Electrical Formulas, Explanations

ELECTRICAL FORMULAS AND EXPLANATIONS

APPENDIX CONTENTS

HEAT.........................................................................................................................................................2
Thermometer Scales...............................................................................................................................2
UNITS DERIVED FROM THE BASE ELECTRICAL UNIT (AMPERE).............................................2
RULES OF THUMB FOR ELECTRICAL MOTORS..............................................................................2
Horsepower Revolutions Per Minute - Torque.......................................................................................3
Shaft Size - Horsepower - Revolutions Per Minute................................................................................3
ELECTRICAL FORMULAS.....................................................................................................................4
Power......................................................................................................................................................5
Parallel Circuits.......................................................................................................................................5
Direct Current:........................................................................................................................................6
Single Phase:...........................................................................................................................................6
Three Phase............................................................................................................................................6
To Find Watts..........................................................................................................................................6
Capacitance (C)......................................................................................................................................7
Induction (L)...........................................................................................................................................7
Reactance................................................................................................................................................7
Impedance (Z).........................................................................................................................................8
Power factor (PF)...................................................................................................................................8
TRIGONOMETRY....................................................................................................................................8
POWER FACTOR CORRECTION TABLE:............................................................................................9
TRANSFORMER CALCULATIONS.......................................................................................................9
VOLTAGE AND CURRENT RELATIONSHIPS...................................................................................10
VOLTAGE AND COIL TURN RELATIONSHIPS.................................................................................10
AMPERES AND COIL TURN RELATIONSHIPS................................................................................10
RESISTOR COLOR CODE....................................................................................................................10
FULL-LOAD CURRENT IN AMPERES FOR DIRECT-CURRENT MOTORS..................................11
COMPARISON OF AC AND DC CURRENTS......................................................................................12
PREFIXES USED FOR SUBDIVISIONS AND MULTIPLES OF UNITS...........................................16

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

HEAT
Thermometer Scales
On the Fahrenheit (F) thermometer, the freezing point of water is marked at 32 degrees on the scale, and
the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure is marked at 2120. The distance between these points is
divided into 1800. On the Celsius © thermometer, the freezing point of water is marked at 00 on the scale,
and the boiling point of water is marked at 1000.
The following formulas are used for converting temperatures:
9 
DegreesFahrenheit =  × °C  + 32
5 
5
DegreesCelsius = ( ° F − 32)
9
UNITS DERIVED FROM THE BASE ELECTRICAL UNIT (AMPERE)

Measurement Derived Unit of Measurement Formula

Electrical Potential Volt (V) W
V =
A
Electrical Resistance Ohm (μ) V
µ=
A
Electrical Capacitance Farad (F) s
F = A  , s = seconds
V 
Quantity of Electricity Coulomb (C) C = As , s = seconds
Electrical Inductance Henry (H) Wb
H =
A
Magnetic Flux Weber (Wb) Wb Vs

RULES OF THUMB FOR ELECTRICAL MOTORS

Horsepower versus Amperes
Here are some simple ways to take the mystery out of determining several important factors concerning
electric motors. For example, using the following relationships, may be useful. For three-phase motors,
we find that approximately:
1 hp - 575 Volts requires 1 Amp of current
1hp - 460 Volts requires 1.25 Amps of current
1hp - 230 Volts requires 2.50 Amps of current
1hp - 2300 Volts requires 0.25 Amps of current

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

The key is 1 horsepower - 1 Amp on 575 Volts. All others then become a direct ratio of this figure, ie.,
575/460 times 1.0 equals 1.25 A for 1 hp required on 460 V. Now, for example, with these facts at hand,
you can say that a 150-hp motor on 230 V will require approximately 375 A. This is obtained as follows: 1
hp on 230 V requires 2.5 A per horsepower, so you simply multiply 2.5 times 150 hp.

