The AC quantity that produces the same heating effect as a given DC value is called the

The AC quantity that produces the same heating effect as a given DC value is called the

• A. Peak Voltage
• B. Instantaneous Voltage
• C. Effective Voltage (RMS)
• D. Average Voltage

Answer: (C)

Power (the heating effect) in a resistor depends on the square of the voltage. For DC, P = V^2 / R. With AC, the voltage varies over time, but the average heating over a cycle is determined by the mean of the square of the voltage, which leads to the RMS value: Vrms = Vp/√2 and Pavg = Vrms^2 / R. So the AC quantity that produces the same heating as a given DC value is the RMS (effective) voltage. Peak voltage is just the maximum instant value and doesn't reflect heating over time, instantaneous voltage is the value at a moment, and average voltage is the mean of the waveform, which does not correspond to the heating because it ignores the V^2 relationship.

Power (the heating effect) in a resistor depends on the square of the voltage. For DC, P = V^2 / R. With AC, the voltage varies over time, but the average heating over a cycle is determined by the mean of the square of the voltage, which leads to the RMS value: Vrms = Vp/√2 and Pavg = Vrms^2 / R. So the AC quantity that produces the same heating as a given DC value is the RMS (effective) voltage. Peak voltage is just the maximum instant value and doesn't reflect heating over time, instantaneous voltage is the value at a moment, and average voltage is the mean of the waveform, which does not correspond to the heating because it ignores the V^2 relationship.