Thank you very much MrAl!
Please allow me to decompose your post into sections.
I remember well our converstaion about an RL circuit.
When the voltage starts off at its peak, then in order for the current to precede the voltage, there's a DC offset given to the current.
Does it really happen in the case of inductive appliances, or is their R (ohmic resistance) high enough for to eliminate quickly the DC offset?
So in that case, a rapid change in current takes place in the LIVE and NEUTRAL wires and in the appliance.
Therefore harmonics are being created in these wires.
I dont understand how do the harmonics damage the appliance or other appliances?
I know that they increase the power factor of the appliance, but dont get how they damage it.
Hi again,
[1]
As you know, when the inductance is presented with a voltage with
a step change, it takes a little while for the current to build in the inductor.
That means that the current will appear a little while after the voltage
starts out.
You can try feeding a RL circuit with a sine wave and with a cosine wave
to see the difference.
[2]
I was saying that the harmonics can interfere with another appliance
and a good example of this is probably an AM radio. The steep rise
in voltage (near the peak) would give rise to many odd harmonics that
could radiate out and interfere with an AM radio or even a stereo music
system. If you look at Fourier you'll see the number of harmonics
is infinite in theory and their amplitude depends partly on the amplitude
of the originating signal, and any one of those harmonics alone can cause
interference so groups of them have an even better chance.
On the other hand, if the voltage starts out at only 2 or 3 volts, the
originating amplitude will be much lower (perhaps 100 times lower)
so the chance of interference, although not entirely eliminated, is
much less.
Case in point: I have 5v signals in one of my devices that totally screws
up AM reception in a nearby radio. Even that low (5v) and there is still
plenty of interference at short distances. One way to get rid of it is to try to
slow down the rise of the signals wave front which isnt always easy and
just about impossible for my particular device.