This episode of 'My Automation Education' is going to touch on transformers. Not the Michael Bay explosion packed movie kind, like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, but the electrical kind. During power outages or heat waves you sometimes hear of a transformer blowing and causing power to go out in a certain area. But what are transformers, and what makes them so important? We'll consult good ol' Wikipedia for that...

A transformer is a passive electrical device which is designed to change one voltage to another by magnetic induction. So basically, a transformer allows us to send power from one place to another at the most efficient frequency. Transformers range in size from a thumbnail-sized coupling transformer hidden inside a stage microphone to huge units weighing hundreds of tons used to interconnect portions of power grids. All operate on the same basic principles, although the range of designs is wide. While new technologies have eliminated the need for transformers in some electronic circuits, transformers are still found in nearly all electronic devices designed for household ("mains") voltage. Transformers are essential for high-voltage electric power transmission, which makes long-distance transmission economically practical.

A major application of transformers is to increase voltage before transmitting electrical energy over long distances through wires. Wires have resistance and so dissipate electrical energy at a rate proportional to the square of the current through the wire. By transforming electrical power to a high-voltage (and therefore low-current) form for transmission and back again afterward, transformers enable economical transmission of power over long distances. Consequently, transformers have shaped the electricity supply industry, permitting generation to be located remotely from points of demand. All but a tiny fraction of the world's electrical power has passed through a series of transformers by the time it reaches the consumer.