Electricity - Is it possible to 'go slower'??

[wilsarnie]

So let me sum up the situation -

A couple of nights ago we were having intermittant power cuts. On investigation it turns out that the sub-station has broken down and will take a few days to fix. We now have a wacking great big generator at the end of the road, to supply the whole road.

We re-set all of the digital clocks to the correct time. When we woke up this morning both the bedroom and the cooker digital clock were 10 minutes SLOWER than the correct time.

We were very spooked. Is it possible for elecricity to make something go slower? Have we got an unexplained 'force' that makes things do that?! Has anyone any ideas??

[BillyNoMates]

The generator supplying your road will probably not be producing an output as 'clean' or well regulated as your regular mains supply.

The voltage may be slightly lower than normal or fluctuating more than normal due to the demand placed on it. Also the frequency of the supply may not be as accurate - this is most likely causing clocks to run more slowly.

[wilsarnie]

Thanks Billy! I was determined my boyfriend was playing tricks on me....

[qapmoc]

Hi wilsarnie, Many mains powered clocks use the 50Hz frequency of the main electricity supply to power the clock AND keep the time correct, All the generators which connect to the UK grid are synchonised with each other (running at exactly the same speed) and the frequency is deliberately controlled up and down to keep all the clocks in correct time. A small generator such as you have at the end of your road cannot keep the frequency exactly correct because whenever the load changes then the speed will change slightly and the speed is the same as the frequency.