12 Jun
2002
12 Jun
'02
2:36 p.m.
Tony Duell wrote:
Never!. A DC arc is much harder to extinguish than an AC arc (the
simplistic explanation is that the AC voltage drops to 0 twice per cycle,
thus helping to extinguish the arc). The DC rating of a mechanical switch
is not sqrt(2) times the AC rating.
I was thinking of the voltage break down here. I had forgotton about
the arcing bit.
--
Ben Franchuk - Dawn * 12/24 bit cpu *
www.jetnet.ab.ca/users/bfranchuk/index.html
Just a sanity check, here. What would be the _DC_ rating of a
momentary switch rated at 3A, 125VAC?
Doc
About 175 volts. Most 1 farad caps are rated at 5.5 volts.