Noun
active power (plural active powers)
The real component of the power of an alternating current circuit; the product of the voltage and that part of the current that is in phase with the voltage
The death-knell of the Republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others. Theodore Roosevelt
As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a woman comes from defect in the active power. Thomas Aquinas
The third Universe comprises everything whose being consists in active power to establish connections between different objects, especially between objects in different Universes. Such is everything which is essentially a Sign. Charles Sanders Peirce
No civilized society can long exist, with an active power in its bosom that is stronger than the law. James Fenimore Cooper