Once joules come into the discussion, the Czar knows he’s fighting a losing battle with electrical engineering types. Because EEs don’t care about commercial or residential electrical distribution: they want to take everything down to capacitors and resistors, where stuff works neatly in a DC world. Sigh.

Joules, you see, are a measure of any type of energy. Any time you put any type of mass at any sort of velocity you get joules. Clap your hands. Eat a sandwich. Light a match. Touch a hot road on a hot day and you find joules. You find joules everywhere.

Almost. Grab any commercial or residential electrician and ask him about joules and you get a blank stare. In electrical distribution (for GorT and MC’s benefit, we’re talking above 24 volts at milliamperages), joules are not used. As MC mentioned, his bill shows up in kWh (which is easily converted to joules; multiply by 3,600,000 to get joules and you see why no one bothers with them outside of Radio Shack).

Interestingly, GorT seems to accept a lot of this as a “nuance,” which is more than fair. But this comes down to a battle that is older than time itself—who knows more about electricity: the EE, who deals with issues on the atomic level, or the PE, who lights up millions of homes? The fight has never been settled before, and sure will not here. The Czar just hoped to explain in non-math terms how electricity gets to your outlet, but let folks sully it with exponents and electrons. Sigh.

Although, the Czar will part with a shot that P = IV of course is a DC formula. The AC version of this is:

Not that, of course, an amp is any different in AC distribution as opposed to DC wiring design. But they are handled quite differently on a practical level, and the Czar does not back down on any of his claims on an application level.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.