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Unread 20-11-2013, 22:33
yash101 yash101 is offline
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Lightbulb Re: Power Distribution Board Question

I do not get this thing about amps and volts. Most people think that it is amps that kill. Why is it that if you have 12,000 volts and 1 microamp, you can still die a painful death? Isn't it wattage that kills?

So, you may be wondering how this goes with this topic:
Well, the traces would probably break down if you had a high voltage and low amperage because the wattage will still be high. Wattage is Voltage times Amperage. A supercapacitor of 1 volt will do the same damage as a 12 volt battery outputting a tenth of that amperage.
Using Ohm's law below:
If the trace has a resistance of 1 ohm, 10,000 volts at .0001 Amps would equal to ten watts.
With the same resistance, 1 volt at 10 amps would equal ten watts.
That is the same amount of energy. No less, No more! The only difference is that in the first scenario, there is a high pressure and low flow. In the second scenario, there is a lower pressure but a higher flow. It is more-or-less the same as converting potential energy to kinetic energy and back!

Ohm's Law:
I = E / R
E = I * R
R = V / I

General Power Law:
P = I * E
E = P / I
I = P / E

P: Power
E: Voltage
I: Amperage
R: Resistance

Guys, Please let me know if I am misunderstanding physics here!