- #1
jaxnnux
- 7
- 0
Hello,
I'm a chemical engineering major who's taking a product design class. Hating all the different classroom desk/chair arrangements in my building, my group chose to redesign classroom desks/chairs (it has nothing to do w/ ChemE, I know). Being a ChemE, I only know about circuits from my Phys II course that I took 2 years ago.
Here's the deal: my groups wants to run circuits through the desks to allow people to plug in their laptops. There will either be one long desk or blocks of desks that can be electrically connected together. Here's what I know (or so I hope):
1) The volage from the classroom's outlet is 120 V
2) The current is about 20 A
3) The maximum current a laptop uses is about 4 A
Of course, the circuits will be connected in parallel to equally share current.
Therefore, my group concluded that the maximum number of computers plugged into the desk outlet before the fuse is blown is 5. Does this seem reasonable?
Also, does anyone know anything about the plug of a laptop? Will it convert the 120 V to the amount that the laptop uses ~ 22 V? Like I said, I know very little about circuits.
Thanks,
Phil
I'm a chemical engineering major who's taking a product design class. Hating all the different classroom desk/chair arrangements in my building, my group chose to redesign classroom desks/chairs (it has nothing to do w/ ChemE, I know). Being a ChemE, I only know about circuits from my Phys II course that I took 2 years ago.
Here's the deal: my groups wants to run circuits through the desks to allow people to plug in their laptops. There will either be one long desk or blocks of desks that can be electrically connected together. Here's what I know (or so I hope):
1) The volage from the classroom's outlet is 120 V
2) The current is about 20 A
3) The maximum current a laptop uses is about 4 A
Of course, the circuits will be connected in parallel to equally share current.
Therefore, my group concluded that the maximum number of computers plugged into the desk outlet before the fuse is blown is 5. Does this seem reasonable?
Also, does anyone know anything about the plug of a laptop? Will it convert the 120 V to the amount that the laptop uses ~ 22 V? Like I said, I know very little about circuits.
Thanks,
Phil