Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability U.S. Department of Energy DOE/OE-0017
A list of common industry terms can be found in Appendix E of the document.
Electric power was first generated, sold, and distributed locally to urban customers in the 1870s and 1880s in small, local power plants and distributed via DC circuits. Several voltage levels were distributed depending on the customer's needs. DC power systems struggled to expand due to high costs of construction and operation. The first large AC generation station was constructed at Niagra Falls towards the end of the 19th century.
Energy, including electrical energy (electrical potential/circuit voltage) cannot be created nor destroyed. Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831, finding that current and voltage in a circuit were spontaneously induced in the presence of a changing magentic field. Modern electric generators utilize this fact: turbine engines spin or rotate magents around coils of conductive wiring to induce alternating currents and voltages capable of performing work over time, also known as power.
Basic Electricity Definitions:
- Current, I
- The flow rate of charge; measured in Amperes, A
- Voltage, V
- The electromotive force, or electrical pressure applied to electrons, forcing flow of charge through the circuit, or path; measured in Volts, V
- Energy, E (E = P * time)
- Stored work; measured in Joules, J
- Power, P (P = IV)
- The rate at which energy changes form or location. The work performed, or energy conversion, in a unit of time; measured in Watts, W (Joules/second)
Electrical power flow is instantaneous, finite, and goverend by the electromagnetic properties of the materials that make up the electrical grid. Circuits establish a path for power to flow, and protective elements including fuses, breakers, relays, and capacitors help to contorl this flow.
Practical Engineering
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Testing