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Wiring and piping: analogies and differences

Wiring and piping: analogies and differences Being an electrician, one often encounters the fact that people who are completely healthy and developed both physically and mentally experience a state of awe of electricity. At the same time, say, the installation of water supply and sewage does not seem very complicated to them.

Still: water runs to itself through pipes under pressure, and through pipes of larger diameter it is diverted to the sewer - everything is “easier than a steamed turnip”. It’s just a pity for people who look anxiously at a sparking outlet and are waiting electricianthat would have replaced it.

And since for many people who are afraid of electricity, the plumbing seems to be arranged more simply, then we will give some physical analogies between the electric current and the flow of water.

In what direction does the water run? - From a point with more pressure - to a point with less. Between points with the same pressure on the pipe wall there will be no water flow. But after all, the electric current also behaves: it arises between the points of the conductor, which have different values of the electric potential. The analogy is simple: the pipe is similar to a conductor, the water flow is similar to electric current, and the pressure in the pipeline is similar to electric potential.

Based on these analogies, we can pick up the peculiar "alter ego" of some household electrical devices and phenomena. These "second selves" will refer to plumbing and running water.

Take, for example, an electric switch. What is he doing? - Connects and disconnects two wires, one of them being a “phase”, and current flows through it, and the second wire goes to the load. Zero wires are not connected to the switch.

Analogs for electric switches among pipeline valves will be valves for cold and hot water at the entrance to the apartment. These valves, or valves, as a rule, are in one of the states: “off” or “on”, they do not have their own resistance, and their purpose is to supply water to the consumer. And any switch just as well supplies the consumer (for example, a lamp) an electric current. The analogy is obvious.

To find an analog for a socket, you have to show a little imagination. Two wires come into the outlet, and they do not have contact with each other. Still, it’s a “phase” and a “zero”, I think there’s no need to talk about the consequences of a direct connection. There is no current in the outlet if the consumer is not turned on. And when the consumer is turned on, the current is determined by its resistance.

What is the “phase" for the water supply? This, of course, is a thin submarine pipe under pressure. The working “zero” is the drainage pipe. Unlike electrical wiring here is that for water the whole environment is a conductor, so the "phase conductor" always needs additional locking devices (chokes). In plumbing, these chokes can be called faucets, and when closed, they completely take on all the pressure (read: voltage), avoiding leaks.

Of course, they don’t put chokes in the socket, but otherwise they are very similar to the faucet installed above the sink. A consumer may be, for example, a washing machine, the inlet hose of which is connected to the gander, and the drain is directed into the sink. We open the tap to full - its resistance drops to almost zero, but there is no short circuit, because there is resistance from the machine.

By the way, a short circuit in the water supply - what is it? We open the tap above the sink completely, turning off the aforementioned machine, and observe. The water rumbles and splashes, and perhaps even the sink does not cope with the incoming stream. But, nevertheless, it is not as impressive as an electric short circuit, literally sweeping away everything in its path.This means that the water supply is more resistant to its short circuits, and they are the operating mode for it. Therefore, the water supply system is not equipped with “overcurrent protection”.

Of course, the above analogies are very arbitrary, and, in particular, do not take into account the existence of electromagnetic fields. Yes, and climb into electronics with "plumbing" ideas about electric current is not worth it. But at a minimum household level, a comparison with water supply can be popular and useful.

Alexander Molokov

See also at bgv.electricianexp.com:

Water and electric current

How to connect the dishwasher to the mains

How to independently connect an electric furnace and a washing machine

How to make the washing machine not shock

Voltage, resistance, current and power are the main electrical quantities

Comments:

# 1 wrote: knotik | [quote]

he himself often made such analogies in his head)) in many ways, water and electric current are similar, the main "similarity" is both a directed flow of particles, in one case these are electrons in the crystal lattice of a conductor, in another case they are water molecules in a pipeline .
The main difference is of course SPEED, unlike water, the speed of the effect from the electric current is instant! (practically))
For example, capacitors can be represented as an empty tank that is filled with water from the source, gradually depending on the diameter of the inlet (resistance R), and it is emptied through the outlet at a speed proportional to its diameter)))
For almost every element of the electrical circuit, you can come up with similar analogies.
BUT!!! Naturally, guided by these analogies alone, you should not climb into the outlet)))

