and the voltage argument just isn't working for me. Why not just design them with step up transformers?
They do. In this case a step-down transformer from 220v to 110v. But you don't get something for nothing. Again, its the watts, a measure of the energy going into the hairdryer. Watts = Volts x Amps. A hairdryer basically coverts electric energy to evaporation energy (airblowing plus heat). So in the U.S. we have 110 volts, which is half the volts in the UK. You could compensate by increasing the current, the amps, but we don't because high amps are dangerous. So Yvonne's hairdryer had less energy going into it in Canada than it did in the UK, thus the hair took longer to dry. Things are a little more complex with regard to the fact it's an AC circuit and the exact coil design in the hairdryer. Artemis
History is easy once you've lived it. - Duncan MacLeod Writing history is easy once you've lived it. - Artemis
