ROOT MEAN SQUARE VALUE The RMS value of a set of values (or a continuous-time waveform) is the square root

of the arithmetic mean (average) of the squares of the original values.In a direct current (DC) circuit, voltage or

current is simple to define, but in an alternating current (AC) circuit, the definition is more complicated, and can be done in several ways. Root-mean-square (rms) refersto the most common mathematical method of defining the effective voltage or current of an AC wave. To determine rms value, three mathematical operations are carried out onthe function representing Learn More

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the AC waveform:

(1) The square of the waveform function (usually a sine wave) is determined. (2) The function resulting from step (1) is averaged over time. (3) The square root of the function resulting from step (2) is found.

In a circuit whose impedance consistsof a pure resistance, the rms value of an ACwave is often called the effective value or DC-equivalent value.For example, if an AC source of 100 volts rms is connected across a resistor, and theresulting current causes 50 watts of heat to be dissipated by the resistor, then 50 wattsof heat will also be dissipated if a 100-volt DC source is connected to the resistor. For a sine wave, the rms value is 0.707 times the peak value, or 0.354 times thepeak-to-peak value. Household utility voltages are expressed in rms terms.? Aso-called "117-volt" AC circuit carries about 165 volts peak (pk), or 330 voltspeak-to-peak (pk-pk).

The RMS value of a function is often used in physics and electrical engineering.

[edit] Average electrical power

Electrical engineers often need to know the power, P, dissipated by an electrical resistance, R. It is easy to do the calculation when there is a constant current, I, through the resistance. For a load of R ohms, power is defined simply as:

However, if the current is a time-varying function, I(t), this formula must be extended to reflect the fact that the current (and thus the instantaneous power) is varying over time. If the function is periodic (such as household AC power), it is nonetheless still meaningful to talk about the

average power dissipated over time, which we calculate by taking the simple average of the power at each instant in the waveform or, equivalently, the squared current. That is, (where denotes the mean of a function)

(as R does not vary over time, it can be factored out) (by definition of RMS) So, the RMS value, IRMS, of the function I(t) is the constant signal that yields the same power dissipation as the time-averaged power dissipation of the current I(t). We can also show by the same method that for a time-varying voltage, V(t), with RMS value VRMS,

This equation can be used for any periodic waveform, such as a sinusoidal or sawtooth waveform, allowing us to calculate the mean power delivered into a specified load. By taking the square root of both these equations and multiplying them together, we get the equation

Both derivations depend on voltage and current being proportional (i.e., the load, R, is purely resistive). Reactive loads (i.e., loads capable of not just dissipating energy but also storing it) are discussed under the topic of AC power.