Electricity and Magnetism Review

Flashcards covering fundamentals of electricity, capacitance, direct current circuits, and magnetism.

Atom

Smallest unit of matter composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Proton

Subatomic particle with a positive electric charge of +1 elementary charge.

Neutron

Subatomic particle with no electric charge and approximately the same mass as a proton.

Electron

Subatomic particle with a negative charge of -1 elementary charge.

Valence electrons

Electrons in an atom's outermost shell that participate in chemical bonding.

Core electrons

Electrons in the inner shells of an atom, generally not involved in chemical bonding.

Electricity

Fundamental form of energy expressed in terms of movement and interaction of electrons.

Conductors

Materials where valence electrons can move easily, allowing electricity to flow.

Insulators

Materials where valence electrons are tightly bound, restricting electricity flow.

Semiconductors

Materials with electrical conductivity between conductors and insulators.

Electric Charge

Amount of 'electric-ness' the mass carries, measured in Coulombs (C).

Electric Field

Region around a charged object where a force would be exerted on another charged object.

Potential Energy

Stored energy of position possessed by an object.

Electric Potential

Amount of work needed to move a unit charge from reference point to a specific point against an electric field.

Capacitor

Device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced, insulated surfaces.

Capacitance

Measure of a capacitor's ability to store electrical energy or charge, measured in Farads (F).

Voltage

Potential difference between the two plates of a capacitor, measured in Volts (V).

Charge (Capacitor)

Amount of electricity stored on a capacitor's plates, measured in Coulombs (C).

Electrodes

Two surfaces that store electrical charge in a capacitor.

Dielectric Material

Insulating material placed between capacitor plates to prevent direct electrical contact and increase capacitance.

A measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electrical current.

Resistivity

A measure of how difficult it is to pass current through a wire or component.

Resistance

States the relationship between electric current and potential difference; current is directly proportional to voltage.

Ohm's Law

A circuit with only one path for current flow.

Series Circuit

A circuit with multiple paths for current flow.

Parallel Circuit

Rate at which electrical energy is converted to other forms (heat, light, motion, etc.).

Electric Power

Total current entering a junction is equal to total current leaving.

Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL)

Total voltage in a closed loop is equal to the sum of voltage drops.

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

A physical phenomenon caused by the motion of electric charge, resulting in attractive or repulsive forces between objects.

Magnet

Materials strongly attracted to both poles of magnets.

Ferromagnetic

Materials weakly attracted to a single pole of magnets.

Paramagnetic

Materials that repel both poles of magnets.

Diamagnetic

When a conductor with current is placed in a perpendicular magnetic field, a voltage (Hall voltage) is developed across the material.

Hall Effect

Relates magnetic field to the electric current producing it. H= μ0/2πrIenc

Ampere’s Law