Dois problemas práticos de eletricidade Vitoriana e sua discussão no ensino secundário e universitário

Abstract

Two problems inspired by Paul Nahin's biography of Oliver Heaviside, the home illumination problem and the determination of the leakage point in an undersea telegraphic cable are presented, discussed and solved in the framework of the applied electricity of the Victorian Age. The two problems are concrete and at the same time relatively simple illustrations of the intricate interconnections between physics and the world of practical affairs. Basic elements of the theory of direct current circuits, as for example Ohm's law, and high school algebra are the only tools we need to discuss them in class, at the high school level or at the fundamental university physics one. Copyright by the Sociedade Brasileira de Física. Printed in Brazil.