Quote:
Originally Posted by djtoast  But you can't have electrical power without them 
In fact they kinda are, they're a measure of power expressed as a multiple of a given current surely? In fact power is often expressed by the symbol VA instead of W; same as force can be expressed as kgm/s^-2 or N for shorthand. |
Volt amps and watts are different
"Real Power is measured in watts (W) and is the power drawn by the electrical resistance of a system that does useful work
Apparent Power is measured in volt-amps (VA) and is the voltage on an AC system multiplied by all the current that flows in it. It is the vector sum of the true and the reactive power.
Reactive Power, is measured in volt-amperes reactive (VAR). Reactive Power is the power stored in and discharged by the inductive motors, transformers or solenoids."
