Cloning a disk: partclone?

[Tom Browder <tom.browder@gmail.com>]

On my main PC, I would like to clone my boot drive onto another disk for 2 reasons:

1. Use a larger disk for the main drive

2. Create an emergency recovery disk

A new Debian package to me is "partclone". Questions:

+ Can that be used for both purposes?

+ Can it do a complete clone on an active disk? Or do I need a live CD or USB stick?

Thanks.

-Tom