Insulating electric wires
3.a) Guide to wire insulation

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4.) High Voltage "Insulators"
4.a) Wood and Glass
4.b) Ceramic
5.) Timeline
5.a) List of manufacturers and innovators
6.) Comments on insulation from R. DeLair
Basics
What is resistance and conductivity?
Three major categories of materials include conductors, semiconductors and insulators. Insulators
have a high resistance, we can also describe them as having "low electrical conduction".
Conductivity: Most metals are conductive, which means that electrons can freely flow to different
atoms in a given direction. Metals have loosely bound, or free electrons which allow this to happen.
Insulative materials on the other hand have tightly bound valence electrons. Understanding
conductivity at an atomic level requires some basic understanding of chemistry.
More on electrical current flow (wiki) >
Insulators come in solid, liquid and gas forms. See the more detailed list in the next section for
examples.
Dielectrics - these are materials that are do not allow electricity to flow through them (are
insulators) however in the presence of an electrical field the material becomes polarized. This
phenomena is useful in electronics. For example we use dielectric materials in the middle
of capacitors because it acts as insulator, blocking DC current flow, but the changing polarity
allows energy to pass through. We use the measurement of Electric Susceptibility to understand
how easy it is for a given dielectric to polarize. You can learn more about dielectrics on the wiki
page here.

List of Common Insulating Materials

Solids

Clay (ceramic)(porcelain) - This is the standard material for high voltage and RF insulators.
Plastics - PVC, Cresyl Pthalate, DEHP and other plastics replaced rubber as an insulator for wires
and other parts. PVC and nylon are now standard in most types of wire.
Glass (silica, soda ash and limestone) - This material worked fine for telegraph and other low
voltage apparatus. It is still used today to some degree.

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Paper/Cardboard - paper and cardboard are used as insulators in certain circumstances as these
materials are cheap and can work in situations without high heat or high voltages.
Mica - This is a good stable material even when exposed to the elements. It is a good thermal
conductor while being an insulator. Sheet mica is easily stamped and shaped for electrical
components. Mica is very important for the most common types of capacitors.
Teflon (PTFE) - (polytetrafluoroethylene) - Slippery, durable and resistant to corrosion this Dupont
made material is used in cable jackets. Other forms besides PTFE include FEP and ETFE.
PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy) - This substance is resistant to chemical attack, transparent and better
than PTFE when it comes to flexibility. The weakness is that the number of times it can be folded is
less than PTFE. It is good for applications near the ocean as it is resistant to salt spray. The
dielectric strength of PFA is up to 4 times higher than PTFE.
Rubber - Rubber in its natural and synthetic forms was used as an insulator from before the 1870s
until the 1950s. Plastics (especially PVC) replaced rubber.
Wax and oil - in the 1880s Edison used trinidad asphaltum with linseed oil, beeswax and paraffin
to insulate copper wires mounted inside of iron pipes. This was used for durable underground
power lines. This was used at the famous Pearl Street Station in NYC.
Gasses
Normally when you separate two high voltage conductors an arc forms in between in open air. In
the utility industry we use special non-conductive gas in a compact encapsulated metal container to
stop arcs from forming. Gas-insulated switchgear is designed to disconnect very high voltages
safely. There are gas insulated transformers as well as other devices.
Liquids
Insulating Oil (Transformer Oil) - This petroleum product is used as an electrical insulator and
thermal conductor. It conducts heat away from hot transformer coils. Some capacitors also use
insulator oil.

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Describes the reaction of electric cables to a fire

Electric Cable It’s Insulation And Hazards Related to Fire On Ship

The electric cable used on a ship is specifically designed for marine installations both on shore and
on ships. They are made considering the tough marine condition. On top, there are further risks of
hazards related to dense smoke produce if the cables catch fire.
Even a small spark (discharge due to static charge) is dangerous on board ship. Having different
electrical equipment and machinery increases this risk if not maintained to an order. Utmost care
should be taken on a ship to avoid any scenario of electrical fire and damage to life and crew or
property.
Electrical safety on board vessels is a vast topic with various aspects and applications. Here we will
learn how electric cables react to fire On-board ships and how to avoid them.
Modern Power Electric Cable comes in a variety of sizes, materials, and types, each particularly
adopted to its uses.
Cable consist of three major components.
1. Conductor.
2. Insulation.
3. Protective Jacket.
The construction material of Electric cable is determined by three main factors, namely:
1. The current carrying capacity determines the cross-section and size of the conductor.
2. Environmental factors, such as sunlight, water, temperature, chemical, and mechanical
impact.

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3. Working voltage determines the thickness of the insulation.
All-in-all, the make-up of each individual cable varies according to application.
The recommended materials for Marine electrical cables on ships are
(a) Cable insulation
(i) Polyvinyl chloride
(ii) Ethylene polypropylene rubber
(iii) Cross-linked polyethylene
(iv) Low smoke, halogen-free cross-linked polypropylene rubber
(v) Silicon rubber
(vi) Cross-linked polyolefin
(b) Sheathing
(i) Polyvinyl chloride
(ii) Neoprene
(iii) Chloro-sulfonated polyethylene
(iv) Chlorinated polyethylene
(v) Cross-linked polyolefin
(vi) Polyolefin
Insulation: Insulation refers to the material wrapped around the individual wire. the purpose of
insulation is to prevent the individual wire from touching each other.
Sheathing: Sheath refers to the material that wrapped around all the insulation and prevents it from
any physical damage. The sheathing is what you can sea and touch.
A polymer undergoes combustion when there is sufficient energy in the form of heat to facilitate
either decomposition or pyrolysis.
Decomposition or pyrolysis results in the release of volatile organic compounds that can
subsequently be ignited.
The flammable products that evolve from the polymer during heating, mix with oxygen in the air
and when their flammability limit is reached, they ignite in the presence of a flame or spark.
Once ignition has taken place, the burning process is exothermic. If sufficient energy is produced, it
will overcome the endothermic requirements for polymer decomposition / pyrolysis and flame will
be sustained and flame spread will be initiated

Explains why cable sockets need to be securely attached and locked on to the terminal
Electrical connector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This rear panel of an audio power amplifier features a variety of electrical connectors

Connectors on the back of a 2018 computer

Schematic symbols for male and female connectors (see Gender of connectors and fasteners)

An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to join electrical conductors and

create an electrical circuit.[1] Most electrical connectors have a gender – i.e. the male component,
called a plug, connects to the female component, or socket. The connection may be removable (as
for portable equipment), require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical
joint between two points.[2] An adapter can be used to join dissimilar connectors.
Thousands of configurations of connectors are manufactured for power, data,
and audiovisual applications.[3] Electrical connectors can be divided into four basic categories,
differentiated by their function:[4]
 inline or cable connectors permanently attached to a cable, so it can be plugged into
another terminal (either a stationary instrument or another cable)[5]
 Chassis or panel connectors permanently attached to a piece of equipment so users can
connect a cable to a stationary device

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 PCB mount connectors soldered to a printed circuit board, providing a point
for cable or wire attachment.[6]:56 (e.g. pin headers, screw terminals, board-to-board
connectors)
 Splice or butt connectors (primarily insulation displacement connectors) that permanently
join two lengths of wire or cable
In computing, electrical connectors are considered a physical interface and constitute part of
the physical layer in the OSI model of networking.

Physical construction

In addition to the classes mentioned above, connectors are characterised by their pinout, method of
connection, materials, size, contact resistance, insulation, mechanical durability, ingress
protection, lifetime (number of cycles), and ease of use.

It is usually desirable for a connector to be easy to identify visually, rapid to assemble, inexpensive,
and require only simple tooling. In some cases an equipment manufacturer might choose a
connector specifically because it is not compatible with those from other sources, allowing control of
what may be connected. No single connector has all the ideal properties for every application; the
proliferation of types is a result of the diverse yet specific requirements of manufacturers.[7]:6

Materials

Electrical connectors essentially consist of two classes of materials: conductors and insulators.
Properties important to conductor materials are conductivity, mechanical strength, formability, and
resilience.[8] Insulators must have a high electrical resistance, withstand high temperatures, and be
easy to manufacture for a precise fit.

Electrodes in connectors are usually made of copper alloys, due to their good conductivity and
malleability.[7]:15 Alternatives include brass, phosphor bronze, and beryllium copper. The base
electrode metal is often coated with another inert metal such as gold, nickel, or tin.[8] This
increases the electrical conductivity and durability. For example, copper alloys have favorable
mechanical properties for electrodes, but are hard to solder and prone to corrosion. Thus, copper
pins are usually coated with gold to alleviate these pitfalls, especially for analog signals and high
reliability applications.[9][10]

Contact carriers that hold the parts of a connector together are usually made of plastic, due to its
insulating properties. Housings or backshells can be made of molded plastic or metal.[7]:15

Failure modes

The majority of connector failures result in intermittent connections or open contacts:[11][12]

Failure mode Relative probability

Open circuit 61%

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Poor contact 23%

Short circuit 16%

Connectors are purely passive components – that is, they do not enhance the function of a circuit –
so connectors should affect the function of a circuit as little as possible. Insecure mounting of
connectors (primarily chassis-mounted) can contribute significantly to the risk of failure, especially
when subjected to extreme shock or vibration.[11] Other causes of failure are connectors
inadequately rated for the applied current and voltage, connectors with inadequate ingress
protection, and threaded backshells that are worn or damaged.

High temperatures can also cause failure in connectors, resulting in an "avalanche" of failures –
ambient temperature increases, leading to a decrease in insulation resistance and increase in
conductor resistance; this increase generates more heat, and the cycle repeats.[11]

Fretting (so-called dynamic corrosion) is a common failure mode in electrical connectors that have
not been specifically designed to prevent it, especially in those that are frequently mated and de-
mated.[13] Surface corrosion is a risk for many metal parts in connectors, and can cause contacts
to form a thin surface layer that increases resistance, thus contributing to heat buildup and
intermittent connections.[14] However, remating or reseating a connector can alleviate the issue of
surface corrosion, since each cycle scrapes a microscopic layer off the surface of the contact(s),
exposing a fresh, unoxidised surface.

Circular connectors[edit]

Many connectors used for industrial and high-reliability applications are circular in cross section,
with a cylindrical housing and circular contact interface geometries. This is in contrast to the
rectangular design of some connectors, e.g. USB or blade connectors. They are commonly used for
easier engagement and disengagement, tight environmental sealing, and rugged mechanical
performance.[15] They are widely used in military, aerospace, industrial machinery, and rail,
where MIL-DTL-5015 and MIL-DTL-38999 are commonly specified. Fields such as sound
engineering and radio communication also use circular connectors, such as XLR and BNC. AC
power plugs are also commonly circular, for example, Schuko plugs and IEC 60309.

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NMEA 2000 cabling using M12 connectors

The M12 connector, specified in IEC 61076-2-101, is a circular electrical plug/receptacle pair with
12mm OD mating threads, used in NMEA 2000, DeviceNet, IO-Link, some kinds of Industrial
Ethernet, etc.[16][17]

A disadvantage of the circular design is its inefficient use of panel space when used in arrays, when
compared to rectangular connectors.

Circular connectors commonly use backshells, which provide physical and electromagnetic
protection, whilst sometimes also providing a method for locking the connector into a receptacle.
[18]
In some cases, this backshell provides a hermetic seal, or some degree of ingress protection,
through the use of grommets, O-rings, or potting.[15]

Hybrid connectors[edit]

Hybrid connectors allow the intermixing of many connector types, usually by way of a housing with
inserts.[19] These housings may also allow intermixing of electrical and non-electrical interfaces,
examples of the latter being pneumatic line connectors, and optical fiber connectors. Because
hybrid connectors are modular in nature, they tend to simplify assembly, repair, and future
modifications. They also allow the creation of composite cable assemblies that can reduce
equipment installation time by reducing the number of individual cable and connector assemblies.

Pin sequence[edit]

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Some connectors are designed such that certain pins make contact before others when inserted,
and break first on disconnection.[1] This is often used in power connectors to protect equipment, e.g.
connecting safety ground first. It is also employed for digital signals, as a method to sequence
connections properly in hot swapping.

Keying[edit]

Examples of keyed connectors

XLR connector, showing the notch for alignment

A 4-pin Mini-DIN S-Video cable, with notches and a rectangular alignment pin

Many connectors are keyed with some mechanical component (sometimes called a keyway), which
prevents mating in an incorrect orientation.[20] This can be used to prevent mechanical damage to
connectors, from being jammed in at the wrong angle or into the wrong connector, or to prevent
incompatible or dangerous electrical connections, such as plugging an audio cable into a power
outlet.[1] Keying also prevents otherwise symmetrical connectors from being connected in the wrong
orientation or polarity. Keying is particularly important for situations where there are many similar
connectors, such as in signal electronics.[7]:26 For instance, XLR connectors have a notch to ensure
proper orientation, while Mini-DIN plugs have a plastic projection that fits into a corresponding hole
in the socket (they also have a notched metal skirt to provide secondary keying).[21]

Locking mechanisms[edit]

Some connector housings are designed with locking mechanisms to prevent inadvertent
disconnection or poor environmental sealing.[1] Locking mechanism designs include locking levers of
various sorts, screw locking, push-pull connector, and toggle or bayonet systems. Depending on
application requirements, housings with locking mechanisms may be tested under various
environmental simulations that include physical shock and vibration, water spray, dust, etc. to
ensure the integrity of the electrical connection and housing seals.

Backshells[edit]

Backshells are a common accessory for industrial and high-reliability connectors,

especially circular connectors.[18] Backshells typically protect the connector and/or cable from
environmental or mechanical stress, or shield it from electromagnetic interference.[22] Many types of
backshells are available for different purposes, including various sizes, shapes, materials, and levels
of protection. Backshells usually lock onto the cable with a clamp or moulded boot, and may be
threaded for attachment to a mating receptacle.[23] Backshells for military and aerospace use are
regulated by SAE AS85049.[24]

Hyperboloid contacts[edit]

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To deliver ensured signal stability in extreme environments, traditional pin and socket design may
become inadequate. Hyperboloid contacts are designed to withstand more extreme physical
demands, such as vibration and shock.[20] They also require around 40% less insertion force[25] – as
low as 0.3 newtons (1 ozf) per contact,[26] – which extends the lifespan, and in some cases offers an
alternative to zero insertion force connectors.[27][25]

In a connector with hyperboloid contacts, each female contact has several equally spaced
longitudinal wires twisted into a hyperbolic shape. These wires are highly resilient to strain, but still
somewhat elastic, hence they essentially function as linear springs.[28][29] As the male pin is inserted,
axial wires in the socket half are deflected, wrapping themselves around the pin to provide a
number of contact points. The internal wires that form the hyperboloid structure are usually
anchored at each end by bending the tip into a groove or notch in the housing.[30]

Whilst hyperboloid contacts may be the only option to make a reliable connection in some
circumstances, they have the disadvantage of taking up greater volume in a connector, which can
cause problems for high-density connectors.[25] They are also significantly more expensive than
traditional pin and socket contacts, which has limited their uptake since their invention in the
1920s by Wilhelm Harold Frederick.[31] In the 1950s, Francois Bonhomme popularised hyperboloid
contacts with his "Hypertac" connector, which was later acquired by Smiths Group. During the
following decades, the connectors steadily gained popularity, and are still used for medical,
industrial, military, aerospace, and rail applications (particularly trains in Europe).