Horsepower Revolutions Per Minute - Torque

Torque is simply a twisting force that causes rotation around a fixed point. For example, torque is
something we all experience every time we pass through a revolving door. Horsepower is what is required
when we pass through the door, because we are exercising torque at a certain revolution per minute
(r/min). The faster we go through the revolving door, the more horsepower is required. In this case, the
torque remains the same. In relating this concept to motors, we use this rule of thumb:
1 horsepower at 1800 revolution per minute delivers 3 ft-lb of torque
1 horsepower at 900 revolutions per minute delivers 6 ft-lb of torque
Using this simple rule, we can see that a 10-hp motor at 1800 r/min delivers 30 ft-lb of torque, and a 20-hp
motor at 1800 r/min delivers 60 ft-lb of torque.
In another example, a 1-hp motor at 1200 r/min delivers 4.5 ft-lb of torque. Here is how to figure this.
Multiply the torque at 1800 r/min by the ratio 1800/ 1200. Torque, then, is the inverse ratio of the speed.
In other words, SPEED DOWN—TORQUE UP for the same horsepower.
A quick estimate for the torque of a 125-hp, 600-r/min motor can be figured by the following procedure.
125 hp times 3 ft-lb equal 375 ft-lb of torque for a 125-hp motor at 1800 r/min. Now, to convert to 600
rpm, multiply 375 times 1800/600 rpm or 1125 ft-lb.
This gives a rule that will enable you to quickly determine the torque a motor is capable of delivering,
down to 10 rpm. Below this speed, other factors enter in that must be taken into consideration.

Shaft Size - Horsepower - Revolutions Per Minute

A number to remember here is 1150. This is easy to remember, and it stands for this: A 1-inch diameter
shaft can transmit 1 hp at 50 rpm. As the shaft speed goes up, so does the horsepower, and by the same
ratio. Therefore, if you double the speed, you double the horsepower capacity of the shaft. However,
when you double the shaft diameter, the capacity of the shaft to transmit horsepower is increased 8 times.
Thus, whatever the shaft size is in inches, cube it and multiply the resultant figure by the proper speed
ratio, and the horsepower-transmitting ability of the shaft is determined. However, it is advisable to be
conservative, so modify the results by 75% and use this resulting figure. To express this in a formula, use
the following:
ShaftDiameterInInches × RPM
ShaftHorsepower =
50

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

2
E
R
R× I P
2
R× I I
E×I P×R
P E
P I R E
R I
P E2
E E P
2 P
R I
OHMS LAW CHART
ELECTRICAL FORMULAS
The rate of the flow of the current is equal to electromotive force divided by resistance.
Electromotive force = volts = “E”
Current = amperes = “I”
Resistance = ohms = “R”
Volts
Amperes =
Ohms
The resistance of a copper wire one foot long and one circular mil in cross sectional area has a voltage
drop of approximately 10.8 ohms.
A series circuit is a circuit that has only one path through which the electrons may flow.
E E
Ohms Law (see ohms law chart) equals E = I × R , I = ,R =
R I

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

Rule 1: The total current in a series circuit is equal to the current in any other part of the circuit.
I T = I 1 = I 2 = I 3 =  I ETC
Rule 2: The total voltage in a series circuit is equal to the sum of the voltages across all parts of the
circuit.
ET = E1 + E 2 + E3 +  E ETC .
Rule 3: The total resistance of a series circuit is equal to the sum of the resistance’s of all the parts of the
circuit.
RT = R1 + R2 + R3 +  R ETC

Power
WATTS P P
AMPERES = OR I = OR Amperes = I = where P= Watts and R= Ohms
VOLTS E R
WATTS = VOLTS × AMPERES OR P = E × I
One electrical “horsepower” = 746 watts, electrical motors are rated in horsepower
One kilowatt = 1000 watts, generators are rated in kilowatts

Parallel Circuits
A parallel circuit is a circuit that has more than one path through which the electrons may flow.
Rule 1: The total current in a parallel circuit is equal to the sum of the currents in all the branches of the
circuit.
I T = I 1 + I 2 + I 3 +  I ETC .
Rule 2: The total voltage across any branch in parallel is equal to the voltage across any other branch and
is also equal to the total voltage.
ET = E1 = E 2 = E 3 =  E ETC
Rule 3: The total resistance in a parallel circuit is found by applying ohms law to the total values of the
circuit.
1 1 1 1 1
= + + +
RT R 1 R 2 R 3 R ETC
Notes:
In a parallel circuit, the total resistance is always less than the resistance of any branch.
If the branches of a parallel circuit have different resistance values, then each will draw a different current.
In either a series circuit or a parallel circuit, the larger the resistance, the smaller the current drawn.

