As an electrical engineer, I kind of frown on the use of “wattage”. I know it’s a consequence of my education, and I don’t look down on anybody for it, but it just grates on my ears. “Power” is the correct term. “Wattage” makes you sound like an amateur.
“Amperage” grates less, but still sounds wrong compared to “current”. However, “voltage” sounds just fine, and in fact I almost always use that term instead of its synonym “potential”, which sounds just a shade too academic.
Anybody know what this is all about? Where did the “-age” terms come from? Are there any others I’m not able to think of right now?
I know a big part of our education is learning jargon, and often the very point of that jargon is to differentiate us from our differently-educated brothers in electricity. I suspect there was or is a class divide motivating this language divide. But why does “voltage” sound just fine while the others sound so wrong? Does anybody know the history of these terms?
Personally, as a physics teacher, I prefer “voltage” over “potential”, because the latter is too easily confused with “potential energy”. Plus, of course, all of its other uses in other fields: If I say that one of my students has a lot of potential, I don’t mean that they’re holding on to a Van de Graf generator. But “voltage” only has one meaning.
People sometimes refer voltage drops (or I suppose potential drops) across different sections of a circuit just as current or power are measured. Those wouldn’t properly be EMF.
Other than you who says wattage and amperage are wrong?
Currently amps is amperage, volts is voltage, and watts is wattage. The only odd ball is ohms is not ohmage.
But if you do happen to catch one of your students holding on to a Van de Graf generator, you are almost obligated to say that s/he has a lot of potential, using that stilted “I am making a pun” tone of voice.
The problem with “power” is that it is a term used for every damn thing in life, in both metaphorical and technical ways. Consequently, unless the context is very restrictive such that its completely clear that what you are talking about is wattage, it’s easiest to talk about wattage.
The other nice thing about amperage, voltage and wattage is that they not only connote the concept but define the units at the same time. Though it’s the case that current and potential are almost always referred to in amperes and volts, power has at least a few different units attached to it.
By reading SDMB threads like this, I reduce my ignorage while increasing my knowlage. They say the brain is analogous to a muscle, and this helps increase my brain strengthage.
ETA: But, it takes a greater amount of yearage than we thought.
Technically, power and wattage aren’t the same thing. Power is watts plus vars (var = volt-amp-reactive). The power going through a simple resistor like a light bulb is almost purely watts. The power going through a reactor like a coil of wire (an inductor) is almost purely vars.
For your typical residential service, the power company only charges you for watts. They expect that you aren’t going to be drawing too many vars. Business and industrial customers are charged out the wazoo for vars, so if they have a lot of vars they’ll usually pony up the money to pay for their own power factor correction devices to cancel out their vars.
I’ve never heard anyone refer to vars as varage, but hey, we could start a trend right here.
Can’t think of when I have used the terms wattage or amperage. I know when I am talking about power I do not think just of watts. Power can be watts or Horse power. I would seldom use the term current but rather amps.
But I have a pet peeve if my own.
When people reefer to Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Properly it is HV&AC or Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning. It is not H-VAC. H-VAC it the acronym High Vacuum systems. When I here a profession use the H-VAC I assume he doesn’t really know the trade.