Pogo pins[edit]

Main article: Pogo pin

Pogo pin connectors

Pogo pin or spring loaded connectors are commonly used in consumer and industrial products,
where mechanical resilience and ease of use are priorities.[32] The connector consists of a barrel, a
spring, and a plunger. They are used for safety in applications such as the MagSafe connector, and
can be less damaging than traditional pin and socket design, leading to their use in in-circuit
testing.[33]

Crown spring connectors[edit]

Typical crown spring plug and its female socket

Crown spring connectors are commonly used for higher current flows and industrial applications.
They have a high number of contact points, which provides a more electrically reliable connection
than traditional pin and socket connectors.[34]
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Methods of connection[edit]

Plug and socket connectors

Male MIL-DTL-5015 plug

Female VGA connector

Male serial port connector

Mating surfaces of a hermaphroditic connector

Whilst technically inaccurate, electrical connectors can be viewed as a type of adapter to convert
between two connection methods, which are permanently connected at one end and (usually)
detachable at the other end.[7]:40 By definition, each end of this "adapter" has a different connection
method – e.g. the solder tabs on a male phone connector, and the male phone connector itself.[3] In
this example, the solder tabs connected to the cable represent the permanent connection, whilst the
male connector portion interfaces with a female socket forming a detachable connection.

There are many ways of applying a connector to a cable or device. Some of these methods can be
accomplished without specialized tools. Other methods, while requiring a special tool, can assemble
connectors much faster and more reliably, and make repairs easier.

Plug and socket connectors[edit]

See also: Gender of connectors and fasteners and Pinout

Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a male plug (typically pin contacts) and a
female socket (typically receptacle contacts). Often, but not always, sockets are permanently fixed
to a device as in a chassis connector (see above), and plugs are attached to a cable.

Plugs generally have one or more pins or prongs that are inserted into openings in the mating
socket. The connection between the mating metal parts must be sufficiently tight to make a good
electrical connection and complete the circuit. An alternative type of plug and socket connection

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uses hyperboloid contacts, which makes a more reliable electrical connection. When working with
multi-pin connectors, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram to identify the wire or circuit node
connected to each pin.

Some connector styles may combine pin and socket connection types in a single unit, referred to as
a hermaphroditic connector.[6]:56 These connectors includes mating with both male and female
aspects, involving complementary paired identical parts each containing both protrusions and
indentations. These mating surfaces are mounted into identical fittings that freely mate with any
other, without regard for gender (provided that the size and type match).

Sometimes both ends of a cable are terminated with the same gender of connector, as in
many Ethernet patch cables. In other applications the two ends are terminated differently, either
with male and female of the same connector (as in an extension cord), or with incompatible
connectors, which is sometimes called an adapter cable.

Plugs and sockets are widely used in various connector systems including blade
connectors, breadboards, XLR connectors, car power outlets, banana connectors, and phone
connectors.

Jacks and plugs[edit]

Male phone plug

A jack is a connector that installs on the surface of a bulkhead or enclosure, and mates with its
reciprocal, the plug.[35] According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,[36] the stationary
(more fixed) connector of a pair is classified as a jack (denoted J), usually attached to a piece of
equipment as in a chassis-mount or panel-mount connector. The movable (less fixed) connector is
classified as a plug (denoted P),[36] designed to attach to a wire, cable or removable electrical
assembly.[37] This convention is currently defined in ASME Y14.44-2008, which supersedes IEEE
200-1975, which in turn derives from the long-withdrawn MIL-STD-16 (from the 1950s),
highlighting the heritage of this connector naming convention.[35] IEEE 315-1975 works alongside
ASME Y14.44-2008 to define jacks and plugs.

The term jack occurs in several related terms:

 The registered jack or modular jack in RJ11, RJ45 and other similar connectors used
for telecommunication and computer networking

 The telephone jack of manual telephone switchboards, which is the socket fitting the
original 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) telephone plug

 The 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) phone jack common to many electronic applications in various
configurations, sometimes referred to as a headphone jack

 The RCA jack, also known as a phono jack, common to consumer audiovisual electronics

 The EIAJ jack for consumer appliances requiring a power supply of less than 18.0 volts
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Crimp-on connectors[edit]

A wire and connector being crimped together with a crimping tool

Main article: Crimp (electrical)

Crimped connectors are a type of solderless connection, using mechanical friction and uniform
deformation to secure a connector to a pre-stripped wire (usually stranded). [1] Crimping is used
in splice connectors, crimped multipin plugs and sockets, and crimped coaxial connectors.
Crimping usually requires a specialised crimping tool, but the connectors are quick and easy to
install and are a common alternative to solder connections or insulation displacement connectors.
Effective crimp connections deform the metal of the connector past its yield point so that the
compressed wire causes tension in the surrounding connector, and these forces counter each other
to create a high degree of static friction. Due to the elastic element in crimped connections, they are
highly resistant to vibration and thermal shock.[38]

Crimped contacts are permanent (i.e. the connectors and wire ends cannot be reused).[39]

Crimped plug-and-socket connectors can be classified as rear release or front release. This relates
to the side of the connector where the pins are anchored:[20]

 Front release contacts are released from the front (contact side) of the connector, and
removed from the rear. The removal tool engages with the front portion of the contact and
pushes it through to the back of the connector.

 Rear release contacts are released and removed from the rear (wire side) of the connector.
The removal tool releases the contacts from the rear and pulls the contact out of the retainer.

Soldered connectors[edit]

See also: Soldering

Many plug and socket connectors are attached to a wire or cable by soldering conductors to
electrodes on the back of the connector. Soldered joints in connectors are robust and reliable if
executed correctly, but are usually slower to make than crimped connections.[1] When wires are to
be soldered to the back of a connector, a backshell is often used to protect the connection and add
strain relief. Metal solder buckets or solder cups are provided, which consist of a cylindrical cavity
that an installer fills with solder before inserting the wire.[40]

When creating soldered connections, it is possible to melt the dielectric between pins or wires. This
can cause problems because the thermal conductivity of metals causes heat to quickly distribute
through the cable and connector, and when this heat melts plastic dielectric, it can cause short
circuits or "flared" (conical) insulation.[39] Solder joints are also more prone to mechanical failure
than crimped joints when subjected to vibration and compression.[41]

Insulation-displacement connectors[edit]

Main article: Insulation-displacement connector

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Since stripping insulation from wires is time-consuming, many connectors intended for rapid
assembly use insulation-displacement connectors which cut the insulation as the wire is
inserted.[1] These generally take the form of a fork-shaped opening in the terminal, into which the
insulated wire is pressed, which cut through the insulation to contact the conductor. To make these
connections reliably on a production line, special tools accurately control the forces applied during
assembly. On small scales, these tools tend to cost more than tools for crimped connections.

Insulation displacement connectors are usually used with small conductors for signal purposes and
at low voltage. Power conductors carrying more than a few amperes are more reliably terminated
with other means, though "hot tap" press-on connectors find some use in automotive applications
for additions to existing wiring.

A common example is the multi-conductor flat ribbon cable used in computer disk drives; to
terminate each of the many (approximately 40) wires individually would be slow and error-prone,
but an insulation displacement connector can terminate all the wires in a single action. Another
very common use is so-called punch-down blocks used for terminating unshielded twisted
pair wiring.

Binding posts on a bi-amplified loudspeaker

Binding posts[edit]

Main article: Binding post

Binding posts are a single-wire connection method, where stripped wire is screwed or clamped to a
metal electrode. Such connectors are frequently used in electronic test equipment and audio. Many
binding posts also accept a banana plug.

Screw terminals[edit]

Main article: Screw terminal

Screw connections are frequently used for semi-permanent wiring and connections inside devices,
due to their simple but reliable construction. The basic principle of all screw terminals involves the
tip of a bolt clamping onto a stripped conductor. They can be used to join multiple conductors, [42] to
connect wires to a printed circuit board, or to terminate a cable into a plug or socket.[7]:50 The
clamping screw may act in the longitudinal axis (parallel to the wire) or the transverse axis
(perpendicular to the wire), or both. Some disadvantages are that connecting wires is more difficult
than simply plugging in a cable, and screw terminals are generally not very well protected from
contact with persons or foreign conducting materials.

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Terminal blocks of various types

Terminal blocks (also called terminal boards or strips) provide a convenient means of
connecting individual electrical wires without a splice or physically joining the ends. Since terminal
blocks are readily available for a wide range of wire sizes and terminal quantity, they are one of the
most flexible types of electrical connector available. One type of terminal block accepts wires that
are prepared only by stripping a short length of insulation from the end. Another type, often
called barrier strips, accepts wires that have ring or spade terminal lugs crimped onto the wires.

Printed circuit board (PCB) mounted screw terminals let individual wires connect to a PCB through
leads soldered to the board.

Ring and spade connectors[edit]

Ring style wire-end crimp connectors

The connectors in the top row of the image are known as ring terminals and spade
terminals (sometimes called fork or split ring terminals). Electrical contact is made by the flat
surface of the ring or spade, while mechanically they are attached by passing a screw or bolt
through them. The spade terminal form factor facilitates connections since the screw or bolt can be
left partially screwed in as the spade terminal is removed or attached. Their sizes can be determined
by the gauge of the conducting wire, and the interior and exterior diameters.

Blade connectors[edit]

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Blade connectors (lower half of photo). Ring and spade terminals (upper half). Bullet terminals, male
and female (right-center, with blue wires)

A blade connector is a type of single wire, plug-and-socket connection using a flat conductive
blade that is inserted into a receptacle. Wires may be attached to male or female blade connectors
by either crimping or soldering. Insulated and uninsulated varieties are available. In some cases the
blade is an integral manufactured part of a component (such as a switch or a speaker unit), and the
reciprocal connector is pushed onto the device's connector.

Common types of blade connectors are the Faston connectors and Lucar connectors. While Faston
is a trademark of TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco Electronics), it has come into common usage.
Faston connectors come in male and female types. They have been commonly used since the 1970s.

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MODULE 4
4.Cables
An electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is
used to carry electric current.
A cable assembly is the composition of one or more electrical cables and their
corresponding connectors.[1] A cable assembly is not necessarily suitable for connecting two devices
but can be a partial product (e.g. to be soldered onto a printed circuit board with a connector
mounted to the housing). Cable assemblies can also take the form of a cable tree or cable harness,
used to connect many terminals together.
The term cable originally referred to a nautical line of specific length where multiple ropes are
combined to produce a strong thick line that was used to anchor large ships. As electric technology
developed, people changed from using bare copper wire to using groupings of wires and various
sheathing and shackling methods that resembled the mechanical cabling so the term was adopted
for electrical wiring. In the 19th century and early 20th century, electrical cable was often insulated
using cloth, rubber or paper. Plastic materials are generally used today, except for high-reliability
power cables. The term has also come to be associated with communications because of its use in
electrical communications.
Electrical cables are used to connect two or more devices, enabling the transfer of electrical signals
or power from one device to the other. Cables are used for a wide range of purposes, and each must
be tailored for that purpose. Cables are used extensively in electronic devices for power and signal
circuits. Long-distance communication takes place over undersea cables. Power cables are used for
bulk transmission of alternating and direct current power, especially using high-voltage cable.
Electrical cables are extensively used in building wiring for lighting, power and control circuits
permanently installed in buildings. Since all the circuit conductors required can be installed in a
cable at one time, installation labor is saved compared to certain other wiring methods.
Physically, an electrical cable is an assembly consisting of one or more conductors with their own
insulations and optional screens, individual covering(s), assembly protection and protective
covering(s). Electrical cables may be made more flexible by stranding the wires. In this process,
smaller individual wires are twisted or braided together to produce larger wires that are more
flexible than solid wires of similar size. Bunching small wires before concentric stranding adds the
most flexibility. Copper wires in a cable may be bare, or they may be plated with a thin layer of
another metal, most often tin but sometimes gold, silver or some other material. Tin, gold, and
silver are much less prone to oxidation than copper, which may lengthen wire life, and
makes soldering easier. Tinning is also used to provide lubrication between strands. Tinning was
used to help removal of rubber insulation. Tight lays during stranding makes the cable extensible
(CBA – as in telephone handset cords).[further explanation needed]
Cables can be securely fastened and organized, such as by using trunking, cable trays, cable
ties or cable lacing. Continuous-flex or flexible cables used in moving applications within cable
carriers can be secured using strain relief devices or cable ties.
At high frequencies, current tends to run along the surface of the conductor. This is known as
the skin effect.
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Fire test in Sweden, showing fire rapidly spreading through the burning of cable insulation, a
phenomenon of great importance for cables used in some installations.

500,000 circular mil (254 mm2) single conductor power cable

Cables and electromagnetic fields[edit]

Coaxial cable

Twisted pair cabling

Any current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates an electromagnetic field. Likewise, any
conductor or cable will pick up energy from any existing electromagnetic field around it. These
effects are often undesirable, in the first case amounting to unwanted transmission of energy which
may adversely affect nearby equipment or other parts of the same piece of equipment; and in the
second case, unwanted pickup of noise which may mask the desired signal being carried by the
cable, or, if the cable is carrying power supply or control voltages, pollute them to such an extent as
to cause equipment malfunction.
The first solution to these problems is to keep cable lengths in buildings short since pick up and
transmission are essentially proportional to the length of the cable. The second solution is to route
cables away from trouble. Beyond this, there are particular cable designs that minimize
electromagnetic pickup and transmission. Three of the principal design techniques
are shielding, coaxial geometry, and twisted-pair geometry.