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

Direct Current:
horsepower × 746 hp × 746
Amperes = or I =
volts × efficiency E × % Eff
kilowatts × 1000 KW × 1000
Amperes = or I =
Volts E
Volts × Amperes × Efficiency
Horsepower =
746

Single Phase:
Kilowatts × 1000 P
Amperes = or I =
Volts × PowerFactor E × PF
horsepower × 746
Amperes =
volts × efficiency × PowerFactor
Volts × Amperes × Efficiency × PowerFactor
Horsepower =
746

Three Phase
Watts Kilowatts × 1000
Amperes = or Amperes =
Volts × 1.73 × PowerFactor Volts × PowerFactor × 1.73
Horsepower × 746
Amperes =
Volts × Efficiency × PowerFactor × 1.73
Kilovoltamperes × 1000
Amperes =
Volts × 1.73
Volts × Amperes × Efficiency × PowerFactor × 1.73
Horsepower =
746
ThreePhaseCurrent × 1.73 = SinglePhaseCurrent

To Find Watts
The electrical power in any part of a circuit is equal to the current in that part multiplied by the voltage
across that part of the circuit.
The Watt is the power used when one volt causes one ampere to flow in a circuit.
One horsepower is the amount of energy required to lift 33,000 pounds, one foot, in one minute. The
electrical equivalent of one horsepower is 745.6 watts. One watt is the amount of energy required to lift
44.26 pounds, one foot, in one minute. Watts is power, and power is the amount of work done in a given
time.
Volts 2
Power (Watts ) = Volts × Amps or Power (Watts ) =
Re sisi tan ce( Ohms )

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

Capacitance (C)
Q Coulombs
C= =
E Volts
Capacitance is the property of a circuit or body that permits it to store an electrical charge equal to the
accumulated charge divided by the voltage. Expressed in FARADS. Farads are a very large number, so
microfarads are often used more.
Capacitance total for series circuits
1 1 1 1 1
= + + +
CT C1 C 2 C 3 C etc
Capacitance total for parallel circuits
CT = C1 + C 2 + C 3 + C etc

Induction (L)
Induction is the production of magnetization of electrification in a body by the proximity of a magnetic
field or electric charge, or the electric current in a conductor by the variation of the magnetic field in its
vicinity. The henry is the unit of inductance. A variation of a current at the rate of one ampere per second
induces an electromotive force of one volt.
Formula to find total inductance for coils in series
LT = L1 + L2 + L3 +  LETC
Formula to find total inductance for coils in parallel
1 1 1 1 1
= + + +
LT L1 L2 L3 Letc

Reactance
Reactance in a circuit is the opposition to an alternating current caused by inductance and capacitance. It
is equal to the difference between Capacitive and inductive reactance, expressed in ohms.
Inductive reactance XL
Inductive reactance is that element of reactance in a circuit caused by self-inductance.
X L = 2 × 3.1416 × Frequency × Induca tan ce or simply X L = 2πFL = 6.28 FL
Capacitive reactance XC
Capacitive reactance is that element of reactance in a circuit caused by capacitance.
1 1 1
XC = XC = =
2 × 3.1416 × Frequency × Capaci tan ce or
2πFC 6.28 FC

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

Impedance (Z)
Impedance is the total opposition to an alternating current presented by a circuit (OHMS). Total AC
resistance.
E Volts
Z= = , Im pedance( Z ) = R 2 + ( X L − X C ) 2
I Amperes

Power factor (PF)

Power factor (Pf) equals the cosine, where θ is the angle is either lead or lag.
TruePower P R
PF = = =
ApparentPower EI Z

TRIGONOMETRY
Trigonometry is the mathematics dealing with the relations of sides and angles of triangles. A triangle is a
figure enclosed by three straight sides. The sum of the three angles is 180 degrees. All triangles have six
parts: three angles and three sides opposite the angles. Right triangles are triangles that have one angle of
ninety degrees and two angles of less than ninety degrees.
OppositeSide
Sineθ =
Hypotenuse
AdjacentSide
CoSineθ =

