Re:How electricity doesn't work
by vitaminj on Saturday April 03, 2010 @01:57AM
(#1238270)
Do kids actually learn about power factor?
That point aside, while an intuitive understanding is nice, power factor is really a mathematical construct arising from the multiplication of two out-of-phase sinusoids (i.e. voltage and current).
I think to really understand active / reactive power and pf, you need to look at the maths. It's really not that difficult. And you certainly don't need to know vector calculus, merely high school trig.
That point aside, while an intuitive understanding is nice, power factor is really a mathematical construct arising from the multiplication of two out-of-phase sinusoids (i.e. voltage and current).
I think to really understand active / reactive power and pf, you need to look at the maths. It's really not that difficult. And you certainly don't need to know vector calculus, merely high school trig.