Questions tagged [power]

Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt (one joule per second). Use this tag where power is a primary concern for the design under discussion. Use the "low-power" tag when that applies.

Power is the rate of energy consumption, transfer, or storage. In general, power can be divided into real (or active) power and reactive power. Real power measures energy that is used to do useful work or lost as heat. Reactive power measures energy that is temporarily stored, generally in capacitance and inductance, before being returned to the grid. The combination of the two is complex power.

Reactive power is generally considered undesirable, as it is not used for useful work, but increases the design requirement of the transmission system.

Units of real power are watts (joules per second). Units of reactive power are VARs (volt-amp reactive). Units of complex power are VA (volt-amps).

See for questions on converting power.

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What is the difference between \$V_{CC}\$, \$V_{DD}\$, \$V_{EE}\$, \$V_{SS}\$

I've seen lots of schematics use \$V_{CC}\$ and \$V_{DD}\$ interchangeably. I know \$V_{CC}\$ and \$V_{DD}\$ are for positive voltage, and \$V_{SS}\$ and \$V_{EE}\$ are for ground, but what is the difference between each of the two? Do the \$C\$,…
Shubham
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How much current can I draw from the Arduino's pins?

What's the maximum amount of current which I can draw from each of the Arduino's pins without tripping any of the internal fuses? Is there a limit per pin as well as an overall limit for the whole board?
berry120
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Decoupling capacitors: what size and how many?

Lots of chips nowadays require smoothing capacitors between VCC and GND for proper function. Given that my projects run at all sorts of different voltage and current levels, I was wondering if anyone had any rules of thumb for a) how many and b)…
jeremy
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Can I replace all electrolytic capacitors with ceramic?

I am designing the power supply circuit for a system that needs several supplies, my questions are: Is it possible to replace all electrolytic caps (Mostly 100uF) by ceramic ones? What are the limitations of ceramic? Should I use a 2x voltage rating…
Abdella
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What exactly fries the chip when you invert power supply?

From my own experience, burning microcontrollers is quite easy. Put the 5V at ground, GND at V CC and in an instant your chip is burned. What exactly goes on internally that causes it to stop functioning entirely? For instance, if I were magically…
triplebig
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What is the practical difference between watts and VA (volt-amps)?

I have seen one inverter rated at 300W, and another at 300VA. What is the practical difference between them, if any?
Thomas O
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Can an Android tablet serve as USB Host and be charged simultaneously through a single port?

A number of Android tablets are powered through the Micro B USB port but also provide USB Host support through the same port (e.g. Motorola Xoom 2, Acer A510/700). I need to be able to use USB Host support while charging, at the full power the…
John Beatty
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What does this symbol mean on my Samsung travel adapter?

The charger was bought in Austria two years ago, and I know about all symbols/labels except this one. Google reverse image search did not help.
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Does turning a lighbulb on and off repeatedly use more energy than just leaving it on for hours?

Let's say I have a 60W bulb in a lamp in my bedroom. If I kept the lamp on for 2 hours straight but the next day, I switched it on and off 10 times in intervals of 5 minutes. Which scenario would use more energy?
Christopher Chipps
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What's the reason to make power supplies external?

Many years ago most electronic devices had internal power supplies only - there was a mains voltage cable running into the unit where mains AC would be converted and distributed for consumption. That was typical for shavers, TV sets, monitors,…
sharptooth
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Why aren’t the main conductors in this underground power cable made from copper?

I’ve found a piece of electrical cable left by the electricity company that supplies the area. They did a repair recently underground. I’m curious why the three big triangular conductors aren’t made from copper. It looks like aluminium to me, but…
i-CONICA
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Why do CPUs need so much current?

I know that a simple CPU (like Intel or AMD) can consume 45-140 W and that many CPUs operate at 1.2 V, 1.25 V, etc. So, assuming a CPU operating at 1.25 V and having TDP of 80 W... it uses 64 Amps (a lot of amps). Why does a CPU need more than 1 A…
Leonardo Bosquett
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How is wristwatch with 10 years battery life possible?

Turns out Casio offers a handful of wristwatches with "10 year battery life" . The claim is that thanks to "an advanced technology" the battery life in those watches is extended to ten years. Now if you look at different models you see that they are…
sharptooth
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How does a USB C port provide the power to charge laptops?

I've heard about laptops such as the new Chromebooks that are charged via a wall charger that connects to a USB-C port. I'm quite happy that this will supposedly standardize laptop chargers but I'm a little unclear about how this works. Existing USB…
anon
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Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V?

Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? What are the advantages? Explain me with calculation. Why do they use different frequencies like 50Hz, 60Hz? What is the reason?
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