A laboratory technician is calibrating a high-precision tungsten micro-heater designed for a 36 V mass spectrometer inlet.
When the heater is first switched on, a transient current spike is recorded before the system stabilizes to its normal operating current of 1.5 A.
Calculate the normal operating power of the micro-heater.
Use the equation:
power=potential difference×current \text{power} = \text{potential difference} \times \text{current} power=potential difference×currentExplain why the initial current is much higher than the normal operating current of 1.5 A when the micro-heater is first switched on.
39 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Physics 2.1 Current, potential difference and resistance, covering 2.1.1 Standard circuit diagram symbols, 2.1.2 Electrical charge and current, 2.1.3 Current, resistance and potential difference, and 2.1.4 Resistors. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.