How long could a light bulb last on 836 volts of electricity?
For my science fair project, i decided to do an expirement to see how much energy is lost when electricity travels through copper wire. My results said that for every mile electricity travels through copper wire, 19 volts of electricity are lost. I then searched for the closest powerplant to me, which was 44 miles away, and found out that 836 volts of electricity are lost between me and the powerplant. Now, im trying to see what that wasted energy could have been used for, in this case, a light bulb. So, now I need to figure out how long a light bulb could run on 836 volts, which I need help on. So please, help me. =D
I cannot answer the question, because the question doesn't make any sense. The voltage alone cannot determine how many light bulbs you can power.
I will however, try to help you with your science fair project.
I'm affraid to tell you that you might have to redo some of your calculations if you want to impress the judges...
The main problem is that you can't measure "energy lost" in volts. It just doesn't make any sense. I'll try to illustrate:
Suppose I happen to have a mile of copper wire. Now lets say I hook up a 9 volt battery to either end. According to what you have told me, half way down the wire, there would be no electricity left! In reality, half way down the wire, you should be able to measure half of the voltage or 4.5V(assuming there is nothing else hooked up like a light bulb).
What you really need to be doing is finding out the RESISTANCE of the wire. As the name implies, this is the property of the wire that resists having electricity go through it.
Resistance is measured in OHMs and can be found by dividing voltage applied to the wire over the current the wire 'experienced' due to that voltage. The symbol for ohms looks like an upsidedown horseshoe.
R = V / I
where
R = Resistance in Ohms
V = Voltage in Volts
I = Current in Amperes
If you measured or calcualted voltage drop of 19 Volts, you need to know what the current was that was associated with the voltage drop to find the resistance.
You can then calculate the resistance and say that the wire has a resistance of XXX Ohms per mile.
Once you clear all that headache up, we can come back to where you really want to be...how much power is lost in terms of "light bulbs".
Well, let's assume we are talking about 60Watt light bulbs since these are the most popular. Your 60W light bulb runs on a standard household circuit of 120Volts. Using this information, we can figure out what the resistance of a typical light bulb is with the following formula:
Power = Voltage^2 / Resistance
60 [Watts] = 120 [Volts] * 120 [Volts] / Resistance [Ohms]
Resistance = 240 Ohms
So, for every 240 Ohms of resistance in your wire, you could have powered a 60Watt light bulb, but instead, it's lost forever.
The resistance of your wire will depend mostly on the size (or guage) of the wire. I will link to a source that will calculate the resistance of your wire for you. Once you provide the information, look for the term DC-resistance, measured in Ohms per Meter.
Good luck.
www.mogami.com/e/cad/wire-gauge.html
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