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Fault Calculation - Symmetrical Components

For unbalance conditions the calculation of fault currents is more complex. One method of dealing with this is symmetrical components. Using symmetrical components, the unbalance system is broken down in to three separate symmetrical systems:...Read More..

By Steven McFadyen on Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Hazardous Areas – IEC and NEC/CEC Comparison

Depending where in the world you work, you are likely following one of two standards International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) National Electrical Code/Canadian Electrical Code (NEC/CEC) The different nature of the two systems make a direct comparison almost impossible. If you do need to work with......Read More..

By Steven McFadyen on Friday, March 9, 2012

Maxwell's Equations - Gauss's Electric Field Law

Gauss's Electrical law defines the relation between charge ("Positive" & "Negative") and electric field. The law was initially formulated by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1835. In Gauss's law, the electric field is the electrostatic field. The law shows how the electrostatic field behaves and varies depending on the charge......Read More..

By Steven McFadyen on Wednesday, September 4, 2013

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Differential protection, the good old days

This morning I was explaining how differential protection works to a junior engineer. To give him something to read I opened up the NPAG (Network Protection...

Arc Flash Calculations

Working in the vicinity of electrical equipment poses an hazard. In addition to electric shock hazard, fault currents passing through air causes Arc Flash...

Michael Faraday (the father of electrical engineering)

Famed English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, a suburb of Surrey just south of the London Bridge...

Occam's Razor

I was reminded of Occam's Razor while reading a book. It's quite a simple principal of logic which has stood the test of time and is accepted as central...

What happened to the cable notes?

If you are wondering what happened to our cable notes, the short answer is that we have moved them to myCableEngineering.com. The "Knowledge Base" at...

Voltage Levels – Confused?

I was having a conversation the other day about voltage levels. While everyone was in agreement that low voltage was 1000 V and less, there was more confusion...

Useful Motor Technical Information

Sometimes it’s useful to be able to quickly lookup a piece of technical information. This note is a collection of information related to motors, and in...

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was born exactly at midnight on July 10, 1856 in the tiny village of Smiljan, Lika in Croatia. In his late teens, Tesla left the village to...

MIT OpenCourseWare

MIT OpenCourseWare, makes the materials used in teaching all MIT subjects available on the Web, free of charge, to any user in the world.

Variable Frequency Drive

Variable frequency drives are widely used to control the speed of ac motors. This note looks at the mechanisms which enable drive units to control the...