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Power lines run at high voltages to overcome line loss.

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Why is electrical power generally transmitted over long distance at high voltage?

The heating losses in a conductor of resistance R, with current I, are I2 x R. So if you are transmitting power, it is always best to keep the current as low as possible, and this is done by making the voltage high. To keep the size of the wires reasonable, both because of cost and weight, voltage is stepped up to hundreds of kilovolts. I'm not sure what US practice is, but in the UK long distance lines run at 400 KV. This requires large step up transformers at the power station and at the other end, to step voltage down to useable levels.


What is the great advantage of using the parallel circuits in home?

in parallel circuit voltage remains same ..... so all the appliances run at their rated voltages without having any problem as real power supplied depends on voltage .... p=(v^2)/R


What Voltage is used to run a trolley?

The most common voltage is 600 Volts DC. However, various voltages have been used. Most newly built light rail lines use 750 Volts DC. Some have used 1200 VDC or 1500 VDC. A few have used AC current.


How can stray voltage wires be misinterpreted?

Ungrounded wires which are not connected to any electrical source can have a voltage due to the influence of electric fields. Electric fields, through capacitive coupling, will give rise to voltages on ungrounded metal parts. The electric fields from nearby power lines or electronic lighting ballasts form a kind of ad-hoc capacitor with the ungrounded metal which gives rise to a voltage measurable with a high impedance voltmeter. (Low impedance analog voltmeters will not read this voltage because the voltage has no current source and so the voltage collapses to zero when placed in parallel with a low impedance.) Voltage from capacitive coupling is commonly encountered by electricians when a spare set of wires is run adjacent to a live circuit and may be referred to as "phantom voltage." When using a high impedance meter, the placement of a shunt resistor in parallel with the test leads will bleed off capacitively coupled voltage and give an accurate measurement. Capacitively coupled voltages do not present a shock hazard except in unusual cases involving extremely high fields in specific industrial environments.


Why would a 110 motor runs slowly backwards?

It depends on if the motor is an AC motor, or DC motor. DC motors only run backwards when the voltages get crossed between + and -.

Related Questions

What is an alternating current transmitted at high voltages but usually at low voltages?

I assume you mean "Why" rather than "What". Simply stated, there are fewer transmission losses using high voltage, so the large power lines run at high voltage, but for home use, high voltage would be dangerous and would require considerably more insulation, so it is stepped down to about 115V RMS (root mean square average) for home use. Fewer people get killed and fewer houses burn down that way.


Why are power lines that travel long distances often run at high voltages?

The simple answer is that voltage drops over distance. To avoid this loss, power companies distribute electricity in kilovolts (kV). This is then stepped down to domestic voltage (220-240V in Europe, 110V in USA etc) at a local sub-station (basically a large transformer), before reaching your home.


Power steering lines?

the power steering is leaking were the lines run inside the boot on the driver side


How much volt use to run train engine?

They run on extremely high voltages both AC and DC. 1500 to 15000 volts is common.


Where is the power steering lines in a 1986 Chevy Celebrity?

The power steering lines run between the power steering pump and the rack and pinion.


What is the least amount of voltage needed to power the smallest motor?

Motors are wound to run on specific voltages. On these voltages they are designed to produce a specific horsepower. Without specific values this question can not be answered.


How do robots commitcate?

Robots are run by computers which communicate with numbers, represented by binary combinations of high and low voltages of electricity.


What are the metal pots on posts along side the roads Electric Transformers?

They are transformers. Transformers are necessary to reduce the high voltage on the lines that run along the road to a smaller voltage that can be used at a home. The power companies generate much higher voltages than those found in your home so that they can be transmitted along much greater distances.


Does electricity help your body to work?

Yes, electricity does help your body to work! Your brain sends and receives electric messages to and from all the parts of your body. That is what makes you move, talk, run... you name it! But the voltages are not very high! High voltages can kill you!


Why do power lines hum?

Power lines don't hum, but the transformers that run them do. The humming is a result of the interchange in the coils that converts the voltage to a different level.


What is an alternating current transmitted at high voltage's but usually used at low voltages?

I assume you mean "Why" rather than "What". Simply stated, there are fewer transmission losses using high voltage, so the large power lines run at high voltage, but for home use, high voltage would be dangerous and would require considerably more insulation, so it is stepped down to about 115V RMS (root mean square average) for home use. Fewer people get killed and fewer houses burn down that way.


Why is electrical power generally transmitted over long distance at high voltage?

The heating losses in a conductor of resistance R, with current I, are I2 x R. So if you are transmitting power, it is always best to keep the current as low as possible, and this is done by making the voltage high. To keep the size of the wires reasonable, both because of cost and weight, voltage is stepped up to hundreds of kilovolts. I'm not sure what US practice is, but in the UK long distance lines run at 400 KV. This requires large step up transformers at the power station and at the other end, to step voltage down to useable levels.