Why are there 2 different standards?

[Big_Richard]

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[Big_Richard]

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[OzBenzHead]

PB: That's the very same site I'd have referred you to had I seen your original post sooner.

As to "Why not all be the same?":

One of the things I really value in life - in a very big way - is cultural difference.  Despite being a very active participant in the "global village" that the Internet is / promotes, I'd hate for the world to become one massive homogenised super-culture.

Vive la difference!   

[Big_Richard]

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[Bandolero]

And would you believe....there are some countries that run on 240V/60Hz...

[Big_Richard]

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[Bandolero]

Yes....Amps = Watts divided by Volts.

So something needing 100 watts on a 12 Volt system will draw 8.3 Amps

100 watts on a 48 Volt system would draw 2 Amps.

In theory.....

[john skene]

What I found interesting some years ago, was that until about the late 1920's the top quality Italian cars were RHD, while the "normal" cars were LHD.

Re the USA voltage, they believe that 240 Volts will kill you, while 120 Volts will make you wary to messing around where you shouldn't be.

[OzBenzHead]

[...]
Re the USA voltage, they believe that 240 Volts will kill you, while 120 Volts will make you wary to messing around where you shouldn't be.

Which is, of course, why their domestic wiring systems have no Earth.   

In a country as vast and sparsely populated as Oz (compared with the USA's denser population), a 110 / 120 volt system would not work well without a huge increase in the number of substations, repeaters, etc., as 110 volts just won't travel as well for as long a distance, without serious degradation of the voltage at output end, as will 240 volts.  At least that's my primitive understanding of it.

[oscar]

I found my answer. Very interesting reading...

http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm

What a great link.  

I agree too that it's good to have variety.  I haven't driven a LHD vehicle yet but I'm looking forward to it one day when I get to the US for a holiday and hire a car.  It'll be interesting to see if long learned RHD driving practices get me in trouble.  I reckon I'd have no probs with operating a manual stick with my right hand thanks to many $ playing Daytona in the early 90's in arcades    But I wonder if I'll come to an intersection and automatically give way to the right and get cleaned up by a Kenworth coming from my left.

What bugs me is the indicator/turn signal stalks on some European and US imported to Aus cars.  FYI to you LHD people, the RHD 116's have the turn signal stalk on the RHS of the steering column.  Very considerate of MB to follow the trend and cater for RHD countries like Aus in this manner.  Newer imports for some reason have been allowed to basically keep a LHD steering column designed for LHD vehicles so the stalk is on the LHS. 

What am I whinging about you may wonder? 

With most cars having two stalks these days (one for turn signals, one for wipers and high beam) it means that you see many aussies wanting to take a left hand turn for example, only to actuate the windshield wipers.  That's mildly amusing but try operating the windshield washers and you inadvertently shine the high beam lights at oncoming vehicles.  There's potential for road rage.  I've been there and it's hard to employ facial expressions and finger or hand gestures to say "whoops" to the oncoming angry Holden driver who I'm sure was doing his darndest to communicate via morse code with his high beam light "it's ok, I realise your driving an import with the stalk on the wrong side LOL, have a nice day" 

[c107]

I agree too that it's good to have variety.  I haven't driven a LHD vehicle yet but I'm looking forward to it one day when I get to the US for a holiday and hire a car.  It'll be interesting to see if long learned RHD driving practices get me in trouble.  I reckon I'd have no probs with operating a manual stick with my right hand thanks to many $ playing Daytona in the early 90's in arcades    But I wonder if I'll come to an intersection and automatically give way to the right and get cleaned up by a Kenworth coming from my left.

coming out of lurk mode...  as somebody who travels back and forth between Aus and USA, driving left right is pretty easy to adapt to.   what I still have not done yet is gotten used to walking to the correct side of the car.   When in the usa, when getting a ride in somebody's car invaribly i walk to the drivers side, or if going to my own car i go to the passengers side first.   Also driving in carparks can be 'interesting'.   

[Big_Richard]

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[John Hubertz]

Indeed, Celebrate differences - it causes creative and emotional and spiritual growth.

DO NOT CELEBRATE THIS DIFFERENCE:

We are like this:



Sane countries would instead only allow this:



The only domination is to lead by example - and I believe Ghandi and Albert Schweitzer and many of you are wonderful, saintly, peace-loving activists for hope.

Thank you all - and Happy Holidays.

An American fighting his war for peace.

John Edward Charles Hubertz
Fort Wayne, Indiana

[zeppelinboy]

[...]
Re the USA voltage, they believe that 240 Volts will kill you, while 120 Volts will make you wary to messing around where you shouldn't be.

Which is, of course, why their domestic wiring systems have no Earth.   

In a country as vast and sparsely populated as Oz (compared with the USA's denser population), a 110 / 120 volt system would not work well without a huge increase in the number of substations, repeaters, etc., as 110 volts just won't travel as well for as long a distance, without serious degradation of the voltage at output end, as will 240 volts.  At least that's my primitive understanding of it.

The actual planet  earth is used as the earth in US power systems, it saves having to run another wire all the way back to the powerplant. A standard outlet in a US home has three conductors. 1 - Live 120V ac, 2 - neultral (connected to ground at the fusebox, completes the circult), 3 - ground (connected to ground in some manner, functions to provide a return for current incase the neutral is interrupted so that you don't get shocked)

Electricity os not transmitted at 110 V in the US or 240 V in Oz, if it were, the resistance losses would be attrocious because of the insanely high currents, not to mention transmission lines would need to be many feet in diameter. IN the US, power is transmitted over long distances (1000's of miles) @ 100-200kV then for distribution it is stepped down to 30kV or so, then as the distribution nets get smaller and smaller the voltage is progressively stepped down. In a neighborhood the voltage is about 1000V and outside of each house is a transformer which feeds each home 120V 2 phase power. Each phase has its own busbar in the fuse box so that either 120V (phase 1 or 2 to ground) or 240V (phase 1 to phase 2) can be selected. Large appliances such as dryers and electric stoves and ovens use 240V.

[OzBenzHead]

[...] Electricity os not transmitted at 110 V in the US or 240 V in Oz, if it were, the resistance losses would be attrocious because of the insanely high currents, not to mention transmission lines would need to be many feet in diameter. IN the US, power is transmitted over long distances (1000's of miles) @ 100-200kV then for distribution it is stepped down to 30kV or so, then as the distribution nets get smaller and smaller the voltage is progressively stepped down. In a neighborhood the voltage is about 1000V and outside of each house is a transformer which feeds each home 120V 2 phase power. Each phase has its own busbar in the fuse box so that either 120V (phase 1 or 2 to ground) or 240V (phase 1 to phase 2) can be selected. Large appliances such as dryers and electric stoves and ovens use 240V.

The long-distance transmission is similar in Oz, but ...

One transformer per house?  Well, there's proof of my point, no?

In Oz, one street-pole transformer feeds many houses - 53 in my street alone, and probably houses around the square of the block as well.  Our electric ranges (stoves) run three phase 240V, and 415V three phase (i.e. light-medium industrial strength power) is also available with just one extra wire from the supply pole (handy for heavy-duty workshop / power-tool freaks).

The US and Oz each have similar electrocution statistics per million of population (just under 2 per mill.) - excluding the electric chair, of course - so it seems that neither system is safer than the other.  Most of those deaths are from domestic-grade supplies, the most commonly encountered and most taken for granted.