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Shielding makes use of the electrical principle of the Faraday cage. The cable is encased for its
entire length in foil or wire mesh. All wires running inside this shielding layer will be to a large
extent decoupled from external electrical fields, particularly if the shield is connected to a point of
constant voltage, such as earth or ground. Simple shielding of this type is not greatly effective
against low-frequency magnetic fields, however - such as magnetic "hum" from a nearby
power transformer. A grounded shield on cables operating at 2.5 kV or more gathers leakage
current and capacitive current, protecting people from electric shock and equalizing stress on the
cable insulation.
Coaxial design helps to further reduce low-frequency magnetic transmission and pickup. In this
design the foil or mesh shield has a circular cross section and the inner conductor is exactly at its
center. This causes the voltages induced by a magnetic field between the shield and the core
conductor to consist of two nearly equal magnitudes which cancel each other.
A twisted pair has two wires of a cable twisted around each other. This can be demonstrated by
putting one end of a pair of wires in a hand drill and turning while maintaining moderate tension on
the line. Where the interfering signal has a wavelength that is long compared to the pitch of the
twisted pair, alternate lengths of wires develop opposing voltages, tending to cancel the effect of the
interference.
Fire protection[edit]
In building construction, electrical cable jacket material is a potential source of fuel for fires. To
limit the spread of fire, one may use cable coating materials or jacketing that is fire retardant. The
plastic covering on some metal clad cables may be stripped off at installation to reduce the fuel
source for fires. Inorganic coatings and boxes around cables safeguard the adjacent areas from the
fire threat associated with unprotected cable jacketing. However, this fire protection also traps heat
generated from conductor losses, so the protection must be thin.
To provide fire protection to a cable, the insulation is treated with fire retardant materials, or non-
combustible mineral insulation is used (see Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable).

Names materials commonly used for the following part of cables:

a) conductors
Cable Materials
Metals
We sometimes forget that many cables are not designed to conduct electrical power or signals, such
as cables which support bridges, actuate ailerons, and tow cars, for example. Mechanical wire &
cable is a big (but another) industry.
There are, however, similarities between mechanical and electrical wire and cable — at least in
terms of their means of manufacture.
As strands of wire are made, they are drawn through progressively smaller dies. This is true of all
wire. Diamond dies are used, due to their extreme hardness, and the fact that they retain their
precision size for a long time. In fact, the American Wire Gauge (AWG) sizing system suggests this
drawing procedure. For example, a size 22 AWG wire, smaller than 20 AWG, is drawn, theoretically,
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through 22 progressively smaller dies. Larger wire is drawn through fewer dies; hence, the lower-
number “gauge.” See Table 1.

Copper is regarded as the standard in electrical conductors, second only to silver in

conductivity, but far more plentiful and therefore economical.
Because soldering copper can be difficult unless a flux is used (which can leave corrosive residues
behind), it is usually tinned or plated if it is intended to be soldered. (This does not preclude the use
of flux, but the coating makes soldering easier, and affords some protection against corrosion
overall.)
Bare copper is perfectly suited for pressure terminations (crimping, etc.) which break through
surface oxidation.

b) insulation
Electrical Insulators
Types of insulators and history
Insulators are used in all electrical devices from tiny capacitors to giant generators. Engineers need
to understand how to design devices with the proper insulator. Unfortunately insulator failure is a
primary reason why electrical devices stop working.
1.) Basics
2.) List of Common Insulating Materials
3.) Insulating electric wires
3.a) Guide to wire insulation

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4.) High Voltage "Insulators"
4.a) Wood and Glass
4.b) Ceramic
5.) Timeline
5.a) List of manufacturers and innovators
6.) Comments on insulation from R. DeLair
Basics
What is resistance and conductivity?
Three major categories of materials include conductors, semiconductors and insulators. Insulators
have a high resistance, we can also describe them as having "low electrical conduction".
Conductivity: Most metals are conductive, which means that electrons can freely flow to different
atoms in a given direction. Metals have loosely bound, or free electrons which allow this to happen.
Insulative materials on the other hand have tightly bound valence electrons. Understanding
conductivity at an atomic level requires some basic understanding of chemistry.
More on electrical current flow (wiki) >
Insulators come in solid, liquid and gas forms. See the more detailed list in the next section for
examples.
Dielectrics - these are materials that are do not allow electricity to flow through them (are
insulators) however in the presence of an electrical field the material becomes polarized. This
phenomena is useful in electronics. For example we use dielectric materials in the middle
of capacitors because it acts as insulator, blocking DC current flow, but the changing polarity
allows energy to pass through. We use the measurement of Electric Susceptibility to understand
how easy it is for a given dielectric to polarize. You can learn more about dielectrics on the wiki
page here.

List of Common Insulating Materials

Solids

Clay (ceramic)(porcelain) - This is the standard material for high voltage and RF insulators.
Plastics - PVC, Cresyl Pthalate, DEHP and other plastics replaced rubber as an insulator for wires
and other parts. PVC and nylon are now standard in most types of wire.
Glass (silica, soda ash and limestone) - This material worked fine for telegraph and other low
voltage apparatus. It is still used today to some degree.

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Paper/Cardboard - paper and cardboard are used as insulators in certain circumstances as these
materials are cheap and can work in situations without high heat or high voltages.
Mica - This is a good stable material even when exposed to the elements. It is a good thermal
conductor while being an insulator. Sheet mica is easily stamped and shaped for electrical
components. Mica is very important for the most common types of capacitors.
Teflon (PTFE) - (polytetrafluoroethylene) - Slippery, durable and resistant to corrosion this Dupont
made material is used in cable jackets. Other forms besides PTFE include FEP and ETFE.
PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy) - This substance is resistant to chemical attack, transparent and better
than PTFE when it comes to flexibility. The weakness is that the number of times it can be folded is
less than PTFE. It is good for applications near the ocean as it is resistant to salt spray. The
dielectric strength of PFA is up to 4 times higher than PTFE.
Rubber - Rubber in its natural and synthetic forms was used as an insulator from before the 1870s
until the 1950s. Plastics (especially PVC) replaced rubber.
Wax and oil - in the 1880s Edison used trinidad asphaltum with linseed oil, beeswax and paraffin
to insulate copper wires mounted inside of iron pipes. This was used for durable underground
power lines. This was used at the famous Pearl Street Station in NYC.
Gasses
Normally when you separate two high voltage conductors an arc forms in between in open air. In
the utility industry we use special non-conductive gas in a compact encapsulated metal container to
stop arcs from forming. Gas-insulated switchgear is designed to disconnect very high voltages
safely. There are gas insulated transformers as well as other devices.
Liquids
Insulating Oil (Transformer Oil) - This petroleum product is used as an electrical insulator and
thermal conductor. It conducts heat away from hot transformer coils. Some capacitors also use
insulator oil.

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Describes the reaction of electric cables to a fire

Electric Cable It’s Insulation And Hazards Related to Fire On Ship

The electric cable used on a ship is specifically designed for marine installations both on shore and
on ships. They are made considering the tough marine condition. On top, there are further risks of
hazards related to dense smoke produce if the cables catch fire.
Even a small spark (discharge due to static charge) is dangerous on board ship. Having different
electrical equipment and machinery increases this risk if not maintained to an order. Utmost care
should be taken on a ship to avoid any scenario of electrical fire and damage to life and crew or
property.
Electrical safety on board vessels is a vast topic with various aspects and applications. Here we will
learn how electric cables react to fire On-board ships and how to avoid them.
Modern Power Electric Cable comes in a variety of sizes, materials, and types, each particularly
adopted to its uses.
Cable consist of three major components.
4. Conductor.
5. Insulation.
6. Protective Jacket.
The construction material of Electric cable is determined by three main factors, namely:
4. The current carrying capacity determines the cross-section and size of the conductor.
5. Environmental factors, such as sunlight, water, temperature, chemical, and mechanical
impact.

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6. Working voltage determines the thickness of the insulation.
All-in-all, the make-up of each individual cable varies according to application.
The recommended materials for Marine electrical cables on ships are
(a) Cable insulation
(i) Polyvinyl chloride
(ii) Ethylene polypropylene rubber
(iii) Cross-linked polyethylene
(iv) Low smoke, halogen-free cross-linked polypropylene rubber
(v) Silicon rubber
(vi) Cross-linked polyolefin
(b) Sheathing
(i) Polyvinyl chloride
(ii) Neoprene
(iii) Chloro-sulfonated polyethylene
(iv) Chlorinated polyethylene
(v) Cross-linked polyolefin
(vi) Polyolefin
Insulation: Insulation refers to the material wrapped around the individual wire. the purpose of
insulation is to prevent the individual wire from touching each other.
Sheathing: Sheath refers to the material that wrapped around all the insulation and prevents it from
any physical damage. The sheathing is what you can sea and touch.
A polymer undergoes combustion when there is sufficient energy in the form of heat to facilitate
either decomposition or pyrolysis.
Decomposition or pyrolysis results in the release of volatile organic compounds that can
subsequently be ignited.
The flammable products that evolve from the polymer during heating, mix with oxygen in the air
and when their flammability limit is reached, they ignite in the presence of a flame or spark.
Once ignition has taken place, the burning process is exothermic. If sufficient energy is produced, it
will overcome the endothermic requirements for polymer decomposition / pyrolysis and flame will
be sustained and flame spread will be initiated

Explains why cable sockets need to be securely attached and locked on to the terminal
Electrical connector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This rear panel of an audio power amplifier features a variety of electrical connectors

Connectors on the back of a 2018 computer

Schematic symbols for male and female connectors (see Gender of connectors and fasteners)

An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to join electrical conductors and

create an electrical circuit.[1] Most electrical connectors have a gender – i.e. the male component,
called a plug, connects to the female component, or socket. The connection may be removable (as
for portable equipment), require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical
joint between two points.[2] An adapter can be used to join dissimilar connectors.
Thousands of configurations of connectors are manufactured for power, data,
and audiovisual applications.[3] Electrical connectors can be divided into four basic categories,
differentiated by their function:[4]
 inline or cable connectors permanently attached to a cable, so it can be plugged into
another terminal (either a stationary instrument or another cable)[5]
 Chassis or panel connectors permanently attached to a piece of equipment so users can
connect a cable to a stationary device

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 PCB mount connectors soldered to a printed circuit board, providing a point
for cable or wire attachment.[6]:56 (e.g. pin headers, screw terminals, board-to-board
connectors)
 Splice or butt connectors (primarily insulation displacement connectors) that permanently
join two lengths of wire or cable
In computing, electrical connectors are considered a physical interface and constitute part of
the physical layer in the OSI model of networking.

Physical construction

In addition to the classes mentioned above, connectors are characterised by their pinout, method of
connection, materials, size, contact resistance, insulation, mechanical durability, ingress
protection, lifetime (number of cycles), and ease of use.

It is usually desirable for a connector to be easy to identify visually, rapid to assemble, inexpensive,
and require only simple tooling. In some cases an equipment manufacturer might choose a
connector specifically because it is not compatible with those from other sources, allowing control of
what may be connected. No single connector has all the ideal properties for every application; the
proliferation of types is a result of the diverse yet specific requirements of manufacturers.[7]:6

Materials

Electrical connectors essentially consist of two classes of materials: conductors and insulators.
Properties important to conductor materials are conductivity, mechanical strength, formability, and
resilience.[8] Insulators must have a high electrical resistance, withstand high temperatures, and be
easy to manufacture for a precise fit.

Electrodes in connectors are usually made of copper alloys, due to their good conductivity and
malleability.[7]:15 Alternatives include brass, phosphor bronze, and beryllium copper. The base
electrode metal is often coated with another inert metal such as gold, nickel, or tin.[8] This
increases the electrical conductivity and durability. For example, copper alloys have favorable
mechanical properties for electrodes, but are hard to solder and prone to corrosion. Thus, copper
pins are usually coated with gold to alleviate these pitfalls, especially for analog signals and high
reliability applications.[9][10]

Contact carriers that hold the parts of a connector together are usually made of plastic, due to its
insulating properties. Housings or backshells can be made of molded plastic or metal.[7]:15

Failure modes

The majority of connector failures result in intermittent connections or open contacts:[11][12]

Failure mode Relative probability

Open circuit 61%

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Poor contact 23%

Short circuit 16%

Connectors are purely passive components – that is, they do not enhance the function of a circuit –
so connectors should affect the function of a circuit as little as possible. Insecure mounting of
connectors (primarily chassis-mounted) can contribute significantly to the risk of failure, especially
when subjected to extreme shock or vibration.[11] Other causes of failure are connectors
inadequately rated for the applied current and voltage, connectors with inadequate ingress
protection, and threaded backshells that are worn or damaged.

High temperatures can also cause failure in connectors, resulting in an "avalanche" of failures –
ambient temperature increases, leading to a decrease in insulation resistance and increase in
conductor resistance; this increase generates more heat, and the cycle repeats.[11]

Fretting (so-called dynamic corrosion) is a common failure mode in electrical connectors that have
not been specifically designed to prevent it, especially in those that are frequently mated and de-
mated.[13] Surface corrosion is a risk for many metal parts in connectors, and can cause contacts
to form a thin surface layer that increases resistance, thus contributing to heat buildup and
intermittent connections.[14] However, remating or reseating a connector can alleviate the issue of
surface corrosion, since each cycle scrapes a microscopic layer off the surface of the contact(s),
exposing a fresh, unoxidised surface.

Circular connectors[edit]

Many connectors used for industrial and high-reliability applications are circular in cross section,
with a cylindrical housing and circular contact interface geometries. This is in contrast to the
rectangular design of some connectors, e.g. USB or blade connectors. They are commonly used for
easier engagement and disengagement, tight environmental sealing, and rugged mechanical
performance.[15] They are widely used in military, aerospace, industrial machinery, and rail,
where MIL-DTL-5015 and MIL-DTL-38999 are commonly specified. Fields such as sound
engineering and radio communication also use circular connectors, such as XLR and BNC. AC
power plugs are also commonly circular, for example, Schuko plugs and IEC 60309.

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NMEA 2000 cabling using M12 connectors

The M12 connector, specified in IEC 61076-2-101, is a circular electrical plug/receptacle pair with
12mm OD mating threads, used in NMEA 2000, DeviceNet, IO-Link, some kinds of Industrial
Ethernet, etc.[16][17]

A disadvantage of the circular design is its inefficient use of panel space when used in arrays, when
compared to rectangular connectors.

Circular connectors commonly use backshells, which provide physical and electromagnetic
protection, whilst sometimes also providing a method for locking the connector into a receptacle.
[18]
In some cases, this backshell provides a hermetic seal, or some degree of ingress protection,
through the use of grommets, O-rings, or potting.[15]

Hybrid connectors[edit]

Hybrid connectors allow the intermixing of many connector types, usually by way of a housing with
inserts.[19] These housings may also allow intermixing of electrical and non-electrical interfaces,
examples of the latter being pneumatic line connectors, and optical fiber connectors. Because
hybrid connectors are modular in nature, they tend to simplify assembly, repair, and future
modifications. They also allow the creation of composite cable assemblies that can reduce
equipment installation time by reducing the number of individual cable and connector assemblies.

Pin sequence[edit]

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Some connectors are designed such that certain pins make contact before others when inserted,
and break first on disconnection.[1] This is often used in power connectors to protect equipment, e.g.
connecting safety ground first. It is also employed for digital signals, as a method to sequence
connections properly in hot swapping.

Keying[edit]

Examples of keyed connectors

XLR connector, showing the notch for alignment

A 4-pin Mini-DIN S-Video cable, with notches and a rectangular alignment pin

Many connectors are keyed with some mechanical component (sometimes called a keyway), which
prevents mating in an incorrect orientation.[20] This can be used to prevent mechanical damage to
connectors, from being jammed in at the wrong angle or into the wrong connector, or to prevent
incompatible or dangerous electrical connections, such as plugging an audio cable into a power
outlet.[1] Keying also prevents otherwise symmetrical connectors from being connected in the wrong
orientation or polarity. Keying is particularly important for situations where there are many similar
connectors, such as in signal electronics.[7]:26 For instance, XLR connectors have a notch to ensure
proper orientation, while Mini-DIN plugs have a plastic projection that fits into a corresponding hole
in the socket (they also have a notched metal skirt to provide secondary keying).[21]

Locking mechanisms[edit]

Some connector housings are designed with locking mechanisms to prevent inadvertent
disconnection or poor environmental sealing.[1] Locking mechanism designs include locking levers of
various sorts, screw locking, push-pull connector, and toggle or bayonet systems. Depending on
application requirements, housings with locking mechanisms may be tested under various
environmental simulations that include physical shock and vibration, water spray, dust, etc. to
ensure the integrity of the electrical connection and housing seals.

Backshells[edit]

Backshells are a common accessory for industrial and high-reliability connectors,

especially circular connectors.[18] Backshells typically protect the connector and/or cable from
environmental or mechanical stress, or shield it from electromagnetic interference.[22] Many types of
backshells are available for different purposes, including various sizes, shapes, materials, and levels
of protection. Backshells usually lock onto the cable with a clamp or moulded boot, and may be
threaded for attachment to a mating receptacle.[23] Backshells for military and aerospace use are
regulated by SAE AS85049.[24]

Hyperboloid contacts[edit]

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To deliver ensured signal stability in extreme environments, traditional pin and socket design may
become inadequate. Hyperboloid contacts are designed to withstand more extreme physical
demands, such as vibration and shock.[20] They also require around 40% less insertion force[25] – as
low as 0.3 newtons (1 ozf) per contact,[26] – which extends the lifespan, and in some cases offers an
alternative to zero insertion force connectors.[27][25]

In a connector with hyperboloid contacts, each female contact has several equally spaced
longitudinal wires twisted into a hyperbolic shape. These wires are highly resilient to strain, but still
somewhat elastic, hence they essentially function as linear springs.[28][29] As the male pin is inserted,
axial wires in the socket half are deflected, wrapping themselves around the pin to provide a
number of contact points. The internal wires that form the hyperboloid structure are usually
anchored at each end by bending the tip into a groove or notch in the housing.[30]

Whilst hyperboloid contacts may be the only option to make a reliable connection in some
circumstances, they have the disadvantage of taking up greater volume in a connector, which can
cause problems for high-density connectors.[25] They are also significantly more expensive than
traditional pin and socket contacts, which has limited their uptake since their invention in the
1920s by Wilhelm Harold Frederick.[31] In the 1950s, Francois Bonhomme popularised hyperboloid
contacts with his "Hypertac" connector, which was later acquired by Smiths Group. During the
following decades, the connectors steadily gained popularity, and are still used for medical,
industrial, military, aerospace, and rail applications (particularly trains in Europe).

Pogo pins[edit]

Main article: Pogo pin

Pogo pin connectors

Pogo pin or spring loaded connectors are commonly used in consumer and industrial products,
where mechanical resilience and ease of use are priorities.[32] The connector consists of a barrel, a
spring, and a plunger. They are used for safety in applications such as the MagSafe connector, and
can be less damaging than traditional pin and socket design, leading to their use in in-circuit
testing.[33]

Crown spring connectors[edit]

Typical crown spring plug and its female socket

Crown spring connectors are commonly used for higher current flows and industrial applications.
They have a high number of contact points, which provides a more electrically reliable connection
than traditional pin and socket connectors.[34]
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Methods of connection[edit]

Plug and socket connectors

Male MIL-DTL-5015 plug

Female VGA connector

Male serial port connector

Mating surfaces of a hermaphroditic connector

Whilst technically inaccurate, electrical connectors can be viewed as a type of adapter to convert
between two connection methods, which are permanently connected at one end and (usually)
detachable at the other end.[7]:40 By definition, each end of this "adapter" has a different connection
method – e.g. the solder tabs on a male phone connector, and the male phone connector itself.[3] In
this example, the solder tabs connected to the cable represent the permanent connection, whilst the
male connector portion interfaces with a female socket forming a detachable connection.

There are many ways of applying a connector to a cable or device. Some of these methods can be
accomplished without specialized tools. Other methods, while requiring a special tool, can assemble
connectors much faster and more reliably, and make repairs easier.

Plug and socket connectors[edit]

See also: Gender of connectors and fasteners and Pinout

Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a male plug (typically pin contacts) and a
female socket (typically receptacle contacts). Often, but not always, sockets are permanently fixed
to a device as in a chassis connector (see above), and plugs are attached to a cable.

Plugs generally have one or more pins or prongs that are inserted into openings in the mating
socket. The connection between the mating metal parts must be sufficiently tight to make a good
electrical connection and complete the circuit. An alternative type of plug and socket connection

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uses hyperboloid contacts, which makes a more reliable electrical connection. When working with
multi-pin connectors, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram to identify the wire or circuit node
connected to each pin.

Some connector styles may combine pin and socket connection types in a single unit, referred to as
a hermaphroditic connector.[6]:56 These connectors includes mating with both male and female
aspects, involving complementary paired identical parts each containing both protrusions and
indentations. These mating surfaces are mounted into identical fittings that freely mate with any
other, without regard for gender (provided that the size and type match).

Sometimes both ends of a cable are terminated with the same gender of connector, as in
many Ethernet patch cables. In other applications the two ends are terminated differently, either
with male and female of the same connector (as in an extension cord), or with incompatible
connectors, which is sometimes called an adapter cable.

Plugs and sockets are widely used in various connector systems including blade
connectors, breadboards, XLR connectors, car power outlets, banana connectors, and phone
connectors.

Jacks and plugs[edit]

Male phone plug

A jack is a connector that installs on the surface of a bulkhead or enclosure, and mates with its
reciprocal, the plug.[35] According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,[36] the stationary
(more fixed) connector of a pair is classified as a jack (denoted J), usually attached to a piece of
equipment as in a chassis-mount or panel-mount connector. The movable (less fixed) connector is
classified as a plug (denoted P),[36] designed to attach to a wire, cable or removable electrical
assembly.[37] This convention is currently defined in ASME Y14.44-2008, which supersedes IEEE
200-1975, which in turn derives from the long-withdrawn MIL-STD-16 (from the 1950s),
highlighting the heritage of this connector naming convention.[35] IEEE 315-1975 works alongside
ASME Y14.44-2008 to define jacks and plugs.

The term jack occurs in several related terms:

 The registered jack or modular jack in RJ11, RJ45 and other similar connectors used
for telecommunication and computer networking

 The telephone jack of manual telephone switchboards, which is the socket fitting the
original 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) telephone plug

 The 1⁄4 inch (6.35 mm) phone jack common to many electronic applications in various
configurations, sometimes referred to as a headphone jack

 The RCA jack, also known as a phono jack, common to consumer audiovisual electronics

 The EIAJ jack for consumer appliances requiring a power supply of less than 18.0 volts
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Crimp-on connectors[edit]

A wire and connector being crimped together with a crimping tool

Main article: Crimp (electrical)

Crimped connectors are a type of solderless connection, using mechanical friction and uniform
deformation to secure a connector to a pre-stripped wire (usually stranded). [1] Crimping is used
in splice connectors, crimped multipin plugs and sockets, and crimped coaxial connectors.
Crimping usually requires a specialised crimping tool, but the connectors are quick and easy to
install and are a common alternative to solder connections or insulation displacement connectors.
Effective crimp connections deform the metal of the connector past its yield point so that the
compressed wire causes tension in the surrounding connector, and these forces counter each other
to create a high degree of static friction. Due to the elastic element in crimped connections, they are
highly resistant to vibration and thermal shock.[38]

Crimped contacts are permanent (i.e. the connectors and wire ends cannot be reused).[39]

Crimped plug-and-socket connectors can be classified as rear release or front release. This relates
to the side of the connector where the pins are anchored:[20]

 Front release contacts are released from the front (contact side) of the connector, and
removed from the rear. The removal tool engages with the front portion of the contact and
pushes it through to the back of the connector.

 Rear release contacts are released and removed from the rear (wire side) of the connector.
The removal tool releases the contacts from the rear and pulls the contact out of the retainer.

Soldered connectors[edit]

See also: Soldering

Many plug and socket connectors are attached to a wire or cable by soldering conductors to
electrodes on the back of the connector. Soldered joints in connectors are robust and reliable if
executed correctly, but are usually slower to make than crimped connections.[1] When wires are to
be soldered to the back of a connector, a backshell is often used to protect the connection and add
strain relief. Metal solder buckets or solder cups are provided, which consist of a cylindrical cavity
that an installer fills with solder before inserting the wire.[40]

When creating soldered connections, it is possible to melt the dielectric between pins or wires. This
can cause problems because the thermal conductivity of metals causes heat to quickly distribute
through the cable and connector, and when this heat melts plastic dielectric, it can cause short
circuits or "flared" (conical) insulation.[39] Solder joints are also more prone to mechanical failure
than crimped joints when subjected to vibration and compression.[41]

Insulation-displacement connectors[edit]

Main article: Insulation-displacement connector

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Since stripping insulation from wires is time-consuming, many connectors intended for rapid
assembly use insulation-displacement connectors which cut the insulation as the wire is
inserted.[1] These generally take the form of a fork-shaped opening in the terminal, into which the
insulated wire is pressed, which cut through the insulation to contact the conductor. To make these
connections reliably on a production line, special tools accurately control the forces applied during
assembly. On small scales, these tools tend to cost more than tools for crimped connections.

Insulation displacement connectors are usually used with small conductors for signal purposes and
at low voltage. Power conductors carrying more than a few amperes are more reliably terminated
with other means, though "hot tap" press-on connectors find some use in automotive applications
for additions to existing wiring.

A common example is the multi-conductor flat ribbon cable used in computer disk drives; to
terminate each of the many (approximately 40) wires individually would be slow and error-prone,
but an insulation displacement connector can terminate all the wires in a single action. Another
very common use is so-called punch-down blocks used for terminating unshielded twisted
pair wiring.

Binding posts on a bi-amplified loudspeaker

Binding posts[edit]

Main article: Binding post

Binding posts are a single-wire connection method, where stripped wire is screwed or clamped to a
metal electrode. Such connectors are frequently used in electronic test equipment and audio. Many
binding posts also accept a banana plug.

Screw terminals[edit]

Main article: Screw terminal

Screw connections are frequently used for semi-permanent wiring and connections inside devices,
due to their simple but reliable construction. The basic principle of all screw terminals involves the
tip of a bolt clamping onto a stripped conductor. They can be used to join multiple conductors, [42] to
connect wires to a printed circuit board, or to terminate a cable into a plug or socket.[7]:50 The
clamping screw may act in the longitudinal axis (parallel to the wire) or the transverse axis
(perpendicular to the wire), or both. Some disadvantages are that connecting wires is more difficult
than simply plugging in a cable, and screw terminals are generally not very well protected from
contact with persons or foreign conducting materials.

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Terminal blocks of various types

Terminal blocks (also called terminal boards or strips) provide a convenient means of
connecting individual electrical wires without a splice or physically joining the ends. Since terminal
blocks are readily available for a wide range of wire sizes and terminal quantity, they are one of the
most flexible types of electrical connector available. One type of terminal block accepts wires that
are prepared only by stripping a short length of insulation from the end. Another type, often
called barrier strips, accepts wires that have ring or spade terminal lugs crimped onto the wires.

Printed circuit board (PCB) mounted screw terminals let individual wires connect to a PCB through
leads soldered to the board.

Ring and spade connectors[edit]

Ring style wire-end crimp connectors

The connectors in the top row of the image are known as ring terminals and spade
terminals (sometimes called fork or split ring terminals). Electrical contact is made by the flat
surface of the ring or spade, while mechanically they are attached by passing a screw or bolt
through them. The spade terminal form factor facilitates connections since the screw or bolt can be
left partially screwed in as the spade terminal is removed or attached. Their sizes can be determined
by the gauge of the conducting wire, and the interior and exterior diameters.

Blade connectors[edit]

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Blade connectors (lower half of photo). Ring and spade terminals (upper half). Bullet terminals, male
and female (right-center, with blue wires)

A blade connector is a type of single wire, plug-and-socket connection using a flat conductive
blade that is inserted into a receptacle. Wires may be attached to male or female blade connectors
by either crimping or soldering. Insulated and uninsulated varieties are available. In some cases the
blade is an integral manufactured part of a component (such as a switch or a speaker unit), and the
reciprocal connector is pushed onto the device's connector.

Common types of blade connectors are the Faston connectors and Lucar connectors. While Faston
is a trademark of TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco Electronics), it has come into common usage.
Faston connectors come in male and female types. They have been commonly used since the 1970s.

