When a sports team starts to lose, the coach typically makes a statement that the team is going back to the basics, that they will emphasize the fundamentals.

Engineers are way ahead of them, because engineers are all about the basics. As a service provided by engineeringdaze.com, we want to provide for all the non-engineers out there some of the basics, so that you can talk to the engineer in your life. First up, the basic, most fundamental equation for electricity:

V = IR

where,

V = Voltage

I = Amperage

R = Resistance

What simplicity. Three variables, one equation. No fractions (unless one want to solve for I or R), and no exponents. And it is as solid a foundation as they come. I actually had an electrical engineering professor say that if we had no idea how to solve a problem on a test, at least put down this equation, and he would give you partial credit.

V = IR is also useful. On a recent trip, my family and I were driving along a very long, relatively straight interstate and were paralleled by some high voltage lines. My daughter who just got through 8th grade started explaining how the electricity in our homes had to go through transformers to step down the voltage and (as my friend Tom would hear the next part) “Blah, blah, blah”. I would prefer it to say, “Yada, yada, yada.”

She, who wants to enter some strange, artsy profession like choreography, could actually relate to an engineer by almost referencing this basic equation.

So, you see, V = IR is a wonderful equation to use when communicating with engineers.