Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standard IEEE1100 defines power quality

as the concept of powering and grounding sensitive electronic equipment in a manner suitable
for the equipment.
All electrical devices are prone to failure or malfunction when exposed to one or more power
quality problems. The electrical device might be an electric motor, a transformer, a generator, a
computer, a printer, communication equipment, or a household appliance.
performance and life expectancy: Power quality is a set of electrical boundaries that allows a
piece of equipment to function in its intended manner without significant loss of performance or
life expectancy.
In the last 50 years or so, the industrial age led to the need for products to be economically
competitive, which meant that electrical machines were becoming smaller and more efficient and
were designed without performance margins
electrical utilities are no longer independently operated entities; they are part of a large network
of utilities tied together in a complex grid.
If a piece of equipment functions satisfactorily, the user feels that the power is good. If the
equipment does not function as intended or fails prematurely, there is a feeling that the power is
bad.

Source: http://www.crcnetbase.com/isbn/9781420041026

Flicker: A perceptible change in electric light source intensity due to a fluctuation of input
voltage.
Without the proper power, an electrical device (or load) may malfunction, fail prematurely or not
operate at all.
There are many ways in which electric power can be of poor quality and many more causes of
such poor-quality power. Voltage. Frequency. Waveform
Causes: transients, infrastructure
Importance: Economic? Information?
Good power quality:
Bad power quality examples: hospital, equipment failure, malfauctioning, overheating.
Lightbulbs flicker and dim
Brownout
Heat: incandescent light bulb, heater V^2/R
unexpected behavior in systems with digital control circuits
data loss, equipment damage, increased energy consumption

Voltage variations, Momentary/Sustained interruptions

solid state devices are very sensitive to power system fluctuations
Technical
Non-technical:
For philosophy majors: use everyday examples.

Explain what power quality is: how well does your wall socket / outlets power the electrical
appliances

Examples of poor power quality

1. LED clocks on microwaves, ovens
2. Dimming of incandescent lights (brownout) / complete blackout

Consequences of poor power quality

1. Inconvenience in residential / household life
2. Hospital (people lose their lives during an operation)

For mechanical engineering majors:

Explain what power quality is:

Radar:

WWII: 1930s to detect enemy ships / airplanes

ECHO: substitute radio waves for soundwaves/light
Uses: weather forecasting, speed detecting, airplane/ships, military
radio detection and ranging, unaffected by time and weather conditions find their way
around in poor weather or darkness

Bats analogy: echolocation "blind" bats use to see and fly in the dark.
1. Generate radio waves
2. Transmit radio waves
3. Receive
4. Displaying information

magnetrons was initially used for radar but then for microwave.
Produce the same wave as a Microwave oven, but stronger
Sends out through an antenna but reelects back until it hits something at the speed of the light
Antenna also receives the signal before transmitting again
Information is processed, filtered, and displayed to human operators.
Videogame like screen
If it doesnt see anything, no reflections..

light has to travel from a source to an object, reflect off of it and be picked up
by the cells in your retina.
But radio waves can pass through the fog
he Doppler radar used in weather forecasting measures the direction and speed,
or velocity, of objects such as drops of precipitation. Maybe volumes too.