Letter: Current account
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Keith Bailey (letter, 11 August) asks why houses are not built with a 6-volt electrical supply as well as the normal 240-volt one. The reason is that it is impossible to transmit any significant amount of power over a distance of more than a few feet at 6 volts, unless cables of enormous size are used.
All wiring offers some resistance to the passage of current, and thus some power is lost in just pushing current to where it is wanted. The amount of power lost in this way depends on the square of the current, and so for a given amount of power to be delivered, the power lost in 6-volt transmission is 1,600 times that of 240-volt transmission. For that reason, 6-volt power supplies have to be produced by transforming down from mains voltage immediately adjacent to where they are needed.
ARTHUR TARRANT
Twickenham,
Middlesex
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments