Eli5 how does playing around with different metrics of amps, ohms, and volts alter how powerful electricity is?

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Eli5 how does playing around with different metrics of amps, ohms, and volts alter how powerful electricity is?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It doesn’t, at least not necessarily. The power delivered is not measured in volts or amps, it is measured in watts. The amp (actually ampere) is a measure of current, while the volt is a measure of potential.

If you have a device that consumes 1200 watts and can work with any voltage if you were to supply it at 120 volts it would require 10 amps of current. At 12 volts it would require 100 amps. At 1200 volts it would require only 1 amp.

The ohm is a measure of resistance to the flow of current. When current flows through a resistance power is dissipated as heat. All wires (leaving aside superconductors) have some amount of resistance, so higher current means more wasted power. This is why transmission lines use a much higher voltage than is used in your home. The same power can be transmitted with a lower current, so less is lost to heat.

Resistance also affects how much current can flow at a given voltage. Other answers have already covered the details, so I won’t repeat it here.

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