Jump to content

Polyphase system

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tim Starling (talk | contribs) at 03:31, 26 July 2003 (removing some of the discussion on AC to alternating current). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Polyphase electrical systems supply electrical power in overlapping phases, the most common example being three phase power. Three phase power is commonly found in industrial applications and LCR circuits. Polyphase electricity is a method for supplying alternating current.

These systems exhibit three-phase induction or more. Three phase power is commonly found in industrial applications. Normal household supply consists of a sine wave of alternating polarity, with the voltage rising and falling over time. This is called single phase electric power.

Polyphase power is particularly useful in AC motors, where it can be used to generate a rotating magnetic field. Alternate current sine wave voltage points, when the field is graphed and analyzed, show a result of a magnetic field that is rotating (thus producing the alternating polarity). When a three-phase voltage completes one full cycle, the magnetic field has rotated through 360°. In a polyphase system several such supplies are overlapped out of phase to smooth out the total voltage.

Nikola Tesla invented these types of systems, during his research into harmonic oscillators.

See also: alternating current

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polyphase_system&oldid=1195305"