When I am given Irms = 10cos(500t - 45(deg)), and I need to plug it into an equation using Irms do I plug in 10<-45? or just the 10? I understand that 10 is I/sqrt(2). I guess my question is more, is the rms value just the magnitude? or is it the magnitude and angle?
if you're looking at phasors (and the like), you'll need the amplitude and the angle.
if you're looking at things like average power, you don't need the angle.
can you be more specific about the equation(s) that brought up the question?
I found my Irms (Phasor) with real and imaginary components, then converted from cartesian to polar. I now have a rms magnitude and angle. When I plug into the AVG PWR eq. (Pavg = I2rms *R), do I only use the magnitude of Irms , as its the real portion of the complex pwr eq?
Ahh I think that I see where I was confused. an rms value is always mag/sqrt[2]. the angle is not part of the rms value itself, but is part of the V or I. Is that correct?