10-21

It canalsobewritten:
R1
R2
11
12
A1
A2

If we have a conductor that is 1 meter long with a
cross-sectional areaof 1 mm
2
andhasaresistanceof
0.017ohm, what istheresistanceof 50mof wirefrom
thesame material but with a cross-sectional area of
0.25 mm
2
?
R1
R2
11
12
A1
A2

R
2

50m
1m

1mm
2
0.25mm
2
While the SystemInternational (SI) units are com-
monly usedin theanalysisof electriccircuits, electrical
conductorsin North Americaarestill beingmanufac-
tured usingthefoot astheunit length andthemil (one
thousandth of an inch) as theunit of diameter. Before
usingtheequation R =
l)
A tocalculatetheresis-
tanceof aconductor of agiven AWG size, thecross-
sectional area in square meters must be determined
usingtheconversion factor 1 mil =0.0254 mm. The
most convenient unit of wirelengthisthefoot. Using
thesestandards, theunit of sizeisthemil-foot. Thus,
awirehas unit sizeif it has adiameter of 1 mil and
length of 1 foot.
In thecaseof usingcopper conductors, wearespared
the task of tedious calculations by using a table as
shown in Figure 10-42. Note that cross-sectional
dimensions listed on the table are such that each
decrease of one gauge number equals a 25 percent
increaseinthecross-sectional area. Becauseof this,
a decrease of three gauge numbers represents an
increasein cross-sectional areaof approximately a2:1
increase. Likewise, changeof ten wiregaugenumbers
representsa10:1changein cross-sectional area also,
by doubling thecross-sectional areaof theconductor,
theresistanceis cut in half. A decreaseof threewire
gaugenumbers cutstheresistanceof theconductor of
agiven length in half.
kectonulot CcnJuctcts (8us 8ots}
To computethecross-sectional areaof aconductor in
squaremils, thelengthin milsof onesideissquared.
In thecaseof arectangular conductor, thelength of
onesideis multipliedby thelength of theother. For
example, acommon rectangular busbar (large, special
conductor) is 3/8 inch thick and 4 inches wide. The
3/8-inch thickness may be expressed as 0.375 inch.
Since1,000 milsequal 1 inch, thewidthin inchescan
beconverted to 4,000 mils. Thecross-sectional area
of therectangular conductor is found by converting
0.375 to mils (375 mils 4,000 mils =1,500,000
squaremils).
Power and nergy
Power in an IectricaI Circuit
Thissection coverspower intheDC circuit and energy
consumption. Whether referringtomechanical or elec-
consumption or conversion within that system that
is, theamount of energy used or converted inagiven
amount of time.
-
mental expressionfor power is:
AWC Number
Diameter in
miIs
Dbms per
1,000 ft.
0000 460.0 0.04901
000 409.6 0.06180
00 364.8 0.093
0 324.9 0.0982
1 289.3 0.1239
2 25.6 0.1563
3 229.4 0.190
4 204.3 0.2485
5 181.9 0.3133
6 162.0 0.3951
8 128.5 0.6282
10 101.9 0.9989
12 80.81 1.588
14 64.08 2.525
16 50.82 4.016
18 40.30 6.385
20 31.96 10.15
22 25.35 16.14
24 20.10 25.6
26 15.94 40.81
28 12.64 64.9
30 10.03 103.2
Figure 10-42. Conversion tabIe wben using
copper conductors.
P
Where
P Power measured in Watts (W)
Energy ( is a script E) measured in Joules (J)
And
t Time measured in Seconds (s)
t
10-22
The unit measurement for power is the watt (W),
which refers to a rate of energy conversion of
1 joule/second. Therefore, thenumber of joulescon-
sumedin1 second isequal to thenumber of watts. A
simpleexampleisgivenbelow.
Suppose300 J of energy is consumed in 10 seconds.
What wouldbethepower in watts?
P
P
P 30 W
300 J
10 s
energy
time
General Iormula
Thewatt isnamed for J amesWatt, theinventor of the
steamengine. Watt devised an experiment to measure
-
suring themechanical power of hissteamengine. One
horsepower isrequiredto move33,000 pounds1 foot
in 1 minute. Sincepower istherateof doingwork, it
isequivalent to thework divided by time. Stated asa
formula, thisis:
Electrical power canberated inasimilar manner. For
example, an electric motor rated as a 1 horsepower
motor requires746 wattsof electrical energy.
Power IormuIas Used in the Study of Iectricity
resistivecircuit, energy
is dissipated in theformof heat. Recall that voltage
canbeexpressedin thetermsof energy and chargeas
givenin theexpression:
E
Where
E potential diIIerence in volts
W energy expanded or absorbed in joules (J)
Q Charge measured in coulombs
Q
Current I, canalsobeexpressed in termsof chargeand
timeasgivenby theexpression:
When voltage
W
Q and current
Q
t aremultiplied, the
chargeQ is dividedout leaving thebasic expression
fromphysics:
E I
Q
power
Q
t t
For asimpleDC electrical system, power dissipation
canthenbegiven by theequation:
General Power Formula P =I (E)
Where P =Power
I =Current
E =Volts
If acircuit hasaknownvoltageof 24voltsand acurrent
of 2 amps, thenthepower in thecircuit will be:
P =I (E)
P =2A (24V)
P =48W
Now recall Ohmslawswhichstatesthat E =I(R). If
wenow substituteIR for E in thegeneral formula, we
get aformulathat usesonly current I andresistanceR
to determinethepower in acircuit.
P =I (IR)
SecondFormof Power Equation
P =I
2
R
If acircuit hasaknown current of 2ampsand aresis-
P =I
2
R
P =(2A)
2

P =400 W
Using Ohmslaw again, which can bestated asI =
E
R,
wecan again makeasubstitutionsuchthat power can

Power

P 550 It-lb/sec
33,000 It-lb
60 sec
Current
Or
I
Where:
I Current in Amperes (A)
Q Charge in Coulombs (C)
t time
Charge
Time
Q
t