Average Power refers to which concept?

Average Power refers to which concept?

• A. The time-averaged rate of energy transfer
• B. The peak power
• C. The ratio of on time to total time
• D. The energy per pulse

Answer: (A)

Average power is the time-averaged rate of energy transfer. It means you look at how much energy is moved over a certain period and divide by that period, giving the average amount of energy moved per unit time. In pulsed systems, this ties together energy per pulse and how often pulses occur: multiply the energy per pulse by the repetition rate, or equivalently divide the energy per pulse by the time between pulses. If the power is constant during the on-time, the average power also equals the peak power times the duty cycle (the fraction of time the source is on). The energy per pulse is the amount of energy in a single pulse, and the peak power is the highest instantaneous power, neither by itself equals the average power. The ratio of on time to total time (duty cycle) helps relate these quantities but is not the average power on its own unless you know the power during the on-time.

Average power is the time-averaged rate of energy transfer. It means you look at how much energy is moved over a certain period and divide by that period, giving the average amount of energy moved per unit time. In pulsed systems, this ties together energy per pulse and how often pulses occur: multiply the energy per pulse by the repetition rate, or equivalently divide the energy per pulse by the time between pulses. If the power is constant during the on-time, the average power also equals the peak power times the duty cycle (the fraction of time the source is on). The energy per pulse is the amount of energy in a single pulse, and the peak power is the highest instantaneous power, neither by itself equals the average power. The ratio of on time to total time (duty cycle) helps relate these quantities but is not the average power on its own unless you know the power during the on-time.