OPPOSITE SIDE
Hypotenuse
OppositeSide
Tangentθ =
AdjacentSide 60º

AdjacentSide HYPOTENUSE
CoTangentθ =
OppositeSide
Hypotenuse “Y”
Secantθ =
AdjacentSide 30º ADJACENT SIDE 90º
“X”
Hypotenuse
CoSecantθ = ALWAYS PLACE THE ANGLE TO BE SOLVED AT
OppositeSide THE VERTEX (WHERE “X” AND “Y” CROSS).

Note: θ = Theta = any angle

Remember: SOHCAHTOA, Sine, opposite, hypotenuse, cosine, adjacent, hypotenuse, tangent,
opposite, adjacent.

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

POWER FACTOR CORRECTION TABLE:

Table values x KW load = KVA of capacitors needed to correct from existing to desired power factor.
EXISTING CORRECTED POWER FACTOR
POWER
FACTOR % 100 % 95 % 90 % 85 % 80 % 75 %

50 1.732 1.403 1.247 1.112 0.982 0.850

52 1.643 1.314 1.158 1.023 0.893 0.761
54 1.558 1.229 1.073 0.938 0.808 0.676
55 1.518 1.189 1.033 0.898 0.768 0.636
56 1.479 1.150 0.994 0.859 0.729 0.597
58 1.404 1.075 0.919 0.784 0.654 0.522
60 1.333 1.004 0.848 0.713 0.583 0.451
62 1.265 0.936 0.780 0.645 0.515 .0383
64 1.201 0.872 0.716 0.581 0.451 0.319
65 1.168 0.839 0.683 0.548 0.418 0.286
66 1.139 0.810 0.654 0.519 0.389 0.257
68 1.078 0.749 0.593 0.458 0.328 0.196
70 1.020 0.691 0.535 0.400 0.270 0.138
72 0.964 0.635 0.479 0.344 0.214 0.082
74 0.909 0.580 0.424 0.289 0.159 0.027
75 0.882 0.553 0.397 0.262 0.132
76 0.855 0.526 0.370 0.235 0.105
78 0.802 0.473 0.317 0.182 0.052
80 0.750 0.421 0.265 0.130
82 0.698 0.369 0.213 0.078
84 0.646 0.317 0.161
85 0.620 0.291 0.135
86 0.594 0.265 0.109
88 0.540 0.211 0.055
90 0.485 0.156
92 0.426 0.097
94 0.363 0.034
95 0.329

TRANSFORMER CALCULATIONS
Primary winding = (p) and Secondary winding = (s)
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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

Power (p) = Power (s) minus inefficiencies (iron loss, hysteresis, eddy currents)
Transformers are very efficient devices usually 99% plus.

VOLTAGE AND CURRENT RELATIONSHIPS

E P × I P = E S − I S minus the inefficiencies.

ES × I S ES × I S EP × I P EP × I P
EP = , IP = , IS = , ES =
IP EP ES IS

VOLTAGE AND COIL TURN RELATIONSHIPS

Voltage( p ) × Turns ( s) = Voltage( s) × Turns ( p)
E S × TP E S × TP E P × TS E P × TS
EP = , TS = , TP = , ES =
TS EP ES TP

AMPERES AND COIL TURN RELATIONSHIPS

I S × TS I S × TS I P × TP I P × TP
IP = , TP = , TS = , IS =
TP IP IS TS

RESISTOR COLOR CODE

First band = first significant digit
Second band = second digit
Third digit = multiplier
Fourth digit = percent tolerance
0 = black, 1 = brown, 2 = red, 3 = orange, 4 = yellow, 5 = green, 6 = blue, 7 = violet, 8 = gray, 9 = white,
+ 5% gold, +10% silver, +20% no color

