A VERY VERY Basic Primer on Electricity

[KABQ]

I work at the regional power grid level and a fun fact is you can increase the flow on a transmission line by putting a capacitor in series with it. Being able to increase flow on something by essentially putting an airgap in line with it proves that AC power is magic

Neat! I learned something today! The instructor for my first electricity course described it similarly: PFM, or pure effing magic. It's a phrase I use to this day

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[Leadville]

. . . I've decided to post a VERY VERY basic explanation of how electricity works . . .

What's all the trouble ?
Just lookup Maxwell's Equations

Everything else is intuitively obvious

 

[Ground_zero298]

I use to cheat off forrest gump on test days when we were younger. Gonna need a visual on where the cord plugs into the garden hose please. Having a hard time figuring out how you got the electricity in it? Is it more economical than a standard extension cord? So in theory I could turn my creek into a power strip others could just throw a cord end into to share power? And what size garden hose do you recommend for 20 amps? I can’t find a hose/amp size chart on the internet.

 

[LockedBronco]

After witnessing a petty argument that almost totally jacked an interesting thread (here: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/alternator-upgrade.61514/), I've decided to post a VERY VERY basic explanation of how electricity works. The math is easy and this will not make you an expert, but it will make you look really smart in front of your friends who have no idea how to visualize electricity.

Since electricity is usually invisible (unless you've made a huge mistake), it's difficult to visualize what it's doing and how it works. To keep this really simple I'm only going to discuss volts, amps, watts, and ohms.

First, let's get the simple math out of the way since it establishes the relationship between these measurements. I won't discuss Ohm's law, but if you're still interested after reading this there are some really good explainers online. For our basic purposes the math is this simple: Watts=Volts*Amps.

There are several ways to visualize electricity, but this example is what worked best for me when I was learning to be an aircraft mechanic. At its most basic, electricity can be visualized as water flowing through a hose. In this example volts are the amount of water pressure, or how hard the electrons are being pushed through the circuit. Current (amperes, or amps for short) is the volume or flow of water through the circuit. Resistance (ohms) is the size of the hose such that a smaller hose resists the flow of water. Power (watts) is the amount of work that water can perform, such as turning a water wheel.

Let's make that water wheel move. We hook up our hose to the bib and point it at the wheel, and the water makes it turn. How can we make it turn faster or increase power (watts)? Let's say our standard hose makes 4 watts with 2 volts at 2 amps. That's 2V*2A=4W

One way is to increase the pressure by raising voltage. Now the water comes out faster and speeds up the wheel. Let's double our voltage by increasing the pressure while leaving everything else the same: 4V*2A=8W. Our water wheel is doing twice the work!

Another way is to dump more water onto the wheel by using a larger hose, which has less resistance (ohms) and increases current (amps). Let's double our current (amps) by using a hose that moves double the volume of water without increasing water pressure (volts): 2V*4A=8W. Again, our wheel is doing twice the work! (I know, I know, I'm really oversimplifying this by leaving poor Georg Ohm out of it)

I have to get back to work, so I'm going to leave it at that. Feel free to add to or clarify this analogy, or ask away if you have questions. There are a lot of really smart people on here who can help where I didn't!

Hopefully this helps those who had little or no understanding of electricity. For those who DO get it this wasn't really for you, but it might save you from a dumb argument on the internet.

Doing diagnostics always looked at voltage, amps and resistance.
How does wattage fit into automotive?
Always thought of it as a household appliance thing.

 

[Duke460]

 

[helifino16]

Now that you've got that figured out - tell me what's going on here:

(lol)

 

[IDyeti]

Now that you've got that figured out - tell me what's going on here:

(lol)

Bronco II electrical diagram eh?

 

[Huntsetter1]

And this my friends is why I am in sales

 

[KABQ]

Doing diagnostics always looked at voltage, amps and resistance.
How does wattage fit into automotive?
Always thought of it as a household appliance thing.

The argument that prompted this was about an inverter. You're right that power isn't really used in diagnostics or troubleshooting.

 

[KABQ]

Now that you've got that figured out - tell me what's going on here:

(lol)

That's not bad. It's just the starter, ammeter, fuel injectors, a bunch of sensors, and a few switches. Even a Cessna 172 has more going on than that

(Yes I know it breaks out into other diagrams that make up the rest of the system)

 

[helifino16]

That's not bad. It's just the starter, ammeter, fuel injectors, a bunch of sensors, and a few switches. Even a Cessna 172 has more going on than that

Show-off!

 

[604Bronco]

Talking about making this visual but there's a bunch of words. Joking aside good post OP.

This should come with a warning label that water and electricity don’t mix…

Good visual though!

 

[Phil]

 

[KABQ]

I use to cheat off forrest gump on test days when we were younger. Gonna need a visual on where the cord plugs into the garden hose please. Having a hard time figuring out how you got the electricity in it? Is it more economical than a standard extension cord? So in theory I could turn my creek into a power strip others could just throw a cord end into to share power? And what size garden hose do you recommend for 20 amps? I can’t find a hose/amp size chart on the internet.

If you want to take the metaphor literally, we've been turning water into electricity for a long time...

 

[TNcoupe]

If you want to take the metaphor literally, we've been turning water into electricity for a long time...

Yall want me to get into how we turn Uranium 235 into electricity?

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