Furman Merit Series Owner's Manual page 7

MERIT SERIES PowER CondITIonERS • EnGLISH
DEFINITIONS
SPIKE: This is a pulse of energy on the power line.
Spikes can have voltages as high as 6000 volts.
Though they are usually of very short duration, the
energy they contain can be considerable, enough
to damage sensitive solid-state components in
audio and computer equipment. Spikes can also
foul switch contacts and degrade wiring insulation.
They are an unavoidable component of electric
power. They are caused unpredictably by elec-
tric motors switching on or off (on the premises
or outside), utility company maintenance opera-
tions, lightning strikes and other factors. Spikes
(also called surges or transients) are absorbed by
special components in the Merit Series to pro-
vide safe voltage levels to protect your equip-
ment.
RFI/EMI INTERFERENCE: Noise from RFI (Radio
Frequency Interference) or EMI (Electro Magnet-
ic Interference) involves lower voltages and less
energy than is found in spikes, but it is continu-
ous rather than transient in nature. It is not likely
to cause damage, but it can certainly be annoying,
producing static in audio circuits, "snow" on vid-
eo screens, or garbled data in computers. Noise
can be introduced into AC lines by nearby radio
transmitters, certain kinds of lighting, electric
motors, and other sources. Because noise oc-
curs at higher frequencies than the 50 or 60 Hz
AC line, it can be effectively reduced through
use of low-pass filtering.