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MODULE 5
5.Batteries
A battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections[1] for
powering electrical devices such as flashlights, mobile phones, and electric cars. When a battery is
supplying electric power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode.
[2]
The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that will flow through an external electric
circuit to the positive terminal. When a battery is connected to an external electric load,
a redox reaction converts high-energy reactants to lower-energy products, and the free-
energy difference is delivered to the external circuit as electrical energy.[3] Historically the term
"battery" specifically referred to a device composed of multiple cells, however the usage has evolved
to include devices composed of a single cell.[4]
Primary (single-use or "disposable") batteries are used once and discarded, as
the electrode materials are irreversibly changed during discharge; a common example is
the alkaline battery used for flashlights and a multitude of portable electronic devices. Secondary
(rechargeable) batteries can be discharged and recharged multiple times using an applied electric
current; the original composition of the electrodes can be restored by reverse current. Examples
include the lead-acid batteries used in vehicles and lithium-ion batteries used for portable
electronics such as laptops and mobile phones.
Batteries come in many shapes and sizes, from miniature cells used to power hearing aids and
wristwatches to small, thin cells used in smartphones, to large lead acid batteries or lithium-ion
batteries in vehicles, and at the largest extreme, huge battery banks the size of rooms that provide
standby or emergency power for telephone exchanges and computer data centers.
Batteries have much lower specific energy (energy per unit mass) than common fuels such as
gasoline. In automobiles, this is somewhat offset by the higher efficiency of electric motors in
converting chemical energy to mechanical work, compared to combustion engines.
Describes the principle of the voltaic cell
 voltaic cellA cell, such as in a battery, in which an irreversible chemical reaction generates
electricity; a cell that cannot be recharged.
 RedoxA reversible chemical reaction in which one reaction is an oxidation and the reverse is
a reduction.
 half-cellEither of the two parts of an electrochemical cell containing an electrode and an
electrolyte.

An electrochemical cell is a device that produces an electric current from energy released by a
spontaneous redox reaction. This kind of cell includes the galvanic, or voltaic, cell, named after
Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta. These scientists conducted several experiments on chemical
reactions and electric current during the late 18th century.
Electrochemical cells have two conductive electrodes, called the anode and the cathode. The anode
is defined as the electrode where oxidation occurs. The cathode is the electrode where reduction
takes place. Electrodes can be made from any sufficiently conductive materials, such as metals,

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semiconductors, graphite, and even conductive polymers. In between these electrodes is the
electrolyte, which contains ions that can freely move.
The voltaic cell uses two different metal electrodes, each in an electrolyte solution. The anode will
undergo oxidation and the cathode will undergo reduction. The metal of the anode will oxidize,
going from an oxidation state of 0 (in the solid form) to a positive oxidation state, and it will become
an ion. At the cathode, the metal ion in the solution will accept one or more electrons from the
cathode, and the ion’s oxidation state will reduce to 0. This forms a solid metal that deposits on the
cathode. The two electrodes must be electrically connected to each other, allowing for a flow of
electrons that leave the metal of the anode and flow through this connection to the ions at the
surface of the cathode. This flow of electrons is an electrical current that can be used to do work,
such as turn a motor or power a light.
Example Reaction
The operating principle of the voltaic cell is a simultaneous oxidation and reduction reaction, called
a redox reaction. This redox reaction consists of two half-reactions. In a typical voltaic cell, the
redox pair is copper and zinc, represented in the following half-cell reactions:
Zinc electrode (anode): Zn(s) → Zn2+(aq) + 2 e–
Copper electrode (cathode): Cu2+(aq) + 2 e– → Cu(s)
The cells are constructed in separate beakers. The metal electrodes are immersed in electrolyte
solutions. Each half-cell is connected by a salt bridge, which allows for the free transport of ionic
species between the two cells. When the circuit is complete, the current flows and the cell
“produces” electrical energy.

A galvanic, or voltaic, cellThe cell consists of two half-cells connected via a salt bridge or
permeable membrane. The electrodes are immersed in electrolyte solutions and connected through
an electrical load.
Quotes an example of and explains the difference between:
a) primary cells
A primary cell is a battery (a galvanic cell) that is designed to be used once and discarded, and not
recharged with electricity and reused like a secondary cell (rechargeable battery). In general,
the electrochemical reaction occurring in the cell is not reversible, rendering the cell
unrechargeable. As a primary cell is used, chemical reactions in the battery use up the chemicals
that generate the power; when they are gone, the battery stops producing electricity. In contrast, in
a secondary cell, the reaction can be reversed by running a current into the cell with a battery
charger to recharge it, regenerating the chemical reactants. Primary cells are made in a range of
standard sizes to power small household appliances such as flashlights and portable radios.
Primary batteries make up about 90% of the $50 billion battery market, but secondary batteries
have been gaining market share. About 15 billion primary batteries are thrown away worldwide
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every year, virtually all ending up in landfills. Due to the toxic heavy metals and strong acids they
contain, batteries are hazardous waste. Most municipalities classify them as such and require
separate disposal. The energy needed to manufacture a battery is about 50 times greater than the
energy it contains.[1][2][3][4] Due to their high pollutant content compared to their small energy
content, the primary battery is considered a wasteful, environmentally unfriendly technology. Due
mainly to increasing sales of wireless devices and cordless tools which cannot be economically
powered by primary batteries and come with integral rechargeable batteries, the secondary battery
industry has high growth and has slowly been replacing the primary battery in high end products.

b) secondary cells
Secondary cells (rechargeable batteries) are in general more economical to use than primary cells.
Their initially higher cost and the purchase cost of a charging system can be spread out over many
use cycles (between 100 and 1000 cycles); for example, in hand-held power tools, it would be very
costly to replace a high-capacity primary battery pack every few hours of use.
Primary cells are not designed for recharging between manufacturing and use, thus have battery
chemistry that has to have a much lower self-discharge rate than older types of secondary cells; but
they have lost that advantage with the development of rechargeable secondary cells with very low
self discharge rates like low self-discharge NiMH cells that hold enough charge for long enough to be
sold as pre-charged.[6][7]
Common types of secondary cells (namely NiMH and Li-ion) due to their much lower internal
resistance do not suffer the large loss of capacity that alkaline, zinc–carbon and zinc chloride
("heavy duty" or "super heavy duty") do with high current draw.[8]
Reserve batteries achieve very long storage time (on the order of 10 years or more) without loss of
capacity, by physically separating the components of the battery and only assembling them at the
time of use. Such constructions are expensive but are found in applications like munitions, which
may be stored for years before use.
c) Lists the routine and emergency services normally supplied by batteries

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Uses of Battery includes providing backup power during power outage. At home, the batteries are
typically wired to electrical appliances. If power goes down these appliances still receives power. For
example, many customers have energy rates that changes based on the time of the day. Batteries
can help these customers manage their energy by storing energy during low cost times and
discharging energy during high cost times. Batteries can store energy from solar and wind and
discharge it when it is needed the most.
Applications and uses of batteries are given below:
 House
 Health Instruments
 Medical
 Logistics and construction
 Firefighting and Emergency
 Military
Batteries are used inside the House
Disposable batteries power things like remote controls, torch lights etc. Rechargeable batteries such
as alkaline batteries are used in digital cameras, handheld video game consoles, cellphones and
many more. Advanced batteries like lithium batteries power appliances that draw too much power
such as laptops and other devices.
It is used in Health Instruments
Artificial limbs, hearing aids, insulin pumps,valve assistance devices uses batteries. Mercury
battery can be useful for photographic light meters and electronic devices such as real time clock of
appliances.
Uses of Batteries in Medical
ECG heart monitor are hooked up with battery so that it can be moved with the patient and is
always ON for showing the patient’s vitals. In hospitals, rechargeable batteries such as lithium- ion
batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries are used.
These are used in Logistics and Construction
Heavy duty batteries are used to power devices such as forklift because exhaust fumes and carbon
monoxide while combustion might prove dangerous in confined work areas. Lead acid battery is
used for starting, lighting and ignition of automobiles.
These are used in Firefighting and Emergency Response
Batteries are used in radios which is very important for emergency response. These radios use large
batteries in order to hold large charge. ECGs, flashlights and even metal or fire detectors use
batteries. Everyday these devices help to save lives.
Batteries use in Military Operations
Batteries power the radios which are used to communicate. Even the night vision, infrared goggles
are powered by batteries. Lithium provides much longer life to devices and silver oxide batteries are
used in military and submarines.
d) States the range of voltages and/or alkaline batteries are used
An alkaline battery (IEC code: L) is a type of primary battery which derives its energy from the
reaction between zinc metal and manganese dioxide.
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Compared with zinc-carbon batteries of the Leclanché cell or zinc chloride types, alkaline batteries
have a higher energy density and longer shelf life, yet provide the same voltage.
The alkaline battery gets its name because it has an alkaline electrolyte of potassium
hydroxide instead of the acidic ammonium chloride or zinc chloride electrolyte of the zinc-carbon
batteries. Other battery systems also use alkaline electrolytes, but they use different active
materials for the electrodes.
Alkaline batteries account for 80% of manufactured batteries in the US and over 10 billion
individual units produced worldwide. In Japan alkaline batteries account for 46% of all primary
battery sales. In Switzerland alkaline batteries account for 68%, in the UK 60% and in the EU 47%
of all battery sales including secondary types.[1][2][3][4][5] Alkaline batteries contain zinc and manganese
dioxide (Health codes 1), which can be toxic in higher concentrations. However, compared to other
battery types, the toxicity of alkaline batteries is moderate.[6]
Alkaline batteries are used in many household items such as MP3 players, CD players, digital
cameras, toys, flashlights, and radios.

e) States that lead-acid and/or alkaline batteries are used

Lead Acid Batteries
Characteristics
Lead acid batteries were invented in 1859 by Gaston Planté and first demonstrated to the French
Academy of Sciences in 1860. They remain the technology of choice for automotive SLI (Starting,
Lighting and Ignition) applications because they are robust, tolerant to abuse, tried and tested and
because of their low cost. For higher power applications with intermittent loads however, Lead acid
batteries are generally too big and heavy and they suffer from a shorter cycle life and typical usable
power down to only 50% Depth of Discharge (DOD). Despite these shortcomings Lead acid batteries
are still being specified for PowerNet applications (36 Volts 2 kWh capacity) because of the cost, but
this is probably the limit of their applicability and NiMH and Li-Ion batteries are making inroads
into this market. For higher voltages and cyclic loads other technologies are being explored.
Lead-acid batteries are composed of a Lead-dioxide cathode, a sponge metallic Lead anode and a
Sulphuric acid solution electrolyte. This heavy metal element makes them toxic and improper
disposal can be hazardous to the environment.
The cell voltage is 2 Volts
Discharge
During discharge, the lead dioxide (positive plate) and lead (negative plate) react with the electrolyte
of sulfuric acid to create lead sulfate, water and energy.
Charge
During charging, the cycle is reversed: the lead sulfate and water are electro-chemically converted
to lead, lead oxide and sulfuric acid by an external electrical charging source.

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Many new competitive cell chemistries are being developed to meet the requirements of the auto
industry for EV and HEV applications.
Even after 150 years since its invention, improvements are still being made to the lead acid battery
and despite its shortcomings and the competition from newer cell chemistries the lead acid battery
still retains the lion's share of the high power battery market.
Advantages
Low cost.
Reliable. Over 140 years of development.
Robust. Tolerant to abuse.
Tolerant to overcharging.
Low internal impedance.
Can deliver very high currents.
Indefinite shelf life if stored without electrolyte.
Can be left on trickle or float charge for prolonged periods.
Wide range of sizes and capacities available.
Many suppliers world wide.
The world's most recycled product.
Shortcomings
Very heavy and bulky.
Typical coulombic charge efficiency only 70% but can be as high as 85% to 90% for special designs.
Danger of overheating during charging
Not suitable for fast charging
Typical cycle life 300 to 500 cycles .
Must be stored in a charged state once the electrolyte has been introduced to avoid deterioration of
the active chemicals.
Explains the effect on current and voltage when connecting cells:
a) series
Series Cells
Cells are basically electrical elements. Cells employ chemical reaction to produce electrical
potential.
Series cells are produced by individual cells connected together. It is done by connecting the
positive terminal of a battery to the negative terminal of another.
Series cells are usually used by certain equipments which need higher voltages. In order to produce
higher voltages we connect the cells in series.

The figure shows two 1.2 volt cells connected in series. Here, the opposite terminals are connected
to each other. As they are connected in series the net voltage produced by the combination will be

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Thus, as two 1.2 volt cells are connected in series we get a cell whose net voltage is 2.4 volts. Thus,
a series combination of cells can produce higher voltages.
The net internal resistance of the series cell is given by
rnet = r1 + r2… rn
where r is the internal resistance of the individual cells
b. Parallel
Parallel Cells
When positive terminals of every cell are connected together and negative cells are connected
together in a cell, then we call the cells as parallel cells. These cells are usually used by devices
which need to produce higher current. The figure shows parallel connected batteries.

Here the total current delivered by the cell is equal to sum of current supplied by the individual
cells.
The net internal resistance of the cell is given by

Here, r is the internal resistance of the individual cells. If the emf of the individual cells is similar,
then emf of the battery which is connected by n cells in parallel will be equal to the emf of each
individual cell.
Describes how a battery is connected for recharging
Learn how to charge a battery without a designated charger.
Batteries can be charged manually with a power supply featuring user-adjustable voltage and
current limiting. I stress manual because charging needs the know-how and can never be left
unattended; charge termination is not automated. Because of difficulties in detecting full charge
with nickel-based batteries, I recommend charging only lead and lithium-based batteries manually.
Lead Acid
Before connecting the battery, calculate the charge voltage according to the number of cells in
series, and then set the desired voltage and current limit. To charge a 12-volt lead acid battery (six
cells) to a voltage limit of 2.40V, set the voltage to 14.40V (6 x 2.40). Select the charge current
according to battery size. For lead acid, this is between 10 and 30 percent of the rated capacity. A
10Ah battery at 30 percent charges at about 3A; the percentage can be lower. An 80Ah starter
battery may charge at 8A. (A 10 percent charge rate is equal to 0.1C.)

Observe the battery temperature, voltage and current during charge. Charge only at ambient

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temperatures in a well-ventilated room. Once the battery is fully charged and the current has
dropped to 3 percent of the rated Ah, the charge is completed. Disconnect the charge. Also
disconnect the charge after 16–24 hours if the current has bottomed out and cannot go lower; high
self-discharge (soft electrical short) can prevent the battery from reaching the low saturation level. If
you need float charge for operational readiness, lower the charge voltage to about 2.25V/cell.
You can also use the power supply to equalize a lead acid battery by setting the charge voltage 10
percent higher than recommended. The time in overcharge is critical and must be carefully
observed. (See BU-404: What is Equalizing Charge.)
A power supply can also reverse sulfation. Set the charge voltage above the recommended level,
adjust the current limiting to the lowest practical value and observe the battery voltage. A totally
sulfated lead acid may draw very little current at first and as the sulfation layer dissolves, the
current will gradually increase. Elevating the temperature and placing the battery on an ultrasound
vibrator may also help in the process. If the battery does not accept a charge after 24 hours,
restoration is unlikely. (See BU-804b: Sulfation and How to Prevent it.)
Lithium-ion
Lithium-ion charges similarly to lead acid and you can also use the power supply but exercise extra
caution. Check the full charge voltage, which is commonly 4.20V/cell, and set the threshold
accordingly. Make certain that none of the cells connected in series exceeds this voltage. (The
protection circuit in a commercial pack does this.) Full charge is reached when the cell(s) reach
4.20V/cell voltage and the current drops to 3 percent of the rated current, or has bottomed out and
cannot go down further. Once fully charged, disconnect the battery. Never allow a cell to dwell at
4.20V for more than a few hours. (See BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion.)
Describes the first-aid necessary if parts of the body and eyes are in contact with electrolyte
from:
a) a lead-acid battery

b) an alkaline battery
Batteries are safe, but caution is necessary when touching damaged cells and when handling lead
acid systems that have access to lead and sulfuric acid. Several countries label lead acid as
hazardous material, and rightly so. Lead can be a health hazard if not properly handled.
Lead
Lead is a toxic metal that can enter the body by inhalation of lead dust or ingestion when touching
the mouth with lead-contaminated hands. If leaked onto the ground, acid and lead particles
contaminate the soil and become airborne when dry. Children and fetuses of pregnant women are
most vulnerable to lead exposure because their bodies are developing. Excessive levels of lead can
affect a child’s growth, cause brain damage, harm kidneys, impair hearing and induce behavioral
problems. In adults, lead can cause memory loss and lower the ability to concentrate, as well as
harm the reproductive system. Lead is also known to cause high blood pressure, nerve disorders,
and muscle and joint pain. Researchers speculate that Ludwig van Beethoven became ill and died
because of lead poisoning.

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By 2017, members of the International
Lead Association (ILA) want to keep the
lead blood level of workers in mining,
smelting, refining and recycling below
30 micrograms per deciliter (30µg/dl). In
2014, the average participating Figure 1: Lead is found in babies’
employee checked in at 15.6µg/dl, but teeth near a battery recycling plant.
4.8 percent were above 30µg/dl. (Source
Batteries & Energy Storage Technology,
Summer 2015.)
In 2019, the University of Southern
California published the detection of
lead in teeth of children living near the
Exide Technologies battery recycling
plant in Vernon, California.
Lead occurs naturally in soil at 15–40mg/kg level. This level can increase multi-fold near lead
battery manufacturing and recycling plants. Soil levels in developing countries, including on the
continent of Africa, recorded lead contamination levels of 40–140,000mg/kg. (See BU-705: How to
Recycle Batteries.)
Sulfuric Acid
The sulfuric acid in a lead acid battery is highly corrosive and is more harmful than acids used in
most other battery systems. Contact with eye can cause permanent blindness; swallowing damages
internal organs that can lead to death. First aid treatment calls for flushing the skin for 10–15
minutes with large amounts of water to cool the affected tissue and to prevent secondary damage.
Immediately remove contaminated clothing and thoroughly wash the underlying skin. Always wear
protective equipment when handling sulfuric acid.
Cadmium
Cadmium used in nickel-cadmium batteries is considered more harmful than lead if ingested.
Workers at NiCd manufacturing plants in Japan have been experiencing health problems from
prolonged exposure to the metal, and governments have banned disposal of nickel-cadmium
batteries in landfills. The soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in the soil can damage kidneys.
Cadmium can be absorbed through the skin by touching a spilled battery. Since most NiCd
batteries are sealed, there are no health risks in handling intact cells; caution is required when
working with an open battery.
Nickel-metal-hydride is considered non-toxic and the only concern is the electrolyte. Although toxic
to plants, nickel is not harmful to humans.
Lithium-ion is also benign — the battery contains little toxic material. Nevertheless, caution is
required when working with a damaged battery. When handling a spilled battery, do not touch your
mouth, nose or eyes. Wash your hands thoroughly.
Keep small batteries out of children’s reach. Children younger than four are the most likely to
swallow batteries, and the most common types that are ingested are button cells. Each year in the
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United States alone, more than 2,800 children are treated in emergency rooms for swallowing
button batteries. According to a 2015 report, serious injuries and deaths from swallowing batteries
have increased nine-fold in the last decade.
The battery often gets stuck in the esophagus (the tube that passes food). Water or saliva creates an
electrical current that can trigger a chemical reaction producing hydroxide, a caustic ion that
causes serious burns to the surrounding tissue. Doctors often misdiagnose the symptoms, which
can reveal themselves as fever, vomiting, poor appetite and weariness. Batteries that make it
through the esophagus often move through the digestive tract with little or no lasting damage. The
advice to a parent is to choose safe toys and to keep small batteries away from young children.
Safety Tips
 Keep button batteries out of sight and reach of children. Remote controls, singing greeting
cards, watches, hearing aids, thermometers, toys and electric keys may contain these
batteries.
 Similar to pharmaceutical products, keep loose batteries locked away to prevent access by
small children.
 Communicate the danger of swallowing button batteries with your children, as well as
caregivers, friends, family members and babysitters.
 If you suspect your child has ingested a battery, go to the hospital immediately. Wait for a
medical assessment before allowing the child to eat and drink.
Ventilation
Charging batteries in living quarters should be safe, and this also applies to lead acid. Ventilate the
area regularly as you would a kitchen when cooking. Lead acid produces some hydrogen gas but
the amount is minimal when charged correctly. Hydrogen gas becomes explosive at a concentration
of 4 percent. This would only be achieved if large lead acid batteries were charged in a sealed room.
Over-charging a lead acid battery can produce hydrogen sulfide. The gas is colorless, very
poisonous, flammable and has the odor of rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide also occurs naturally
during the breakdown of organic matter in swamps and sewers; it is present in volcanic gases,
natural gas and some well waters. Being heavier than air, the gas accumulates at the bottom of
poorly ventilated spaces. Although noticeable at first, the sense of smell deadens the sensation with
time and potential victims may be unaware of its presence.
As a simple guideline, hydrogen sulfide becomes harmful to human life if the odor is noticeable.
Turn off the charger, vent the facility and stay outside until the odor disappears. Other gases that
can develop during charging and the operations of lead acid batteries are arsine (arsenic hydride,
AsH3) and (antimony hydride, SbH3). Although the levels of these metal hydrides stay well below the
occupational exposure limits, they are a reminder to provide adequate ventilation.
Describes the cause of electric shock, giving the level of current which could be fatal
Dangers of Electrical Shock
The severity of injury from electrical shock depends on the amount of electrical current and the
length of time the current passes through the body. For example, 1/10 of an ampere (amp) of
electricity going through the body for just 2 seconds is enough to cause death. The amount of
internal current a person can withstand and still be able to control the muscles of the arm and
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hand can be less than 10 milliamperes (milliamps or mA). Currents above 10 mA can paralyze or
“freeze” muscles. When this “freezing” happens, a person is no longer able to release a tool, wire, or
other object. In fact, the electrified object may be held even more tightly, resulting in longer
exposure to the shocking current. For this reason, handheld tools that give a shock can be very
dangerous. If you can’t let go of the tool, current continues through your body for a longer time,
which can lead to respiratory paralysis (the muscles that control breathing cannot move). You stop
breathing for a period of time. People have stopped breathing when shocked with currents from
voltages as low as 49 volts. Usually, it takes about 30 mA of current to cause respiratory paralysis.

Currents greater than 75 mA cause ventricular fibrillation (very rapid, ineffective heartbeat). This
condition will cause death within a few minutes unless a special device called a defibrillator is used
to save the victim. Heart paralysis occurs at 4 amps, which means the heart does not pump at all.
Tissue is burned with currents greater than 5 amps.2

The table shows what usually happens for a range of currents (lasting one second) at typical
household voltages. Longer exposure times increase the danger to the shock victim. For example, a
current of 100 mA applied for 3 seconds is as dangerous as a current of 900 mA applied for a
fraction of a second (0.03 seconds). The muscle structure of the person also makes a difference.
People with less muscle tissue are typically affected at lower current levels. Even low voltages can
be extremely dangerous because the degree of injury depends not only on the amount of current but
also on the length of time the body is in contact with the circuit.

States the voltage range which is considered safe

For most of us, our only concern with the electricity in our homes is whether or not we have it.
Beyond that it’s a simple question of having enough outlets and “If I unplug this cord will something
important shut-off?” But what’s actually happening with the circuitry running behind your walls?
Why do lights dim or appliances stop in the summer? Or blackouts occur during storms?
To answer these questions, it’s first important to understand the voltage ranges operating in your
home.
And before that even, what is actually meant by the term voltage.
A common analogy used when discussing electric circuits is the comparison to water filled tanks
and pipes. In this scenario, an electric current is similar to the flow of the water (measured in
Amps), an electric charge is the quantity of water (measured in Coulombs), and voltage is the
pressure that pushes the water along – or more precisely, the difference in pressure between two
points (measured in Volts).

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Now imagine you have two separate water tanks where the quantity of water (charge) is the same,
but the width of the pipes is different.
Because both tanks carry the same amount of liquid, the pressure (voltage) is equal. However, when
the water is released the flow (current) in the narrower pipe is less than the wider one.
This means to get the same results with both tanks we’d have to increase the amount of water in
the tank with the narrower pipe – which in turn would lead to an increase in pressure.

Applies safety precautions necessary when working on electrical equipment in practice

21 Safety Rules for Working with Electrical Equipment
21 Golden Safety Rules
Rule no. 1
Avoid contact with energized electrical circuits. Please don’t make fun of this rule if you
already know this (and you probably already know if you are reading these lines) and remember that
if something bad occurs – you probably won’t have second chance. That’s not funny.
Rule no. 2
Treat all electrical devices as if they are live or energized. You never know.
Rule no. 3
Disconnect the power source before servicing or repairing electrical equipment.
The only way to be sure.
Rule no. 4
Use only tools and equipment with non-conducting handles when working on electrical devices.
Easy to check.
Rule no. 5
Never use metallic pencils or rulers, or wear rings or metal watchbands when working with
electrical equipment. This rule is very easy to forget, especially when you are showing some
electrical part pointing with metallic pencil.
Always be aware.
Rule no. 6
When it is necessary to handle equipment that is plugged in, be sure hands are dry and, when
possible, wear nonconductive gloves, protective clothes and shoes with insulated soles.
Remeber: gloves, clothes and shoes.

Safety clothes, gloves and shoes

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Rule no. 7
If it is safe to do so, work with only one hand, keeping the other hand at your side or in your pocket,
away from all conductive material. This precaution reduces the likelihood of accidents that result in
current passing through the chest cavity.
If you ever read about current passing through human body you will know, so remember – work
with one hand only.
If you don’t clue about electric current path through human body, read more in following
technical articles:
 Do You Understand What Is Electric Shock?
 What psychological effect does an electric shock?
Rule no. 8
Minimize the use of electrical equipment in cold rooms or other areas where condensation is
likely. If equipment must be used in such areas, mount the equipment on a wall or vertical panel.
Rule no. 9
If water or a chemical is spilled onto equipment, shut off power at the main switch or circuit
breaker and unplug the equipment.
Very logical. NEVER try to remove water or similar from equipment while energized. Afterall, it’s
stupid to do so.
Rule no. 10
If an individual comes in contact with a live electrical conductor, do not touch the equipment, cord
or person. Disconnect the power source from the circuit breaker or pull out the plug using a leather
belt.
Tricky situation, and you must be very calm in order not to make the situation even worse.
Like in previous rules – Always disconnect the power FIRST.

Always disconnect the power FIRST

Rule no. 11
Equipment producing a “tingle” should be disconnected and reported promptly for repair.
Rule no. 12
Do not rely on grounding to mask a defective circuit nor attempt to correct a fault by insertion of
another fuse or breaker, particularly one of larger capacity.
Rule no. 13
Drain capacitors before working near them and keep the short circuit on the terminals during the
work to prevent electrical shock.
Rule no. 14
Never touch another person’s equipment or electrical control devices unless instructed to do so.

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Don’t be too smart. Don’t try your luck.

Rule no. 15
Enclose all electric contacts and conductors so that no one can accidentally come into contact with
them.
If applicable do it always, if not be very carefull.
Rule no. 16
Never handle electrical equipment when hands, feet, or body are wet or perspiring, or when
standing on a wet floor.
Remeber: Gloves and shoes
Rule no. 17
When it is necessary to touch electrical equipment (for example, when checking for overheated
motors), use the back of the hand. Thus, if accidental shock were to cause muscular contraction,
you would not “freeze” to the conductor.
Rule no. 18
Do not store highly flammable liquids near electrical equipment.
Rule no. 19
Be aware that interlocks on equipment disconnect the high voltage source when a cabinet door is
open but power for control circuits may remain on.
Read the single line diagram and wiring schemes – know your switchboard.
Rule no. 20
De-energize open experimental circuits and equipment to be left unattended.
Rule no. 21
Do not wear loose clothing or ties near electrical equipment. Act like an electrical engineer, you
are not on the beach.
Example of human stupidity and ignorance of basic safety
Electrical safety, come on… I guess we’ll never know did the cord extension drop into water… Hope
not.

Example of stupidity

Explains the purpose of interlocks fitted to circuit breakers

Purpose od interlocking
Most switchboards and motor control centres are fitted with a variety
of electrical and mechanical safety interlocking devices.