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

FULL-LOAD CURRENT IN AMPERES FOR DIRECT-CURRENT MOTORS

HP 90V 120V 180V 240V 500V 550V

0.25 4.0 3.1 2.0 1.5 ----- -----
0.33 6.2 4.1 2.5 2.0 ----- -----
0.50 6.8 6.4 3.4 2.7 ----- -----
0.75 9.6 7.6 4.8 3.8 ----- -----
1 12.2 9.5 6.1 4.7 ----- -----
1.5 ----- 13.2 8.3 6.6 ----- -----
2 ----- 17 10.8 8.6 ----- -----
3 ----- 25 16 12.2 ----- -----
6 ----- 40 27 20 ----- -----
7.5 ----- 58 ----- 29 13.6 12.2
10 ----- 76 ----- 38 18 16
15 ----- ----- ----- 55 27 24
20 ----- ----- ----- 72 34 31
25 ----- ----- ----- 89 43 38
30 ----- ----- ----- 105 51 46
40 ----- ----- ----- 140 87 61
50 ----- ----- ----- 173 83 76
60 ----- ----- ----- 206 99 90
75 ----- ----- ----- 266 123 111
100 ----- ----- ----- 341 164 148
126 ----- ----- ----- 425 205 186
160 ----- ----- ----- 506 246 222
200 ----- ----- ----- 675 330 294

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

COMPARISON OF AC AND DC CURRENTS

Alternating current or AC is defined as follows.
Alternating current is an electrical flow of electrons that is constantly changing in amplitude (amount of
electron flow, size, or magnitude of current) and is periodically changing direction. Just what this mean?
As you know, current supplied by a battery is direct current. This means that the current flows in one
direction only: from negative to positive. Therefore, it is unidirectional. Alternating current on the other
hand, is bi-directional, that is, the electrons flow first in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
The voltage that produces this change in current flow does not change polarity instantaneously. Starting at
zero, it increases to a maximum amplitude of one polarity and then decreases to zero. It then increases to a
maximum amplitude of the opposite polarity and again decreases to zero. This produces a current flow,
which reverses direction and is continuously changing in amplitude. Thus, the number of electrons flowing
changes from zero to maximum, back to zero, to maximum in the opposite direction, and back to zero
again.
Since it takes time for the current to build up and to decrease, we can show a curve (illustration)
representing this changing current by plotting a graph of the current in relation to time. Such a curve is
shown in the following figure.

TIME

AC Sine Wave Terminology: Notice that the horizontal line representing zero divides the sine wave into
two equal parts - one above the line and the other below it. The portion above the line represents the
positive alternation of an alternating current. The portion below the line represents the negative
alternation. Notice that the wave reaches its maximum swing from the zero reference line at 90 degrees
and 270 degrees. Each of these points is called the peak of the sine wave. When we speak of the
amplitude of a sine wave, we mean the maximum swing, height, or size of one of the alternations at its
peak. These terms apply to either current or voltage and are important to remember. As an example,
suppose you have a sine wave with an amplitude of four centimeters; that is, the peak of the sine wave is
four centimeters from the zero reference line. Let us also suppose that each centimeter of deflection
represents ten volts. Knowing these facts, you can find the amplitude of the voltage that the sine wave
represents by multiplying the number of centimeters by the value of voltage each represents (4 x 10 = 40).
Thus, you can find the peak amplitude is 40 volts.
This curve is identical to one produced by plotting the sine values of a vector rotated through 360 degrees.
Therefore, we call it a sine -wave. The form or shape of the sine wave can represent either alternating vol-
tage or alternating current. Let us examine an AC sine wave in greater detail, using the following figure.

