| Alternating Current (AC) |
A type of current that alternates from positive to negative at regular intervals. AC is the standard type of current used in electrical distribution systems by utility power companies due to the ease that it travels through cabling. Electrical wall sockets in nearly all structures served with utility power provide AC power. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Apparent Power |
The load power as expressed in VA or KVA. This value is usually greater than real power due to circuit reactance. |
| Arc |
A spark resulting when current flows between two points that are not connected by an intentional conductor |
| Arrester |
Nonlinear impedance connected between the power conductors to suppress transients larger than a selected voltage, usually used for lightning protection. May be used interchangeably with "suppressor" or "protector" and a variety of other terms that describe transient voltage suppression. Arrestor is more frequently used to describe data line surge suppressors for ethernet, phone, coax or other type of signal protection. See suppressor. |
| Backbone |
The main portion of a computer network that is capable of carrying the majority of traffic on a computer network. The backbone is commonly used to connect large networks or companies together. Larger backbones used for the Internet are used to carry the majority of traffic throughout the world. |
| Battery |
A group of cells connected in such a way that more current and/or voltage is delivered than from one cell. See direct current. |
| Blackout |
An AC power failure lasting anywhere from a few cycles to several hours or even days in duration. |
| Breaker |
Short for circuit breaker. See circuit breaker. |
| Broadcast |
In general, a broadcast is used to describe a message sent to all individuals in an area. In computer networking, the broadcast address is used to distribute a signal across a network, commonly used to declare to other devices on a network that a new device has connected to the network and to give other mechanisms information about the newly connected device. |
| Brownout |
Common term for undervoltage, taken from the coloration of filament style light bulbs during undervoltage conditions. See undervoltage |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
| Amp |
The unit of measure for electrical current. |
|