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Purposes and Examples of Safety Interlocking Devices (on photo: GENIMOD – GREINER switchgear
suitable for all areas relating to the generation, distribution and application of electrical energy in a
wide variety of industrial and building services management sectors)
Their purposes are to protect against for example:
 Withdrawing the switching device while it is carrying load or fault current.
 Prevent the switching mechanism from being inserted when it is in its ‘on’ state.
 Opening of access doors or panels before setting the switching device in its ‘off’ state.
 Gaining physical access by human operators while the main conductors and contacts are
energised.
 Gaining access to the busbars when the switching devices have been withdrawn.
 To prevent earthing switches from being closed on to live circuits or busbars.
 Incorrect electrical operation of a complex process system in which various external
devices, motors, pumps, etc. are intimately related. For example a lubrication oil pump must
be running before the main drive motor is started on a pump or compressor.
Explains the danger associated with the spaces in the vicinity of busbars
HOME » MARINE ELECTRICAL » HOW TO DO BUSBAR INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE ON
SHIPS?
How to Do Busbar Inspection and Maintenance on Ships?
A busbar is a copper plate/bar which is used in ship’s main and emergency switchboards to
conduct electricity from generators or from one electrical terminal to another. Technically, there are
no electrical wire connections inside the main and emergency switchboards on ships for connecting
Power supply from generators to these switchboards. All high voltage and high current systems are
connected by bus bars.
The busbar’s copper plates/ bars are connected together with the help of nut bolts, which transmit
electricity as required. During normal ship operations, the busbar connections are subjected to
ship’s harsh environment along with the vibrations generated by the ship and ship machinery such
as Main Engine, auxiliary engines, compressors etc. These vibrations cause loosening of nut bolts in
the busbar, which can lead to short circuit or any other type of accident. Loose connections inside
the switchboard can also lead to sparks that can cause fire.
Moreover, the busbars are meant to carry high voltage and current which tend to heat up the lines
due to energy flow in the system. For this reason, inspection and maintenance of busbar at regular
inspection of time are required for smooth operation.

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Busbas inspection and maintenance

Safety
If any maintenance is planned for busbars, highest standards of safety are required as even
the tiniest mistake can lead to electrocution and even death. The busbar maintenance is therefore
performed when the complete busbar panel or Switchboard is turned “OFF”. Following are the
precautions for safety to be carried out when the bus bar maintenance is to be carried out:
Explains that safety and emergency procedures are documented in the ship’s safety
management system
The safety management system (SMS) is an organized system planned and implemented by the
shipping companies to ensure safety of the ship and marine environment.
SMS is an important aspect of the International safety management (ISM) code and it details all the
important policies, practices, and procedures that are to be followed in order to ensure safe
functioning of ships at the sea. All commercial vessels are required to establish safe ship
management procedures. SMS forms one of the important parts of the ISM code.
The safety management system (SMS) therefore ensures that each and every ship comply with the
mandatory safety rules and regulations, and follow the codes, guidelines, and standards
recommended by the IMO, classification societies, and concerned maritime organizations.

Every safety management policy should satisfy some of the basic functional requirements to ensure
safety of every ship. They are:
 Procedure and guidelines to act in an emergency situation
 Safety and environmental protection policy
 Procedure and guidelines for reporting accidents or any other form of non-conformities
 Clear information on level of authority and lines of communication among ship crew
members, and between shore and shipboard personnel
 Procedures and guidelines to ensure safe operations of ships and protection of marine
environment in compliance with relevant international and flag state legislations
 Procedures for internal audits and management reviews
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 Vessel details
In short, a safety management system would consists of details as to how a vessel would operate on
a day to day basis, what are the procedures to be followed in case of an emergency, how are drills
and trainings conducted, measures taken for safe operations, who is the designated person etc.

Safety management plan is mainly the responsibility of the owner of the vessel, or the designated
person, or the person appointed by the owner. However, the ship’s master and the crew are the best
people to make an SMS as they know the vessel inside-out.

These are the main parts of a basic SMS; however, the plan might vary according to the type of the
vessel and the cargo carried by the same. SMS play an important role in the process of ISM code
implementation on ships.

Insulation tester

a) States the operation principles of an insulation tester

Insulation Testers
Insulation testers use a high voltage, low current DC charge to measure the resistance within wires
and motor windings to identify current leakage and faulty or damaged insulation, which can lead to
arc faults, blown circuits, and risk of electrical shock or fire. Megohmmeters are ideal for monitoring
machine health and improving preventative maintenance efforts.

Megger MIT515 Insulation Resistance Tester

b) States the precautions when using an insulation tester
Insulation resistance test- 9 safety tips to follow.
Electrical Protection System
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Safety is a sense. No instrument or tools can guarantee safety. Only safe practice and quality tools
can ensure the safety. When you are to do insulation resistance test there is risk of both human
injury also the probable damage to the machine itself. So you should follow the safety tips while
doing an insulation resistance test.
Safe procedure of insulation resistance test
01. Work on de-energized circuits whenever possible. Use proper lock-out/tag-out procedures. If
these procedures are not in place or not enforced, assume the circuit is live.
02. Use protective gear. Use insulated tools, Wear flame resistant clothing, safety glasses, and
insulation gloves, Remove watches or other jewelry, Stand on an insulation mat.
03. Never connect the insulation tester to energized conductors or energized equipment and always
follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
04. Shut down the equipment to be tested by opening fuses, switches, and circuit breakers.

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05. Disconnect the branch circuit conductors, grounded conductors, grounding conductors, and all
other equipment from the unit under test.
06. Discharge conductor capacitance, both before and after the test. Some instruments may have
automatic discharge functions.
07. Check for any leakage current through fuses, switches, and breakers on de-energized circuits.
Leakage current can cause inconsistent and incorrect readings.
08. Don’t use an insulation tester in a dangerous or explosive atmosphere since the instrument can
generate arcing in damaged insulation.
09. Use insulated rubber gloves when connecting the test leads.

Insulation resistance test procedure

Uses an insulation tester:

Applications for Insulation Resistance Testers
TOPICS:Insulation Resistance Tester

Megger® MIT1025 Insulation Resistance Tester

Insulation testers can save you a lot of money. Here are just three uses for capable insulation
resistance testers:
1. Accurately perform insulation testing on power MV and HV transformers, current
transformers, cables, motors and generators (stators and rotors), circuit breakers, and more.
2. Ensure continued operation of transmission and distribution equipment, preventing outages
and downtime
3. Maintain productivity even with a dead battery—operates from online mains power
The insulation resistance tester shown is designed for distribution maintenance, commissioning,
and industrial/OEM applications. Its intelligent battery charging function ensures the optimal
charge rate as a function of the battery level, resulting in minimum charge times. It offers a rapid
charge Li-ion battery, providing up to six hours of continuous testing. The noise filter rejects up to 3
mA noise.

a. to check the zero reading

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Developed early in the 20th century, the insulation resistance (IR) test is the oldest and most widely
used test for assessing the quality of insulation. The Insulation Resistance Test is the second test
required by the electrical safety testing standards. The Insulation Resistance Test consists in
measuring the Insulation resistance of a device under test, while phase and neutral are short
circuited together. The measured resistance has to be higher than the indicated limit from the
international standards. A megohmmeter (also called insulation resistance tester, teraohmmeter) is
used to measure the ohmic value of an insulator under a direct voltage of great stability.
Insulation cannot be perfect in the same way that something cannot be frictionless. This means
that there will always be a little bit of current travelling through. This is known as “leakage
current”. It’s acceptable with good insulation, but if the insulation deteriorates, leakage can start
causing trouble. So what makes “good” insulation? Well, it needs a high resistance to current, and
it needs to be able to sustain high resistance for a long time
Why Insulation Resistance Test is Done?
Insulation starts to age as soon as it’s made. As it ages, its insulating performance deteriorates. Any
harsh installation environments, especially those with temperature extremes and/or chemical
contamination, accelerates this process. Stresses due to different factors like:
 Electrical stresses: Mainly linked to overvoltage and undervoltage.
 Mechanical stresses: Frequent start-up and shutdown sequences can cause mechanical
stresses.
 Balancing problems on rotating machinery and any direct stress to the cables and the
installations in general.
 Chemical stresses: The proximity of chemicals, oils, corrosive vapours and dust, in general,
affects the insulation performance of the materials.
 Stresses linked to temperature variations: When combined with the mechanical stresses
caused by the start-up and shutdown sequences, expansion and contraction stresses affect
the properties of the insulating materials. Operation at extreme temperatures also leads to
aging of the materials.
 Environmental contamination causes aging acceleration of insulation.
b. to check that the equipment is dead
f you want to check a circuit is dead (not live), you should always use the three point method. First
check a known live circuit, then check the dead circuit and finally recheck the live circuit. Carrying
out the procedure ensures that the meter is working before and after testing for the dead circuit.

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A few additional measurement tips to make things safe:

 always connected ground or negative clips first (remove last)
 hang or rest the test meter (try not to hold in your hand)
 use PPE
c. to measure values of phase-to-phase insulation
Operating principle of an insulation monitoring device
The insulation monitoring device is connected between the live supply conductors and earth and
superimposes a measuring voltage Um. In the event of an insulation fault, the insulation fault
RF closes the measuring circuit between the system and earth, generating a measuring current
Im that is proportional to the insulation fault. This measuring current generates a corresponding
voltage drop at the measuring resistance Rm, which is evaluated by the electronics.
If this voltage drop exceeds a specific value equivalent to the under shooting of a specific insulation
resistance, a signal will be output. IEC 61557-8 specifies detailed requirements to be met by
insulation monitoring devices. Insulation monitoring devices serve as early-warning systems,
providing operators with the information they need in order to have appropriate maintenance
measures taken in good time.
IEC 61557-8 specifies that insulation monitoring devices must support a prescribed measuring
principle which enables them to monitor both symmetrical and asymmetrical deteriorations in
insulation.

Continuity tester
A continuity tester is an item of electrical test equipment used to determine if an electrical path
can be established between two points;[1] that is if an electrical circuit can be made. The circuit
under test is completely de-energized prior to connecting the apparatus.
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Details[edit]
The tester consists of an indicator in series with a source of electrical power - normally a battery,
terminating in two test leads.[1][2] If a complete circuit is established between the test-leads, the
indicator is activated.[2]
The indicator may be an electric light or a buzzer.[1] This led to the term "buzzing out a circuit"
(which means to test for continuity)[3] Audible continuity buzzers or beepers are built into some
models of multimeter, and the continuity setting is normally shared with the ohmmeter setting.
A popular design has the tester combined with a standard flashlight. A phone connector or jack
plug in the rear of the unit permits a set of test leads to be plugged in effecting a quick conversion
between the two applications.
For situations where continuity testing must be done on high resistance circuits, or where delicate
conductors and sensitive components that might be damaged by excessive current are present, a
low voltage, low current device must be used.[2][4] These typically use an op-amp and watch batteries
to drive an LED as an indicator. These testers can be exquisitely sensitive; for example they will
indicate if the test points are taken by both hands.
There are times when a simple continuity test fails to reveal the problem. For example, vibration-
induced problems in automobile wiring can be extremely difficult to detect because a short or open
is not maintained long enough for a standard tester to respond.
In these applications a latching continuity tester is used. A more complex device, it detects
intermittent opens and shorts as well as steady-state conditions.[4] These devices contain a fast
acting electronic switch (generally a Schmitt trigger) forming a gated astable oscillator which detects
and locks (latches) the indicator on an intermittent condition with a duration of less than a
millisecond.
Uses a continuity tester to:
a) check that the equipment is dead

Home / Technical Articles / Troubleshooting dead circuit by testing continuity with

disconnected supply
Dead circuit testing methods
Dead circuit testing is testing performed with the power disconnected from the circuit. The main
benefit of disconnecting power supply while tests with an external energy source are performed is to
eliminate hazardous risks to the environment or the person conducting the test.

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Troubleshooting dead circuit by testing continuity with disconnected supply (photo credit:
visionsensorsmag.com)
Both continuity test and insulation test can be performed in the dead circuit test. Let’s try to
describe them in details:
1. Continuity test
2. Insulation test
1. Continuity test
This is to be performed on a dead circuit for checking continuity. Using an Audible Continuity
Tester can do it. This tester consists of a battery as a source of energy, an audible device, and two
test leads.
Figure 1 shows an example of this test with an audible continuity tester.

Figure 1 – Continuity test with audio tester

By this test, the continuity of an electrical circuit is checked to ensure that the electrical path is
complete. If the path is continuous, then an audio sound is emitted to confirm path continuity and
the non-existence of an open circuit. In some devices, along with the audio indication, an LED or
some other visual indication is provided.
Similarly, an ohmmeter or multimeter can also be used to check continuity. An ohmmeter or
multimeter consists of a battery as a source of energy, along with a meter to display the value of
resistance. Figure 2 shows an example of this test with an ohmmeter.
In an ohmmeter, the scale is calibrated from zero to an infinite range of resistance. When the meter
shows a zero reading, it indicates that the path between two test leads has zero resistance. This, in
turn, indicates that the path is a continuous one.
If the path or the conductor is open, then it will show resistance value as infinite.

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Figure 2 – Continuity test with ohmmeter

In short, continuity testing is used to check the following purposes:
Integrity of cables
 Integrity of electrical circuit path
 Integrity of the earthing system (i.e., electrical continuity and low-resistance value to earth)
 Accurate wiring of a control and power circuit to the correct terminals
 Differentiate active and neutral conductors before connecting them to a device
 Check for wrong wiring interconnections between different control and power circuits. Thus
indirectly, checking for short circuit paths
 Integrity of switches, fuses, and other devices

b) measure the resistance of circuits

Electric current is measured in amperes, but actually in most electronics work, you’ll measure
current in milliamps, or mA. To measure current, you must connect the two leads of the ammeter in
the circuit so that the current flows through the ammeter. In other words, the ammeter must
become a part of the circuit itself.
The only way to measure the current flowing through a simple circuit is to insert your ammeter into
the circuit. Here, the ammeter is inserted into the circuit between the LED and the resistor.

Note that it doesn’t matter where in this circuit you insert the ammeter. You’ll get the same current
reading whether you insert the ammeter between the LED and the resistor, between the resistor and
the battery, or between the LED and the battery.
To measure the current in the LED circuit, follow these steps:
1. Set your multimeter’s range selector to a DC milliamp range of at least 20 mA.
This circuit uses direct current (DC), so you need to make sure the multimeter is set to a DC
current range.
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2. Remove the jumper wire that connects the two terminal strips.
The LED should go dark, as removing the jumper wire breaks the circuit.
3. Touch the black lead from the multimeter to the LED lead that connects to the terminal strip
(not the bus strip).
4. Touch the red lead from the multimeter to the resistor lead that connects to the terminal
strip (not the bus strip).
The LED should light up again, as the ammeter is now a part of the circuit, and current can flow.
5. Read the number on the multimeter display.
It should read between 12 and 13 mA. (The exact reading will depend on the exact resistance value
of the resistor. Resistor values aren’t exact, so even though you’re using a 470 Ω resistor in this
circuit, the actual resistance of the resistor may be anywhere from 420 to 520 Ω.
6. Congratulate yourself!
You have made your first official current measurement.
After a suitable celebration, replace the jumper wire you removed in Step 2.
If you forget to replace the jumper wire, you won’t be able to take other measurements successfully.
Multi-tester
Note: In Video Presentation
Uses digital and analogue multimeters, taking the necessary precautions, to:
a) check the accuracy of the meter
By STEPHEN BENHAM

Check the accuracy of your electric meter; don't pay for electricity you're not using.
Electric meters record how much electricity you use in your home and are used to calculate how
much you need to pay for the electricity your electrical appliances have consumed. Electric meters
are generally accurate and can be tested by your electricity supplier. However, if you find your
electricity consumption has increased above what you expected, then it's fairly straightforward to
test the accuracy of the meter yourself before calling your electricity supplier.