Comments:

# 2 wrote: anatolia | [quote]

Very often I use such analogies. For example, it is sometimes difficult for students to understand the principle of operation of such semiconductor devices as a transistor. On the example of such a plumbing fixture as a faucet, everything will fit into place, since the base is very simple to imagine as a valve, the collector is a random hole in the top of the faucet, and the emitter as a drain hole. If you open the valve i.e. base plug the hole at the top - the collector - then a large stream of water will flow into the drain hole, i.e. in this case, the transistor is in active mode.

Comments:

# 3 wrote: | [quote]

Hello. I graduated from college. They respond well about our college, in principle, they say they teach well. But all the same, the physics of current is not clear. This article, too damp, is not clear. I now know the rules, laws, voltage, potential difference, electricity, the movement of electrons, Ohm's law for a section of the circuit is also familiar. But I don’t understand what kind of electrons they are, how they flow and why? Why, if the phase touches the phase, the current goes through you? If you do not touch 0, there is no chain in theory? And if so, why pull zero? My city is probably 1000 km from the nearest power station, why pull two wires, can one be one, because one is less than two? These are costs. That would be written, briefly, without "taps" so that the cereal in my head on the shelves is streamlined.

Comments:

# 4 wrote: | [quote]

Azat what is it to tell you something. Without cranes, you probably talked a lot in the college, but I just tried to come in from a completely different direction.

But I can resolve your one question. Maybe it will become clearer.

Touch the phase - the current goes through you through the phase – hand – floor – building structure – nearest grounding device – zero conductor circuit. Since the circuit is so complicated, the touch voltage will not be 220 volts, part of the voltage will be on the floor and other things There is, by the way, my article on this subject, too.

But power receivers according to this scheme cannot be turned on - they really need high-quality power supply, reliable 220 volts.

That's why they pull the zero wire into the apartment - in order to be guaranteed to have 220 volts in the outlet. Therefore, zero wires are needed.

Comments:

# 5 wrote: | [quote]

Thanks.Here is one less question. Maybe so slowly and deal with everything.

Comments:

# 6 wrote: Dmitriy | [quote]

Good afternoon!

And if you consider this example: the pressure in the pipe has dropped, so the pressure of the water has become less, and the water flows from the tap more slowly. If we translate into electrical quantities, then the voltage decreased, and the current also decreased.

Do I understand correctly?

Thanks in advance.

Comments:

# 7 wrote: Author | [quote]

About that and speech. It is only necessary not to forget that this analogy has certain boundaries. But at the most elementary level, such an analogy helps to "understand electricity."

Comments:

# 8 wrote: Yuri | [quote]

Toyota's Water and Electricity Analogy
youtube.com/watch?v=KpcZcbfDK3A

Comments:

# 9 wrote: andy | [quote]

The hydraulic analogy of a condenser is a tube, on which another tube is worn, and a rubber membrane is stretched between them, for example, um ... a balloon. the analogy is almost complete:

1) while the membrane is not stretched (cond. Discharged) water can flow, the maximum current

2) in this case, no water molecule (electron) passes through the membrane (dielectric) as such, but the movement of water is nevertheless felt at the other end of the tube (cond. Transmits alternating current)

3) when the membrane is pulled (cond. Charged), the current practically stops, the voltage on the membrane (capacitor) is maximum (cond. Holds a direct current)

4) soft membrane - large capacity, tight - small capacity

5) the membrane breaks - a breakdown in the dielectric

to the heap: a resistor is a sand filter, a coil is a heavy wheel with blades, a transformer (and a diode), as already said, valves, etc.

Azat, "zero" is really optional. such a system is called a single wire earth return (single-wire system with return through the earth) and was practiced at the dawn of electricity. only the potential difference is needed for the current flow. just “zero” from the power plant is much better (less resistance) than, say, a bucket buried in the ground, does not depend on soil properties, etc.