jonfli wrote:
Er, what other measurement would you prefer? RMS, Peak...?
I prefer lots and lots of instantaneous power measurements.
Average measurements are equivalent to DC if the relative phase angles are taken into account and therefore are the most accurate means . . .
Do sophisticated meters usually take these things into account? Or do they finesse the problem by taking zillions of samples? I do not know. The meter I read about (that Mizuno uses) fixes the problem by diverting a tiny fraction of the power into a joule heater and then measuring the heat. In other words, by calorimetry! People say calorimetry is hard but they fall back on it in the end. It is the oldest method of measuring energy. As Fleischmann says, in some ways it is still the best method of measuring radioactivity, for example. Microcalorimeters measure the impact of individual cosmic rays.
- Jed
