2007-01-05 16:28:18 · 2 answers · asked by arjun c 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
They chose 110 volts because they though a shock from that would hurt but not be fatal. The voltage can be changed with windings in transformers. It is easy to keep the windings so that it doubles the voltage or double that. If you do the windings so that it steps up voltage a factor of say 1.589, then it would take for ever to figure the changing of internal parts to handle the voltage. If it was a nice even 2. Then the factors can be changed accordingly.
2007-01-05 16:37:27 · answer #1 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the choice of voltage has nothing to do with safety means. Also, the standard is generally multiples of 12, ie 120 volt, 240 volt, etc. The reason for the variance in the use of lower voltage vs higher voltage is power loss during transmission. As outline in the link below, lower voltage is used for smaller electrical devices because of the lower yield requirements where larger items like dryers and heaters will you 240 [+/- 10%] because of the higher yield [heat].
The use of 110/120 in devices is an industry standard, so that the feed delivered by electric supply agencies will be regulated also.
2007-01-06 00:51:58 · answer #2 · answered by Duane 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