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

PEAK

POSITIVE
AMPLITUDE
PEAK TO 360º
PEAK 0
0º 90º 180º
270º
NEGATIVE
AMPLITUDE

PEAK

POSITIVE NEGATIVE
ALTERNATION ALTERNATION

Next, let us take the term: peak-to-peak. This term, as you can see in the above figure, represents the
difference in value between the positive and negative peaks of a sine wave. Of course, this is equal to
twice the peak value: E pk-pk = 2 E pk. Why is this so important? There is one reason.
Suppose that when you were finding the amplitude of a sine wave, as you did in the previous problem,
there was no zero reference time and the positive and negative peaks of the sine wave were five
centimeters apart. It would be difficult to determine the exact zero reference. Therefore, it would be hard
to obtain an accurate peak displacement of the sine wave. However, by using the peak-to-peak value and
dividing it by two, you obtain the accurate amplitude. The peak-to-peak value is 50 volts (5 x 10 = 50).
The peak value is 25 volts (50 + 2 = 25).
Since the amplitude of a sine wave varies continuously between zero and maximum (peak) values, first in
one direction and then in the other, the peak value is not too useful in describing the value of a voltage or
current. A more useful value is the effective value. The effective value of alternating current is the amount
of AC, which produces the same heating effect as an equal amount of DC. Since the heating effect of a
quantity of current is proportional to the square of the current, it is possible to calculate the effective value
of alternating current by squaring the values of all points on a sine wave, taking the average of these
values, and extracting the square root. The effective value is, thus, the root of the mean (average) square
of these values. Therefore, it is also known as the “root-mean-square,” or RMS value. When we speak of
household voltage as having a value of 110 volts, we mean that it has an effective or RMS value of 110
volts.
The number .707 is the root of the mean square of the values of a sine wave. This means that the effective
value of a voltage or current is .707 times the maximum or peak value.
E effective = 0.707 × E peak or E peak = 1.414 × E effective
Therefore, if a since wave had a peak amplitude of 10 volts, the effective voltage would be 7.07 volts (.707
x 10 = 7.07). The reciprocal of .707 is 1.414. Therefore, if you know the effective value of a voltage, you
can find the peak value by multiplying the effective value by 1.414.
Another value in a sine wave that is important to know is the average value. This is the average value of
all points in the positive alternation. The relationship between, the average, effective, and peak values is
shown in the following formula:
E average = 0.636 × E peak = 0.9 × E effective
As you can see, average voltage is equal to .636 of the peak or maximum voltage and .9 of the effective

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

voltage. The reciprocal of .9 is 1.11. Therefore, the effective voltage is 1.11 times the average voltage.
E effective = 1.11 × E average
Now, let us go back to the sine wave and learn some additional terms, using Figure 1A-3 (on next page).
As we stated before, alternating current is periodically reversing direction. We call two consecutive
alternations, one positive, and one negative, a cycle. We often refer to the positive and negative
alternations as half cycles. In describing the sine wave, we could say that during the positive half cycle, it
rises from zero to maximum and then falls back to zero, and that during the negative half cycle, it drops to
a maximum negative value and then returns to zero.
We also stated earlier that the alternations of AC do not happen instantaneously. They take time. For
example, household current is usually sixty cycles per second. This means that a single cycle requires a
period of time equal to one-sixtieth of a second. The term period is used to define the time of one cycle of
alternating current. Another term having the same meaning as time and period is duration. Let us see how
each of these terms could be used when speaking of household current. We could say, “The duration of
one cycle is one-sixtieth of a second”; or, “One cycle has a period of one-sixtieth of a second”; or, “One-
sixtieth of a second is the time of one cycle.” As you can see, all three terms can be used in each of the
statements without changing the meaning.
All alternating current does not have a period of one-sixtieth of a second. The period of a commonly used
current in aircraft (for example) is one-four-hundredth of a second. This means that in one second there
are four hundred complete cycles. The difference in the number of cycles per second of household current
and aircraft current brings up a new term - frequency. The frequency of any AC is the number of cycles
that occur in one second. The frequency of household current is sixty cycles per second. The frequency of
aircraft current is four hundred
ONE CYCLE
cycles per second.
As you can see in the figure, there is FULL CYCLE
a definite relationship the period of
an alternating current and the PERIOD

frequency of the current. Notice

TWO CYCLES
that sine wave A has a period that is
twice the period of sine wave B and POSITIVE NEGATIVE
its frequency is only one-half the HALF CYCLE HALF CYCLE
frequency of sine wave B. It is PERIOD TIME DURATION PERIOD
important to remember that, as the
period of time for one cycle becomes ADDITIONAL SINE RELATIONSHIP OF
shorter, the frequency increases. WAVE TERMINOLOGY PERIOD TO FREQUENCY

In electronics, sixty cycles and four hundred cycles per second are relatively low frequencies. When we
talk of frequencies in the thousands or millions, it becomes awkward and cumbersome to use cycles as a
standard measuring term. Therefore, when we speak of frequencies in the thousands, we use the term
kilocycles; and when we speak of frequencies in the millions, we use the term megacycles. You no doubt
have heard these terms on radio and television when the announcer identifies the station. The term kilo
means thousand. The term mega stands for million. Therefore, kilocycle means a thousand cycles and
megacycle means a million cycles.

