power
Ever since the hydraulic principles of ancient Persia were 'rediscovered' by Europeans during the Renaissance, the sky has literally been the limit for watershape designers. At the 17th-century Dutch Palace of Het Loo, for example, fountain jets that trace their developmental history at least as far back as 8th-century Persia make an emphatic statement about the power of those who commissioned them. We all marvel, and rightly so, at the waterfeatures of Renaissance Italy, the pools of Versailles in France, the fountains of the
During our last session, we explored the water-flow/electric-current-flow analogy and summed it up in a few sentences that are worth repeating: • Water: The pressure created by the pump forces water to flow through the pipes and valves, overcoming the friction losses of the system. Higher pressure provides for more gallons per minute. • Electricity: The voltage created by the battery forces electrons to flow through the wires and switches, overcoming the ohmic resistance of the circuit. Higher voltage provides for more amperes. (The short version of that is, "Volts push amps through ohms.") To be truly useful to us, we must know something about the way these three basic units relate to
