Why 220 and 110 Vac?
Paolo Bellutta
voltage are 220 or 110 Vac? If I'm not mistaken, voltages
which are multiples of 11 are common even for distribution
lines and even high voltage trunk lines. Is there something
magic about the number 11? The only number I can think of
is the sqrt(3) from the three-phase...
--
Nei rapporti orali tra militari di sesso diverso deve
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------------------------------------------------------
_ /| | Paolo Bellutta ---------- bell...@ohsu.edu
\'o.O' | B.I.C.C - Oregon Health Sciences University
=(_o_)= | 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. - Portland, OR
A.Daviel
>Some more trivia questions. Does anybody know why the outlet
>voltage are 220 or 110 Vac? If I'm not mistaken, voltages
>which are multiples of 11 are common even for distribution
>lines and even high voltage trunk lines. Is there something
>magic about the number 11? The only number I can think of
>is the sqrt(3) from the three-phase...
I vaguely remember 110kV and 330kV distribution lines in the UK, and the
regular 3-phase supply was 440V (though the houshold supply was
440/sqrt(3) =~ 250V). Perhaps it's got something to do with 666 (the number of
the beast). [:)
The optimum voltage for distribution is some function of the thickness of
copper required plus the thickness of insulator required, plus some
consideration of the lethality of the voltage. For HV distribution
you can cheat and use air for the insulator. Different countries have used
different numbers. Using 220V 2-phase is a good trick; you can get twice the
voltage (4 x the power), without increasing the insulation thickness.
.. I wonder if anyone's considered using 110V in a car, with a switched-mode
converter to run the battery; might save a few pennies worth of copper.
--
Andrew Daviel, Vancouver, Canada <ad...@triumf.ca>
finger ad...@reg.triumf.ca for PGP key
Jochen Bern
>Some more trivia questions. Does anybody know why the outlet
>voltage are 220 or 110 Vac? If I'm not mistaken, voltages
>which are multiples of 11 are common even for distribution
>lines and even high voltage trunk lines. Is there something
>magic about the number 11? The only number I can think of
>is the sqrt(3) from the three-phase...
*If* there's something magic about it, Europe will soon get scientific. :-)
We'll get 240 Vac soon (1995?).
Regards,
J. Bern
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Michael Tempsch
>In <1993Feb7.2...@ohsu.edu> bell...@ohsu.EDU (Paolo Bellutta) writes:
>>Some more trivia questions. Does anybody know why the outlet
>>voltage are 220 or 110 Vac? If I'm not mistaken, voltages
>>which are multiples of 11 are common even for distribution
>>lines and even high voltage trunk lines. Is there something
>>magic about the number 11? The only number I can think of
>>is the sqrt(3) from the three-phase...
>*If* there's something magic about it, Europe will soon get scientific. :-)
>We'll get 240 Vac soon (1995?).
Aren't we going to 230 Vac standard?
Memories from TV infoprogram:
Some countrys has 220 and some 240 Vac and the compromise was
230 Vac, so that all appliancies (sp?) still could be used.
(In the same time making the voltage between phases an even 400 Vac)
Michael
--
| BTW, all electronic components | d1t...@dtek.chalmers.se |
| run on smoke. If you let the smoke out, | In real life |
| they won't work anymore. | Michael Tempsch |
Daniel Burstein
using 110v for a car, since this would save copper wire.
answer: it's been considered, and dropped. too much trouble with
insulation (cars are a VERY hotile environment for wiring) and risks fo
fires, shock, etc.
the voltage used is a tradeoff between copper costs and wiring ease and
safety...
until more or less 1950, cars were 6V. this got pushed up to 12V and
pretty much remained there.
Trucks tend to be 24V becuase of the added length to lots of their wiring.
motorcycles on the other hand, tend to be 6V.
Bill Mayhew
applications. There is a push to go to 24 volt power systems in
cars to help save weight in the wiring harness. Acording to an
article in Autoweek, the mass of an average electrical harness can
be cut from 40 pounds to 30 pounds by changing to 24 volts.
That doesn't sound like much, but that's one of the few automotive
components where it is relatively easy to achieve a 25% mass
reduction.
--
Bill Mayhew NEOUCOM Computer Services Department
Rootstown, OH 44272-9995 USA phone: 216-325-2511
w...@uhura.neoucom.edu (140.220.1.1) 146.580: N8WED
A.Daviel
>
>Memories from TV infoprogram:
>Some countrys has 220 and some 240 Vac and the compromise was
>230 Vac, so that all appliancies (sp?) still could be used.
>(In the same time making the voltage between phases an even 400 Vac)
>
Build a decent switch-mode power supply, and it will run on anything between
90V and 260V, 40Hz to 70Hz. I *think* I've seen such a beast.
Val Breault
as part of this thread, the question was asked if anyone had considered
using 110v for a car, since this would save copper wire.
answer: it's been considered, and dropped. too much trouble with
insulation (cars are a VERY hotile environment for wiring) and risks fo
fires, shock, etc.
From a technical presentation quite some time back (5-7 years)
Incandescent lamp life would be shortened. The longer filaments
necessary at higher voltages would be subject to a greater amount
of flexing in the high vibration environment of an automobile.
I seem to recall that 12v was not optimal, but not too far from the
optimal voltage. (Was it 18V? Maybe it was 36V. Anyhow it was close.)
--
-val-
Val Breault - GM Research - vbre...@gmr.com - N8OEF \ /|
Instrumentation dept., 30500 Mound Rd., Warren, MI 48090-9055 \ / |
The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect \ /__|
those of GMR or those of the General Motors Corporation. \/ |___
Randy Davis
|pretty much remained there.
|
|Trucks tend to be 24V becuase of the added length to lots of their wiring.
|
|motorcycles on the other hand, tend to be 6V.
Oh really? To what decade's motorcycles are you referring? :-)
NOWADAYS, at least, almost all motorcycles are 12V, possibly because of
the common electrical parts between cars and motorcycles.
Randy Davis Email: ra...@megatek.com
ZX-11 #00072 Pilot megatek!ra...@uunet.uu.net
DoD #0013 ucsd!megatek!randy
unit...@otago.ac.nz
>>Some more trivia questions. Does anybody know why the outlet
>>voltage are 220 or 110 Vac? If I'm not mistaken, voltages
>>which are multiples of 11 are common even for distribution
>>lines and even high voltage trunk lines. Is there something
>>magic about the number 11? The only number I can think of
>>is the sqrt(3) from the three-phase...
I believe it is a historical thing...In the early days of electrical
distribution losses in the cabling meant suppliers added 10% 'more' voltage to
give a good chance of the nominal value being present at the customer!
Michael.