- #1
ldefeo1
- 6
- 0
hi there I am a mech eng second year student and i have some electrical modules that i have to do though i just don't have much of a intuitive feel for it like i do for mechanical stuff. anyway some stuff i really should know but dont.
1) ac circuits. these as a whole confuse me, my understanding of electricity is that electrons have a a certain amount of potential (voltage) and they deliver it to loads unpon moving through it, at least in the case of direct current. though in ac circuits the current direction changes constantly. how they do electrons deliver their energy to the load? looking at it from an intuitive point of view it just seems like the electrons are oscillating about a fixed point not moving anywhere?
2) Q=IT ok i learned this is about 5 years ago but yeh current is rate of flow of charge. Now I am assuming the speed of electricity, or should i say the movement of electrons is a constant (the speed of light?) then how does this happen. I am trying to picture a wire and how move electrons can Physically move through it per second.
3) electrical power distribution/ the grid - ok so if i turn my kettle right now it draws current from the grid. so its like power is just available when its required. this is bit confusing as the power station obviously isn't just generating more electricity as I've turned my kettle on. so what's going on. there must be a surplus energy in the wire or something, the station generate slightly more than that is require or something but how can it be 'stored' or whatever in the grid. meh can someone help? maybe actually understanding ac theory might help with this.
cheers guys
1) ac circuits. these as a whole confuse me, my understanding of electricity is that electrons have a a certain amount of potential (voltage) and they deliver it to loads unpon moving through it, at least in the case of direct current. though in ac circuits the current direction changes constantly. how they do electrons deliver their energy to the load? looking at it from an intuitive point of view it just seems like the electrons are oscillating about a fixed point not moving anywhere?
2) Q=IT ok i learned this is about 5 years ago but yeh current is rate of flow of charge. Now I am assuming the speed of electricity, or should i say the movement of electrons is a constant (the speed of light?) then how does this happen. I am trying to picture a wire and how move electrons can Physically move through it per second.
3) electrical power distribution/ the grid - ok so if i turn my kettle right now it draws current from the grid. so its like power is just available when its required. this is bit confusing as the power station obviously isn't just generating more electricity as I've turned my kettle on. so what's going on. there must be a surplus energy in the wire or something, the station generate slightly more than that is require or something but how can it be 'stored' or whatever in the grid. meh can someone help? maybe actually understanding ac theory might help with this.
cheers guys