Wednesday, 1 February 2012

DEFINE ELECTRCITY


An understanding of the basics of electricity requires the understanding of three fundamental concepts.
Voltage
Current
Resistance
A direct mathematical relationship exists between voltage, resistance, and current in all electronic circuits. 
Current – Current is the flow of electrical charge  through an electronic circuit. The direction of a current is opposite to the direction of electron flow. Current is measured in AMPERES (AMPS).
Voltage – Voltage is the electrical force that causes current to flow in a circuit. It is measured in VOLTS. 
The flow of water from one tank to another is a good analogy for an electrical circuit and the mathematical relationship between voltage, resistance, and current.
  Force: The difference in the water levels ≡ Voltage
  Flow: The flow of the water between the tanks ≡ Current 
  Opposition: The valve that limits the amount of water ≡ Resistance
Conventional Current assumes that current flows out of the positive side of the battery, through the circuit, and back to the negative side of the battery. This was the convention established when electricity was first discovered, but it is incorrect!
Electron Flow is what actually happens. The electrons flow out of the negative side of the battery, through the circuit, and back to the positive side of the battery.


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