"Bill Turner" wrote in message
...
I'm becoming convinced this is more a question of semantics or of
somebody's arbitrary definition than one of actual fact.

I'm think it's more a question of consistency. If you define RMS voltage
and current a certain way (that we're all in agreement with), it stands to
reason that "RMS foo" should have a comparable definition. As Roy has
shown, using that same definition makes "RMS power" of questionable utility.

The fact that 'the audio guys' don't use that definition is unfortunate and
something to be aware of, but arguably not something to be encouraged. :-)
(On the other hand, getting the audio guys to agree to _any_ definitions can
be dicey... their usage of 'RMS power' was motivated by other terms such as
'PEP' -- peak envelope power -- that have almost nothing to do with the
utility of the amplifier whatsoever. It's not uncommon to see '100W PEP'
amplifiers that come with little wall warts capable of delivering no more
than, say, 3W average power.)