Electricity and Circuits Vocabulary

Current vs Circuit

• Current Electricity: Continuous flow of electrons from an energy source.
• Circuit: Uninterrupted flow of electrons in a complete path.

Conductors vs Insulators

• Conductor: Material that allows electrons to flow (e.g., most metals).
• Insulator: Material that resists the flow of electrons (e.g., most non-metals).

Semiconductor vs Superconductor

• Semiconductors: Materials with some resistance to electron flow; used in computer microchips.
• Superconductors: Materials with little to no resistance to electron flow; perfect conductors.

Current Electricity

• Requires a complete circuit and an energy source to flow.
• Circuit components: Energy source (battery), conductor (wire), and load (e.g., bulb).

Circuit Elements

• Source: Electric energy source.
• Conductor: Wire for current flow.
• Load: Converts electricity into other forms of energy.
• Control: Switch to turn the circuit on or off.

Current

• Ampere (A): Measure of the number of electrons passing a point each second.
• Measured using an ammeter.
• Galvanometer: Measures very weak electric current.

Voltage

• Measured in volts (V), also known as potential difference.
• Voltage: Measures how much electrical energy each charged particle carries.
• Voltmeter: Measures potential difference (voltage).
• Multimeter: Measures various circuit characteristics, including voltage.

Important Note

• 0. 1A current can be felt as a shock.
• 1. 0A current can be deadly.

Resistance

• Limits the flow of electricity.
• Expressed in Ohms.
• Affected by voltage and amperage:
  • Higher voltage means higher resistance.
  • Higher amperage means lower resistance.
  • Higher temperature means higher resistance.

Water Analogy

• Charge = Water
• Pressure = Voltage
• Flow = Current