Discussion:

Power
Aside from voltage and current, there is another measure of free
electron activity in a circuit: the power. Power, in physics, is the measure of
how much work can be performed in a given amount of time. It is the
measure of how rapidly a standard amount of work is done. It is equivalent to
an amount of energy consumed per unit time. In electric circuits, power
represents the rate at which energy is converted from the electrical energy
of the moving charges to some other form like heat, mechanical energy, or
energy stored in electric fields or magnetic fields. For a resistor in a DC
circuit, the power is given by the product of applied voltage and the electric
current, and it is measured in watts. It is a function of both voltage and
current. In short, electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is
transferred by an electric circuit.

Power in DC Circuits
Electrical power was defined as the rate at which electrical energy is
supplied to a circuit or consumed by a load. The equation for calculating the
power delivered to the circuit or consumed by a load was derived to be:
P=VI .
The power dissipated by resistors is delivered by the voltage and/or
current sources in the circuit. These two quantities are both related to the
resistance of the load by Ohms Law. They can be expressed in terms of their
V
dependence upon resistance as shown in the equations V =IRI = R . And if
these expressions are substituted into the power equation, two new
equations can be derived as

P=I 2 R

and

P=

V2
R .

In series circuit, from the previous experiment, the current must flow
through one device to get to the next device. This means that the rate of
current flow through all devices is the same. The voltage across each device
depends on its impedance/resistance of each device and the current flowing
through the circuit. When adding more components in a series circuit, the

current flow decreases, if the applied voltage remains constant. In this case,
it is advisable to use the equation

P=I R

since the resistance and the

current are known, and the current through all the loads is the same.
In parallel circuit, each device is directly connected to the power
source. This means that each device receives the same voltage. The amount
of current flowing through each device is dependent on the
impedance/resistance of that particular device. If devices are added to the
power source in a parallel configuration, the current demand/flow from the
power source increases. Thus, it is easier to compute the power in parallel
2

circuit by using the equation

P=

V
R

given that the resistance and voltage

are known, and its voltage is the same across the loads.
The total power in series and parallel circuits are obtained by the
summation of the wattages of each of the resistor/load in the circuit.
To sum up, the electrical power is simply the product of the electric
potential difference and the current. To determine the power of a battery or
other energy source, one simply takes the electric potential difference that it
establishes across the external circuit and multiplies it by the current in the
circuit. To determine the power of an electrical device or a load, one simply
takes the electric potential difference across the device (voltage drop) and
multiplies it by the current in the device.

Power Transfer to a Resistive Load

The maximum power transfer theorem states that the maximum power
is delivered to the load when the load resistance is equal to the internal
resistance of a source. If it is an independent voltage source, then its series
RS
resistance (internal resistance
) or if it is independent current source,
then its parallel resistance (internal resistance
resistance

RL

RS

) must equal to the load

to deliver maximum power to the load. So, the power

transferred from a voltage source to an external load is at its most efficient

when the resistance of the load matches the internal resistance of the
voltage source. If the load resistance is too low, then, most of the power

output of the voltage source is dissipated as heat inside the source itself. If
the load resistance is too high, the current which flows in the circuit is too
low to transfer energy to the load at an appreciable rate. The optimum power
is 50% of the total power when the impedance of the active device is
matched to that of the load. The other half is dissipated as heat inside the
source. Improper impedance matching can lead to excessive power use and
possible component damage. Impedance matching represents the process
by which the resistance of a load is match to that of the power supply.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/elepow.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt2/power-electric-circuits/
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circuits/Lesson-3/PowerRevisited
http://www.bcae1.com/srsparll.htm
http://www.edrenzi.com/Circuit%20Files/Circuits.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/powtran.html
http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/302l/lectures/node62.html
http://www.electronicshub.org/maximum-power-transfer-theorem/