Question

What is the formula for calculating the RMS value of a sinusoidal AC waveform?

Answer 1

The RMS (Root Mean Square) value of a sinusoidal AC waveform can be calculated using the following formula:

RMS
=

max
2
RMS=
2
    ​

V
max
    ​

    ​


where:

RMS
RMS is the Root Mean Square value (also known as the effective value).

max
V
max
    ​

 is the maximum voltage (amplitude) of the sinusoidal AC waveform.

For a perfect sinusoidal waveform, the RMS value represents the equivalent DC voltage that would produce the same amount of heating in a resistive load as the AC waveform. It is a useful way to express the magnitude of the AC waveform's power and is commonly used for comparing AC signals to DC signals or for calculating power consumption in AC circuits.