Admittance
The measure of resistance in an AC current when the expression 1/R is used.
Alternating Current (AC)
Electrons move first in one direction and then reverse and move in
the opposite direction.
Amp (A)
The unit of current; aka ampere
Ampere (A)
The unit of current; aka amp
Atomic Reactor
A device that converts nuclear energy to electrical energy.
Battery
A device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
Circuit Breaker
A device constructed to interrupt a circuit before a dangerous
temperature is reached.
Concentration
Law of electrostatics that states the greatest intensity of charge
will be on the surface where the curvature is the sharpest.
Conductance
The measure of resistance in a DC current when the expression 1/R is used.
Conduction Band
An area within the force field of an atom beyond the valance band.
Conductor
A material that allows electrons to flow freely.
Contact
Electrification by contact occurs when two objects touch, permitting
electrons to move from one to the other.
Current
The quantity or the number of electrons flowing.
Direct Current (DC)
All electrons travel in the same direction.
Distribution
Law of electrostatics that states charges reside on the surfaces of
conductors but are evenly distributed throughout nonconductors.
Electric Current
Electrons that are moving in predominantly the same direction.
Electrical Field
A force field; the result of the composite forces of the charges
residing within an object.
Electrification
Describes the process of electron charges being added to or
subtracted from an object.
Electromotive Force (emf)
The force or strength of electron flow; aka potential difference.
Electrostatics
The study of the distribution of fixed charges, or electrons, that
are at rest.
Friction
Electrification that occurs when one object is rubbed against another
and, due to differences in the number of electrons available on each,
electrons travel from one to the other.
Fuse
A device constructed to interrupt a circuit before a dangerous
temperature is reached.
Gasses
A light mixture that has neither shape nor volume.
Generator
A device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy using
moving lines of flux in relationship to a conductor to induce current;
aka dynamo.
Induction
The process of electrical fields acting on one another without contact.
Insulator
A material that inhibits electron flow.
Inverse Square Law
Law of electrostatics that state the force between two charges is
directly proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Ionic solution
Charged particles dissolved within a solution.
laws of electrostatics
Rules relating how objects are electrified.
metallic conductor
The most common pathway for the movement of electrical current.
milliamperage
The measurement of x-ray tube current, the number of electrons
crossing the tube from cathode to anode per second.
movement
Second law of electrostatics that states only negative charges move
along solid conductors.
negative charge
Charge of the electron, which is located outside the nucleus, bound
by relatively weak forces.
ohm
The unit of resistance.
parallel circuit
An electric circuit designed to send electrons through various
resistance devices by giving each component its own branch.
positive charge
Charge of the proton, which is located within the nucleus by very
strong forces.
potential difference
The force or strength of electron flow, aka electromotive force. (emf)
potentiometer
A variable resistor that permits a variable contact to slide along a
series circuit of resistance coils.
power loss formula
Calculation that can provide an understanding of the changes in
resistance to heat output.
repulsion - attraction
Law of electrostatics that states like charges repel and unlike
charges attract.
resistance
The amount of opposition to the current in the circuit.
rheostat
A device constructed to interrupt a circuit before a dangerous
temperature is reached.
semiconductor
A material that allows electrons to flow freely under certain
conditions or that inhibits electron flow under certain conditions (insulator).
series circuit
An electric circuit designed to send electrons through various
resistance devices by linking them one after the other.
solar converter
A device that converts solar photons to electrical energy.
static discharge
The result of electrons jumping the gap between two objects, one
negatively charged and one positively charged, resulting in the
equalization of the charges of the two objects.
superconductor
A material that allows electrons to flow freely.
vacuum
A space from which air has been removed.
valance energy band
The outermost orbital shell
volt
The unit of potential difference.
voltage (v)
The unit of potential difference.
zero ground potential
A neutral reference point for discussing charges. the earth is
defined as zero, aka ground potential.