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Mains Supply
To understand the mains supply to your house
Mains Supply
The UK mains electricity supply is about 230V and can kill if
Mains Circuit
Every mains circuit has a live wire and a neutral wire
The current through a mains appliance alternates because
Frequency
Why would a much lower frequency than 50Hz be unsuitable
Direct Current
If the current flows in only one direction it is called direct
current (d.c.)
Batteries and cells supply d.c. electricity, with a typical battery
0V
Alternating Current
If the current constantly changes direction, it is called
0V
signals from the mains supply the red trace is the live
terminal and the blue trace the neutral terminal
Note that, although the mean
Assessment
Connect a low voltage a.c. supply unit to an oscilloscope
Assessment
Increasing the frequency of the a.c. supply increases the
Signals
Oscilloscope Higher
The oscilloscope can measure the peak p.d. and the frequency of a
Oscilloscope Higher
The figure below shows how the potential of the live wire
+400
+325 V
+200
Voltage (V)
Time (s)
0
0.01
0.02
-200
-400
-325 V
0.03
Oscilloscope Higher
The live wire alternates between +325V and -325V
In terms of electrical power, this is equivalent to a direct
voltage of 230V
Each cycle takes 0.02 seconds, so the mains supply
negative)
Questions
Choose the correct potential difference from the list for each