Power Points
Power Points looks at perspectives and issues related to power sourcing, distribution, consumption, and dissipation, ranging from microwatts to megawatts, and DC to kHz. We'll discuss supply design, topology, system architectures, test, protection, use, and even abuse with an emphasis on points which are relevant, interesting, and thought-provoking to the design engineer.
Bill Schweber is a degreed EE who has designed, used, and burned out his share of supplies including LDOs and switchers, and spanning low- and high-power units. Besides power issues, he is interested in analog design, signal integrity, real world I/O, the history of science and engineering, and the satisfaction of problem solving constrained by design tradeoffs.
How are you measuring that power consumption?
- 06.14.2013
Everyone talks about power consumption, but measuring it can be a challenge. Read More...
Misconception revealed: Can a heat sink be too big?
- 05.29.2013
I was certain a substantial heat sink similar to this one would solve our thermal problem, but my colleague disagreed for reasons which surprised me. Read More...
What's your battery shelf-life experience?
- 05.17.2013
I found some alkaline batteries which worked fine 10 years after their "best use by" date, and I was definitely impressed. Read More...
Power control, cheap and good
- 05.08.2013
What you can get in a power controller for $20 (retail) is pretty impressive, as a look at a basic heating pad shows. Read More...
IR drop: The 'gift' that keeps on taking
- 05.01.2013
Basics such as voltage drop are easy to overlook when you're worried about nanoseconds. Read More...
The Dreamliner saga: When your solution is more than just a software patch
- 04.23.2013
The Internet has lulled so many people into thinking most problems can be fixed with a quick download and software upgrade; try telling that to Boeing's engineers. Read More...
Where's your inefficiency?
- 04.18.2013
How do you actually measure efficiency and corresponding losses in your circuits and systems? Read More...
The battery question I really dread
- 04.04.2013
Sometimes it's not the subtle, complex questions that are hard; it's the obvious ones that can challenge you. Read More...
My MP3 player wouldn't shut up
- 03.25.2013
The so-called power-on/off switch was soft, and the resulting unstoppable operation of this small unit reminded me that in a proper design, "off" should mean just that, not "maybe off." Read More...
Nothing new about energy harvesting
- 03.14.2013
We tend to think of energy harvesting as a recent technology development, spurred by sophisticated, extremely low-power components and design - but cruder forms of harvesting have been around for quite a while, and are still in widespread use. Read More...
Fascinating power perspectives, all in one place!
- 02.22.2013
It's easy to be so consumed by your design problem that you lose sight of other developments in the broader application area; this set of five items from a recent publication will change that. Read More...
Exactly what is your design power problem?
- 02.14.2013
Almost every design has power concerns, but these can take many forms and have very different implications. For some, it's thermal issues and dissipation; for others, it's managing a very limited power source. Read More...
Intriguing implementations of wind power
- 02.05.2013
Wind power systems as alternative, renewable sources of energy can take many forms: large and small, sometimes obvious, and sometimes counterintuitive. Read More...
How about some water power?
- 01.30.2013
Not quite the James Bond 007 rocket design, this tethered jet backpack can still provide a personal "rush," and the basis for some interesting engineering analysis. Read More...
When software controls your cooling tactics
- 01.28.2013
Software can be so powerful in control algorithms - but it can also be a sign of too much complexity and prone to unforeseeable consequences. Read More...
Dreamlining Boeing and batteries
- 01.22.2013
Lithium batteries are powerful energy-storage buckets, as Boeing aircraft and personal laptops have demonstrated; but they need lots of care, attention, and protection. Read More...
Wi-Fi appliance power control: Easy, but is it good?
- 01.18.2013
Devices such as the WeMo from Belkin make it easy to control appliance power, which can be handy but also have unintended consequences. Read More...
'Power' tools and why I love them
- 01.04.2013
Specialized tools unique to an application always fascinate me, whether they are complex and sophisticated or simple and basic solutions to a problem. Read More...
How about some power backup for the home?
- 12.19.2012
Having a backup power source for the home seems like a good and feasible idea, but in practice it has many challenges, constraints, conflicting priorities, and headaches. Only those who don’t know what they are talking about think otherwise. Read More...
Welcome - so, what is "power", anyway?
- 12.11.2012
We talk about "power" all the time, but do we really measure it directly? Usually not, so be careful of what you are actually measuring as its proxy, and the words you use to describe it. Read More...
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