Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards bridges the concepts of magnetic fields produced by electricity, the heating effects of current in household appliances, and the chemical generation of power in various types of cells and batteries.

Magnetic effect of electric current

The phenomenon where an electric current flowing through a conductor, such as a wire, produces a magnetic field around it.

Magnetic field

The region around a magnet or a current-carrying wire where its magnetic effect can feel felt, such as through the deflection of a magnetic compass needle.

Hans Christian Oersted

A professor at a university in Denmark ($1777-1851$) who discovered in $1820$ that electricity and magnetism are linked.

Electromagnet

A current-carrying coil that behaves as a magnet; its strength can be increased by inserting an iron core into the coil.

Factors of electromagnet strength

The strength of an electromagnet is determined by the amount of electric current flowing through the coil and the number of turns of the coil.

Earth’s magnetic field

A magnetic field generated by the movement of liquid iron in the Earth's core that helps migratory animals navigate and shields the planet from harmful space particles.

Lifting electromagnets

Strong electromagnets attached to cranes, used in factories and scrap yards to move, lift, and sort heavy metal items by switching the current 'ON' and 'OFF'.

Heating effect of electric current

The process by which electrical energy is converted into heat energy when an electric current passes through a conductor.

Resistance

The opposition or resistance that different conductors offer to the flow of electric current, causing the generation of heat.

Nichrome

A material used in heating experiments, such as with a wire of thickness about $0.3\,mm$ ($26-28$ gauge), because it offers higher resistance compared to copper wire.

Heating element

A rod or a coil of wire found in household appliances like electric room heaters, irons, and kettles that glows or gets hot when current flows through it.

Voltaic cell (Galvanic cell)

One of the earliest types of electric cells, consisting of two metal plates (electrodes) and an electrolyte liquid in a container.

Electrolyte

A liquid (usually a weak acid or salt solution) or a thick moist paste in a cell that helps conduct electricity through a chemical reaction with the electrodes.

Electrodes

The plates or rods made of different materials, such as copper, iron, or zinc, that are partly dipped in the electrolyte of an electric cell.

Alessandro Volta and Luigi Galvani

Two Italian scientists from the late $1700s$ after whom the Voltaic and Galvanic cells are named.

'Dead' cell

A cell that can no longer supply electricity because its internal chemicals have been used up over time.

Dry cell

A single-use electric cell widely used today that contains a thick moist paste as an electrolyte instead of a liquid.

Zinc container

The part of a dry cell that serves as the negative terminal.

Carbon rod

The component at the center of a dry cell, covered with a metal cap, that serves as the positive terminal.

Rechargeable batteries

Devices used in laptops, phones, and vehicles that can be recharged and reused multiple times to prevent wastage.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery

The most common type of rechargeable battery in modern devices, relying on special metals like lithium and cobalt.

Solid-state batteries

A future technology being developed by scientists that replaces liquid or paste electrolytes with solid materials for safer and faster charging.

E-waste recycling

Special facilities for disposing of used batteries to recover valuable materials and prevent harmful substances like lead, cadmium, and lithium from entering the environment.