what are harmonic currents, are they excessive currents travelling down the neutral from unbalanced loads? and why do they have effects on the wave cycle?
They will be added to the 50/60Hz sinewave that is expected to exist on the mains lines. It will be a high amplitude 50/60Hz sinewave with small amplitude sinewaves around it.How do they distort the pure sinewave if they are at different frequencies?
Exactly! A 3rd harmonic has 3 times the fundamental frequency and so on.its ok i think i got it, i think its how many cycles of the harmonics fit into the fundamentals complete cycle, so if there were 3 cycles of harmonics in the fundamental it would be 3rd harmonics