Question

You bought all your stuff in the US which uses a 120-V AC system at a frequency of 60 Hz. You decide to move to Europe for a while which operates on 240-V AC at a frequency of 50 Hz. You decide to bring all your stuff with you and try to hook it up to the electrical system in your new place in Europe. (120-V and 240-V refer to the RMS voltage in these regions) (a) If you have a 100-Watt lightbulb in the US, what is the peak current that it will draw in Europe? The average power of the lightbulb is 100 W. (b) For the same 100-Watt lightbulb, how much average power will it use in Europe? What effect do you think this would have on the lightbulb? (c) Does the change from 60 Hz to 50 Hz change the average power to any device you would connect? If so, by how much? If not, explain why? What other consequences would the frequency change have?

Answer 1