"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message

Since there's been a lot of great thought posted here about
voltage, resistance, light output and longevity, I thought I'd go
ahead and give a general explanation of electricity for those of
you all who don't really understand it fully. It's a repeat of a
post to another newsgroup, but of equal relevance here. Grin

Electricity explained
I think its time for me to explain about 220 current and why it is
so
different from 110 volt service. First of all, it's twice as big.
Secondly,
it'll shock you more. Outside of that, 220 is really two 110 volt
lines
coming to your house from different parts of the globe. The up and
down 110
comes from the northern hemisphere, and the down and up version
comes from
below the equator.
Without trying to get technical, it all boils down to the
direction water
flows when it goes down the drain. On the top of the earth, it
goes
clockwise, while on the bottom of the earth it goes counter
clockwise. Since
most electricity is made from hydro dams, the clockwise flow gives
you an up
and down sine wave, while the counterclockwise version gives you a
down and
up sine wave. Between the two, you have 220 volts, while either
individual
side only gives you 110 volts.
This is particularly important to know when buying power tools-
which side
of the globe did they come from? If you get an Australian saw, for
instance, it
will turn backwards if connected to a US generated 110 volt
source. Sure,
you can buy backwards blades for it, but that is an unnecessary
burden.
Other appliances, like toasters cannot be converted from
Australian
electricity to American electricity, with horrible results. I knew
one
person who bought an Australian toaster by mistake and it froze
the slices
of bread she put in it.
If you wire your shop with 220 and accidentally get two
US-generated 110
volt lines run in by accident, you can get 220 by using a trick I
learned
from an old electrician. Just put each source into its own fuse
box and then
turn one of the boxes upside down. That'll invert one of the two
up and down
sine waves to down and up, giving you 220. DO NOT just turn the
box
sideways, since that'll give you 165 volts and you'll be limited
to just
using Canadian tools with it.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.