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 Electrical Formulas, Explanations

When we speak of a frequency of 10 kilocycles, we mean that there are 10,000 cycles per second. When
we speak of a frequency of 600 megacycles, we are speaking of 600,000,000 cycles per second. After
learning these terms, you can easily see how much simpler it is to use them when referring to high
frequencies. It’s like using miles in place of feet when measuring long distances.
Since the period of a cycle becomes smaller as the frequency increases, we not only need new terms for
very high values, but we also need new terms for very small values. Therefore, we use the prefixes milli
and micro when we talk of a thousandth or a millionth part of something. When we talk of a thousandth of
a second, we say millisecond. We use microsecond when we talk of a millionth of a second.
Now, let us go back to the sine wave and take up a few more points that we should know when working in
electronics. An AC sine wave is a pictorial presentation of alternating current. It shows the direction of
current by rising above, and dropping below, the zero reference line. The current reverses direction at the
zero reference line at the beginning of each half cycle. There are two current reversals in each cycle.
Since the frequency of an AC is the number of cycles per second, we can find the number of current
reversals in an AC by multiplying the frequency by two. A sixty-cycle current has one-hundred-twenty
current reversals per second (60 x 2 = 120). A sine wave can represent either current or voltage. Since
voltage is used to produce current, let us compare the sine waves in a different way than we have before
Sine Wave Phase Relationship
This figure shows three sine waves. The top wave A
VOLTAGE
represents voltage. The two other waves represent 0
the current produced by the voltage represented by
the top wave.
Notice that the voltage sine wave A and the current
sine wave B move together. That is, they start at B
zero, rise to maximum at ninety degrees, return to CURRENT
zero at one-hundred eighty degrees, and repeat the 0 IN PHASE
same action in the negative half cycle. As the two
sine waves go through all phases of the cycle
together, we say that they are in-phase. We do not
limit the use of this term to just the voltage and the
current produced by the voltage. We also speak of CURRENT OUT
0 OF PHASE
two alternating voltages or two alternating currents,
which rise and fall together as being in-phase. C
Current is in-phase with the voltage only in circuits,
which are purely resistive. There are certain 0º 90º 180º 270º 360º
electrical components (inductive or capacitive)
which affect the phase relationship in AC circuits. Whenever one of these components is included in a
circuit, an out-of-phase relationship exists between current and voltage. An out-of-phase relationship
exists any time that the waves do not move simultaneously. This out-of-phase relationship can be seen by
comparing sine wave A and sine wave C shown in Figure above.
As you can see, the current sine wave is maximum negative when the voltage sine wave is zero at the start
of the positive half cycle. It reaches zero when the voltage goes maximum positive, and it reaches
maximum positive ninety degrees later at the time that the voltage is zero. When describing this
relationship, we say that the current lags the voltage by ninety degrees. If the action of the current sine
wave occurs before that of the voltage, we say that the current leads the voltage.

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Electrical Formulas, Explanations

PREFIXES USED FOR SUBDIVISIONS AND MULTIPLES OF UNITS

MULTIPLE PREFIX SYMBOL

1018 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 exa E

1015 1,000,000,000,000,000 peta P
1012 1,000,000,000,000 tera T
109 1,000,000,000 giga G
106 1,000,000 mega M
103 1000 kilo K
102 100 hecto h*
101 10 deka da*
10-1 .1 deci d*
10-2 .01 centi c*
10-3 .001 milli M
10-6 .000001 micro Μ
10-9 .000000001 nano N
10-12 .000000000001 pico P
10-15 .000000000000001 femto F
10-18 .000000000000000001 atto a
Note: the * means to avoid using this wherever possible.

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