Why do we still confuse KW and KWH?

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Newtonian physics fails to accurately describe the universe in small part because there is no stationary object anywhere. The concept of lack of motion is just an artifact of living on a planetary body. That makes one of the basic assumptions of Newtonian physics false. All motion is relative, and everything is in motion.
 
SageBrush said:
f = m*a applies

Funny. That's about all I told my son when he drove off to study for his Phd in physics. I think he was amused but it is a very important concept to keep in mind while driving. Not only for safety's sake but for the longevity of the car itself.
 
goldbrick said:
SageBrush said:
f = m*a applies

Funny. That's about all I told my son when he drove off to study for his Phd in physics. I think he was amused but it is a very important concept to keep in mind while driving. Not only for safety's sake but for the longevity of the car itself.
Momentum is more immediate :eek:
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
cwerdna said:
martyscholes said:
I just read a thread where a poster conflated KW and KWH. That seems to be a regular mistake, despite EVs being more common than ever. What does it take to stop the confusion? The two really are a different as horsepower and a gallon of gasoline.
...
What does it take to get this right? Am I just too pedantic?
It drives me nuts. It happens here, on other EV boards and on various EV FB groups. No on the last question.

I usually step in to correct or to seek clarification. Unfortunately, sometimes (often ignorant) folks will attack me for it. :roll:

People got really pissed off and annoyed at the cluster#$$% I pointed to at https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=564743#p564743. What's scary and surprising is what Randy pointed out at https://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=565245#p565245. :shock:

+1 but that isn't even the most frustrating part. Correct someone and they become VERY defensive with all kinds of BS reasons as to why its not important, that everyone knows what you mean, You just being an Ahole, etc.
To resurrect an old thread, the bolded part still goes on to this day.

Maybe 1/2 the time, people say oops and fix their mistake or say, yeah, I meant ___ (the correct unit). But sometimes, you to get total aholes like some guy that used the wrong units several times in a single reply (e.g. talking about "60kW batteries"). When I tried to correct him, he announced he was blocking me and he did.

Another dude in an unrelated thread talked about nn kW cars. After correcting and explaining the difference, one guy attacked me and the OP attacked me too and it looks like he blocked me.

I'm not the only one correcting people but it is pretty ridiculous when they lash out instead of learning or wanting to learn.
 
I suspect the majority of people would just roll their eyes and mutter "whatever" - apparently ignorance truly is bliss.

Many people couldn't explain the difference between velocity and acceleration either. Or momentum vs impulse. So many more examples...
 
Over 2 years later and nothing has changed. I am beginning to think the only reason social media is so popular is because it allows one to create their own reality and not have someone get in their face. :lol:
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Over 2 years later and nothing has changed. I am beginning to think the only reason social media is so popular is because it allows one to create their own reality and not have someone get in their face. :lol:

"I reject your reality, and substitute my own. -Adam Savage" is the core of social media unfortunately.
 
It's a primate thing. Humans, especially males, are constantly competing for status in the hierarchy. When some guy posts about his car (or about anything else, for that matter), he is trying to boost his status in the group. If he gets corrected on his use of terminology, that is felt (not necessarily on the conscious level) as an attempt to slap him back down. Thus his reaction is hostile. We are less likely to get that backlash if we can manage to make the correction seem friendly and helpful - more an attempt to welcome a newcomer into the group. Easier said than done, of course...
 
(thread resurrection)
It is sad/unfortunate that the person at https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/setec-ccs-adapter-blocked-again-wth-tesla.248139/page-3#post-6848246 claims to have attended school for an EE degree has all sorts of kW vs. kWh confusion.

Start from https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/setec-ccs-adapter-blocked-again-wth-tesla.248139/page-2#post-6735428.
 
My major in college was originally EE but eventually I switched to straight computer science. However, both were still within my university's school of engineering and applied science and I graduated from it with a BS degree.

I only have a tiny fraction of the knowledge of an EE.
 
cwerdna said:
My major in college was originally EE but eventually I switched to straight computer science. However, both were still within my university's school of engineering and applied science and I graduated from it with a BS degree.

I only have a tiny fraction of the knowledge of an EE.
Thank you for trying to correct the incorrect terminology on an ongoing basis. It bothers me as an EE in the power industry, but you usually step in to offer the correct terminology and I appreciate it.
 
Same here: much thanks Cwerdna, it bothers me lots, I'm also an EE, though not in the power industry.

People just don't care to make the effort, which also bothers me.
 
In 2019 the Pew Research Center conducted an 11 question survey of basic science understanding. The average scores are revealing...

PS_2019.03.28_science-knowledge_0-01.png

Less than 10% of Americans aced the test...

So, expecting most people to understand the difference between kW and kWh is simply unrealistic.

I've found that most people also lack a basic understanding of how computers work. They are also confused and bewildered by basic IT terminology. After doing IT work for more than 25 years, I've accepted the fact that many people will never understand the basics of how computers work nor basic computer terminology. Same goes for many other modern technologies.

To quote Arthur C Clarke:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

People that work in technical fields should be grateful for that lack of understanding and interest in basic science and technology - that's what keeps us all employed :)
 
So, expecting most people to understand the difference between kW and kWh is simply unrealistic.

I agree. HOWEVER, when someone acquires an EV, then just as they should be expected to know the difference between gasoline and oil, and should at least know what octane gas to use in an ICE, driving an EV requires a basic knowledge of charging terminology, comparable to octane, oil weights, and tuneup items like spark plugs. Do some people drive ICEVs without anything but the knowledge of where to stick a gasoline pump nozzle? Yes. That doesn't mean that this is all that should be expected of all ICE drivers.
 
So, having been guilty of mistakenly using these terms wrongly on this forum and having been savagely criticized for it, I say that we back off a bit. I know perfectly well the difference, I don't always use the correct terminology and I believe that context helps define the meaning. I know it ain't correct but ad hominem attacks don't help. We want to attract people to the EV world not repel them.
 
Back
Top