Step 1
Select an electrical appliance that consumes a constant and reasonable amount of electricity so you
can test the accuracy of your electric meter. A fan heater or other electric heater is ideal. Turn the
thermostat to the highest setting.
Step 2

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Read the label on the appliance you have selected to determine the wattage it uses. For example, an
electric heater may use 2,000 watts per hour on its highest setting and this corresponds to the way
your electric meter measures electricity as you pay for electricity based upon kilowatt-hours. Write
down the wattage.
Step 3
Turn off all electrical appliances in your home before testing the accuracy of the electric meter.
Double-check that every electrical item is turned off. Read the electric meter and write down the
reading next to the wattage you wrote down from your selected electrical appliance.
Step 4
Turn on the selected electrical appliance and make an accurate note of the time you turned it on.
Leave the appliance operating for exactly 30 minutes. Turn off the appliance.
Step 5
Read the electric meter reading again. Write down the reading.
Step 6
Subtract the second meter reading from the first reading. This tells you the wattage consumed
during the 30 minutes your appliance was turned on. The reading should equal half the wattage
you wrote down from the label on your appliance, if your meter is accurate. For example, if you
wrote down 2,000 watts, which equals 2 kilowatts per hour, your meter reading increases by 1,000,
or 1 kilowatt, so the figure you got following your subtraction is 1,000. If the figure is different by
more than about 5 percent, have your meter tested professionally.
Step 7
Turn on the electrical appliances you turned off, such as the fridge and freezer.
b) check for battery failure
Testing is designed to tell us things we want to know about individual cells and batteries.
Some typical questions are:
 Is it fully charged?
 How much charge is left in the battery?
 Does it meet the manufacturer's specification?
 Has there been any deterioration in performance since it was new?
 How long will it last?
 Do the safety devices all work?
 Does it generate interference or electrical noise?
 Is it affected by interference or electrical noise?

c) measure resistance
Resistance measurement basics
When measuring resistance, all musltimeters use exactly the same principle whether they are
analogue multimeters or digital multimeters. In fact other forms of test equipment that measure
resistance also use the same basic principle.
The basic idea is that the multimeter places a voltage at the two probes and this will cause a
current to flow in the item for which the resistance is being measured. By measuring the resistance
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it is possible to determine the resistance between the two probes of the multimeter, or other item of
test equipment.
How to measure resistance with an analogue multimeter
Analogue multimeters are good at measuring resistance, although they are a few points to note
about the way in which it is done.
The first point to note is that as the meter itself responds to current flowing through the component
under test. A high resistance corresponds to a low current and the meter needle settles on on the
left hand side of the dial, and a low resisatnce corresponds to a higher current and the meter needle
deflects more so it appears on the right hand side of the dial as shown below.
It will also be noticed that the calibrations become much closer together as the resistance becomes
higher, i.e. on the left hand side of the dial.

Analogue multimeter face calibrations

Another aspect of using an analogue multimeter for measuring resistance is that the meter needs to
be "zero'ed" before making a measurement. This is done by connecting the two probes together so
that there is a short circuit, and then using the "zero" control to give full scale deflection on the
meter, i.e. zero ohms.
Each time the range is changed, the meter needs to be zero'ed as the position may change from one
range to the next. The meter needs to be zero'ed because the full scale deflection will change
according to aspects such as the state of the battery.
There are a few simple steps required to make a resistance measurement with an analogue
multimeter:
1. Select the item to be measured: This may be anything where the resistance needs to be
measured and estimate what the resistance may be.
2. Insert the probes into the required sockets Often a multimeter will have several sockets for
the test probes. Insert these or check they are already in the correct sockets. Typically these
might be labelled COM for common and the other where the ohms sign is visible. This is
normally combined with the voltage measurement socket.
3. Select the required range The analogue multimeter needs on and the required range
selected. The range selected should be such that the best reading can be obtained. Normally
the multimeter function switch will be labelled with the maximum resistance reading. Choose
the one where the estimated value of resistance will be under but close to the maximum of
the range. In this way the most accurate resistance measurement can be made.

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4. Zero the meter: The meter needs to be zero'ed. This is done by firmly placing the two probes
together to give a short circuit and then adjusting the zero control to give a zero ohms (full
scale deflection) reading. This process needs to be repeated if the range is changed.
5. Make the measurement With the multimeter ready to make the measurement the probes
can be applied to the item that needs to be measured. The range can be adjusted if
necessary.
6. Turn off the multimeter Once the resistance measurement has been made, it is wise to turn
the function switch to a high voltage range. In this way if the multimeter is used to again for
another type of reading then no damage will be caused if it is inadvertently used without
selecting the correct range and function.
d) measure voltage
Voltage is one of the easiest and most common measurements to make using an analogue
multimeter or a digital multimeter, DMM.
Voltage measurements also have the advantage that they can be made directly on the circuit in
question. Unlike current measurements it is not necessary to pace the meter into the circuit -
instead the voltage measurements can be made by probing directly onto the relevant points of the
circuit.
Voltage measurements are easy to make with both analogue and digital meters and in essence the
way the measurements are made is the same - the only difference is that one meter is analogue and
the other is digital. There are no different techniques to be used as in the case of making resistance
measurements.

How to make a voltage measurement - the basics

Voltage measurements look at the potential difference between two points. In other words they look
at the difference in electric pressure at the two points. In most cases the voltage is measured
between a particular point and the ground or zero volt line on a circuit. However this does not mean
that the voltage cannot be measured between any two points.
Voltages are measured simply by placing the digital multimeter across the two points where the
voltage is to be measured.
How to make a voltage measurement -with a digital multimeter, DMM
Digital multimeters are particularly easy to use to make voltage measurements which they can do
with great accuracy.
e) measure current
Current measurement: basics

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Current measurements are made in a different way to voltage and other measurements. Current
consists of a flow of electrons around a circuit, and it is necessary to be able to monitor the overall
flow of electrons. In very simple circuit is shown below. In this there is a battery, a bulb which can
be used as an indicator and a resistor. To change the level of current flowing in the circuit it is
possible to change the resistance, and the amount of current flowing can be gauged by the
brightness of the bulb.

A simple circuit in which to measure current

When using a multimeter to measure current, the only way that can be used to detect the level of
current flowing is to break into the circuit so that the current passes through the meter. Although
this can be difficult at times, it is the best option. A typical current measurement can be made as
shown below. From this it can be seen that the circuit in which the current is flowing has to be
broken and the multimeter inserted into the circuit. In some circuits where current may often need
to be measured, terminals with a shorting link may be added to facilitate the current measurement.

How to measure current using a multimeter

In order that the multimeter does not alter the operation of the circuit when it is used to measure
current, the resistance of the meter must be as low as possible. For measurements of around an
amp, the resistance of a meter should be much less than an ohm. For example if a meter had a
resistance of one ohm, and a current of one amp was flowing, then it would develop a voltage of one
volt across it. For most measurements this would be unacceptably high. Therefore resistances of
meters used to measure current are normally very low.
How to measure current with an analogue multimeter
It is quite easy to use an analogue meter to measure electrical current. There are a few minor
differences in way that current measurements are made, but the same basic principles are used.

... analogue multimeters are also able to measure current easily and accurately....
When using the analogue multimeter it is possible to follow a number of simple steps:
1. Insert the probes into the correct connections - this is required because there may be a
number of different connections that can be used. Be sure to get the right connections as
there may be separate connections for very low or very high current ranges.
2. Set switch to the correct measurement type (i.e. to measure current) and range for the
measurement to be made. When selecting the range, ensure that the maximum for the
particular range chosen is above that anticipated. The range on the multimeter can be
reduced later if necessary. However by selecting a range that is too high, it prevents the
meter being overloaded and any possible damage to the movement of the meter itself.

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3. When taking the reading, optimise the range for the best reading. If possible adjust it so that
the maximum deflection of the meter can be gained. In this way the most accurate reading
will be gained.
4. Once the reading is complete, it is a wise precaution to place the probes into the voltage
measurement sockets and turn the range to maximum voltage position. In this way if the
meter is accidentally connected without thought for the range to be used, there is little
chance of damage to the meter. This may not be true if it left set for a current reading, and
the meter is accidentally connected across a high voltage point!

f) test diodes

What is a diode?
A diode is a semiconductor device that essentially acts as a one-way switch for current. It allows
current to flow easily in one direction, but severely restricts current from flowing in the opposite
direction.
Diodes are also known as rectifiers because they change alternating current (ac) into pulsating
direct current (dc). Diodes are rated according to their type, voltage, and current capacity.
Diodes have polarity, determined by an anode (positive lead) and cathode (negative lead). Most
diodes allow current to flow only when positive voltage is applied to the anode. A variety of diode
configurations are displayed in this graphic:

Diodes are available in various configurations. From left: metal case, stud mount, plastic case with
band, plastic case with chamfer, glass case.
When a diode allows current flow, it is forward-biased. When a diode is reverse-biased, it acts as
an insulator and does not permit current to flow.
Strange but true: The diode symbol's arrow points against the direction of electron flow. Reason:
Engineers conceived the symbol, and their schematics show current flowing from the positive (+)
side of the voltage source to the negative (-). It's the same convention used for semiconductor

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symbols that include arrows—the arrow points in the permitted direction of "conventional" flow, and
against the permitted direction of electron flow.

A digital multimeter's diode test diode produces a small voltage between the test leads enough to
forward-bias a diode junction. Normal voltage drop is 0.5 V to 0.8 V. The forward-biased resistance
of a good diode should range from 1000 ohms to 10 ohms. When reverse-biased, a digital
multimeter's display will read OL (which indicates very high resistance).

Diodes are assigned current ratings. If the rating is exceeded and the diode fails, it may short and
either a) allow current to flow in both directions or b) halt current from flowing in either direction.

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Clampmeter

Comparing clamp meters to digital multimeters

A digital multimeter is essentially a voltage-measuring tool with some current abilities. A clamp
meter is basically a current-measuring tool with some voltage abilities. They are distinctly different
instruments, each with its own advantages.
A digital multimeter (DMM) allows you to do electronic work because it offers high resolution,
measuring in milliunits—millivolts, milliamps and milliohms. It also allows you to do electrical
measurements, though current is usually limited to less than 20 amps. A digital multimeter,
however, can measure higher currents if a plug-in clamp accessory is attached.
A clamp meter usually measures to the nearest tenth or hundredth of a unit, rather than in the
milliunits available with a DMM. This is sufficient for electrical tasks.
Measuring situations
In years past, electricians used test probes rather than a clamp to measure current. A clamp allows
you to measure current without breaking the circuit and get a current reading.
In addition, a new generation of clamp meters utilizes flexible current probes, which Fluke calls
iFlex®. These Rogowski coil probes can squeeze between tightly packed wires or around large
conductors. They can be handy in a number of situations:
 Measuring an analog conveyor speed signal and the respective motor current simultaneously,
so you can calibrate the system for the required process flow.
 Monitoring solenoid output while monitoring input from the PLC, so you can test the
solenoid.
 Simultaneously measuring electronic voltages and electrical currents at a motor drive, to
troubleshoot line speed fluctuations.
 Monitoring feeder voltage and current simultaneously, to troubleshoot nuisance trips.
Simultaneous voltage and current measurements are part of troubleshooting. Yet you cannot do
simultaneous measurements with one meter unless you step up several price ranges into
equipment used for power quality work.
Effective troubleshooting often requires two meters, one to measure electrical current and one to
measure voltage. For electricians, a clamp meter is the most versatile diagnostic tool available.
Persons doing industrial troubleshooting, meanwhile, benefit from a separate clamp and DMM.
A cost-effective approach for many technicians is to buy one quality instrument designed primarily
for voltage (a DMM) and another tool primarily used for current (a clamp meter).
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The right combination of test equipment depends on the equipment you work on and the
measurements you make. With a clamp meter, for example, you might need a low-pass filter to
eliminate electronic interference that could distort readings.
Here are some general guidelines for deciding which tool might be right for you:
 Basic DMM: If your job requires only basic voltage and continuity measurements.
 High-end DMM: If your job involves power quality work. You’ll need the high resolution and
advanced features not found on clamp meters.
 Basic clamp meter: If you just need basic current measurements such as ensuring all three
phases on your feeders are pulling the same current.
 Logging clamp meter: If you have intermittent breaker trips that you need to resolve.
 DMM or clamp meter with a detachable display (which can be separated 30 feet from the
body of the clamp): If you want to take remote readings with greater safely and without
needing a coworker to assist you.
Advanced clamp meter: If you need to accurately measure motor inrush current. Also, if you need
a clamp meter with advanced signal processing to measure the output of a variable frequency drive.
Uses a live-line tester to determine whether equipment is live or dead
Dealing with electricity is a dangerous business. There is enough power available at a live wall
fixture to cause serious bodily harm and even death. Testing whether a fixture is live can be
accomplished with some commonly found electrical equipment and should be carried out before
performing any work on the fixture. Multimeters are a common tool that will display the voltage in a
circuit, indicating whether or not power is present in the line. If there is any doubt, consult an
electrician.

1. Turn on your multimeter and set it to measure voltage (V) under the alternating current (AC)
setting.
2. Test the meter. Before testing an unknown fixture, test a fixture that is known to be working.
There are two probes attached to the meter, one red (positive) and one black (negative). Set
the dial to measure AC voltage. Insert one probe into one of the vertical slots and the other
into the other vertical slot. When measuring AC voltage, it does not matter which probe is
inserted into which slot as the current is constantly alternating between positive and
negative. If the display screen reads between 110 and 120 volts, your meter is working
correctly.
Insert the probes of the meter into the unknown fixture. If voltage on the screen reads between 110
and 120 volts, the fixture is live. Alternatively, if the display reads "zero," either the fixture is not

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 OUR LADY OF TRIUMPH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Bañadero Highway, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines
Document Title:
ISO 9001:2015
COURSE MODULE IN
BASIC ELECTRICITY
connected to a functioning circuit breaker in the circuit panel or there may a loose or broken
connection somewhere between the circuit panel and the outlet. Call an electrician to find the
source of the problem.

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