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Re: [Phys-l] Thermal heating in a resistor?



John Clement wrote:
Why is the formula P=I^2R used to describe thermal power loss in resistor
instead of P=IV or P=V^2/R? Is this just the textbook author's choice of
formula?
-Tony
--
Tony Wayne /snip/
I have just come across an extremely likely explanation for this usage.
This is called the Joule-Lenz law or Joule's first law. /snip/
John M. Clement
I was bemused by this exchange concerning what was once widely known as 'Joule heating',
a term then used synonymously with 'I2R loss'.
Taking a google straw poll however, I see that 'ohmic heating' or 'ohmic dissipation'
is now preferred to Joule heating (apparently) in physics contexts.
I expect it is unfair to notice that at least one physics paper in atmospheric physics
now equates Joule heating with 'frictional heating' in referring to the interaction of
charged winds with magnetic and electric field effects.

Brian W