On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 04:21:55 GMT, Richard Clark
wrote:

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:54:07 -0600, "Nick Kennedy"
wrote:

Impedance matching a generator to the load would be a bad idea
...
Each station generates in phase with the voltage that happens to be present at its location.

Hi Nick,

Phase is necessarily found in Impedance. As you allow that multiple
generators share a line, they are also across the load as a load if
they do not present the right phase.

As for the "bad idea" of matching, you are appealing to Edison's old
and deliberate misreading of Thevenin. Matching does NOT require a
resistance, this is a mis-read of conjugate matching that follows the
fact (in antennas). It does not drive the need (in power delivery).
Power stations only need perform a Z Match, not a Conjugate Match.
Any form of X is sufficient to accomplish the task and they do it far
simpler through field excitation control.

Back when Edison was battling Westinghouse/Tesla in the DC vs. AC
distribution system wars; Edison tried to confuse the issue with his
munged up version of Thevenin's Theorem insisting that his competitors
would have to burn up half their power to deliver half their power.
He thus claimed his DC system to be more "efficient." New York
bankers didn't know the difference between Thevenin or Copernicus. In
fact, it was Thevenin's proof that crippled Edison in the marketplace.
The only way to cut losses was to lift potentials into the
stratosphere. Edison also had a campaign trying to prove AC was
lethal, but DC was survivable (largely true). But with a low loss
system running in the KV and no way to convert it to residential use,
the writing (about lethality) was on the wall. AC, on the other hand,
could deal with that easily.

Edison's business/technical logic would have to wait for nearly 100
years to be resurrected for the ENRON bubble to coincide with New York
banker IQ phasing.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

I had never thought of the power industry having "matching" problems
until I picked up a magazine ( the New Yorker of all things ) in a
doctor's office years ago and there was a story about fluctuating
SWR's etc and what the power company did to compensate. Unfortunately
I got called in to see the Doc before I could finish the article.
Thanks for sharing some light on the subject.

Gary K8IQ