written by Jim Nelson and Jane Nelson

In this activity from the PTRA manual "Role of the Laboratory in Teaching Introductory Physics", students are asked to find the condition for maximum power transfer from a power supply to a load resistor.  By adding an "internal resistor" to a power supply it can be made a variable in a typical power transfer laboratory activity.  Students who have studied calculus can do a maximum minimum calculation to check the results of this activity.

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Published January 1, 1995
Last Modified June 18, 2006