In an electric circuit, the rate at which the work is being done (or the energy is being expended) is known as electric power. Mathematically, electric power can be defined as the work done (or energy expended) per unit time, i.e., $$\mathrm{Power, \mathit{P}\:=\:\frac{Work\:done\:(\mathit{W})}{Time(\mathit{t})}}$$The unit of electric power is Joules per second.Based on the type of current, the electric power can be of two types viz.: DC power and AC power. The AC power is further classified into three main types as −Apparent power (S)Active power (P)Reactive power (Q)In this article, we will discuss about what the apparent power and the ... Read More

An electrical or electromagnetic quantity (current, voltage, radio wave, micro wave, etc.) that carries data or information from one system (or network) to another is called a signal. Two basic types of signals are used for carrying data, viz. analog signal and digital signal.Analog and digital signals are different from each other in many aspects. One major difference between the two signals is that an analog signal is a continuous function of time, whereas a digital signal is a discrete function of time.This article explains all the significant differences between analog and digital signals along with a brief description of ... Read More

Ammeter and galvanometer are both measuring instruments used to measure the current flowing through a circuit. The most significant difference between a galvanometer and an ammeter is that the ammeter measures only the magnitude of the current flowing in the circuit, while the galvanometer shows both magnitude and direction of the current in the circuit.Go through this article to know more about ammeter and galvanometer and the key differences between these two measuring instruments.What is a Galvanometer?A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring device used to measure the strength of current and direction in an electric circuit. A typical galvanometer consists ... Read More

There are two important devices viz. UPS and inverter that are used extensively to provide backup supply to the electrical systems. As we know, today electricity has become a necessity because almost all of our day-to-day activities require electricity. Since, all the device such as mobiles, laptops, PCs, washing machines, coolers, ACs, etc. use electricity to work. If the electric supply gets down, it will greatly affect the operation of these devices. Therefore, to smoothly run these devices even after the cut out of electric supply, two electric power systems are designed named Inverter and UPS.Basically, both UPS and inverter ... Read More

Both the PN junction diode and the Zener diode are semiconductor devices that are extensively used in various electronic circuits. A PN junction diode is mainly used for rectification (transforming AC into DC), while a Zener diode is used for voltage regulation in the electronic circuits.There are a number of differences in both PN junction diode and Zener diode which are explained in detail in the below table. Before going into the discussion about the differences between PN junction diode and Zener diode, it is fruitful to get the basic details about the PN junction diode and Zener diode.What is ... Read More

A magnet is a material or object which has ability to produce a magnetic field and can attract or repel other ferromagnetic materials. Based on the method of production of magnetic field, the magnets are classified into two types viz. −Permanent magnetElectromagnetThe main difference between an electromagnet and a permanent magnet is that an electromagnet produces the magnetic field by the effect of electric current flowing through a coil insulated wire wound around a piece of soft magnetic material. Whereas, a permanent magnet is made up of hard magnetic material and once it is magnetized, it can produce the magnetic ... Read More

Voltage and current are the two fundamental electrical quantities. The voltage is the factor in an electric circuit which causes electric current to flow in the circuit. The magnitude of the voltage and current depend upon each other. However, there are several differences between voltage and current which are described in the comparison chart below.What is Voltage?The difference in the electric potential between two points in an electric circuit is known as voltage. The voltage is also known as potential difference or electric pressure or electric tension. If the work done in moving a unit positive charge (Q) from one ... Read More

Welding and soldering are widely used in the fabrication industry. Both welding and soldering are used for joining metallic parts by the application of heat. In this article, we will compare welding and soldering by considering various factors like metaling temperature, heat source, use of flux, deformation, etc. But, before discussing about the differences between soldering and welding, it is advantageous to get the basic details of welding and soldering.What is Welding?A fabrication process which is used to join materials (metals or thermoplastics) by the application of high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing ... Read More

In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC system is the expression of energy efficiency. The power factor (PF) is defined as the ratio of active power (measured in Watts) to the apparent power (measured in VA). The power factor expresses the ratio of true power which is used in an AC circuit to the total power delivered to the circuit. Mathematically, the power factor can be expressed using the following formula − $$\mathrm{Power \: factor \, \mathrm{=}\, \frac{Active \: power}{Apparent \: power}}$$ There are two major terms are associated with the power factor of an AC circuit viz. ... Read More

The electric power supply we use in our day-to-day life is of AC or alternating current power supply. The alternating current or AC supply is the type of electric power supply in which the magnitude of the electric current changes continuously with time and the direction changes periodically. Almost 90% of the electric power supply that we use at our home, office, industries come from alternating sources like alternators.Based on the number of phases in the supply system, the AC power supply can be classified into two types viz. −Single-Phase AC SupplyThree-Phase AC SupplyIn this article, we will explain the ... Read More