Electrical Fundamentals

What is electricity? How it is measured? What are the sources of electricity What does electricity will do?

What is electricity?
Electricity is defined as the flow of electrons

 How can we get electrons to flow? 1. Source 2. Path

 Source: something that has an imbalance of electrons and protons

Protons are positively charged Electrons are negatively charged Since opposites attract, if we create an imbalance of electrons and protons we have electrical potential Electrical potential is electrical pressure and it is measured in volts

 Path: a conductor that connects the protons with the electrons

A conductor is anything that has less than 4 electrons held loosely in their atoms outer orbit This allows the electrons to move freely from one atom to another An insulator holds its electrons in a tighter orbit and does not allow movement easily Once a path is established, electrons will move because of the attraction caused by the imbalance in the source

 How do we know electrons are moving? Can we hear, see or feel electrons moving? We can only see the effects of electrons moving Electrons if left unrestricted, will move so fast that extreme heat is created from the friction generated by their movement

 Electricity: flow of electrons What is required for electrons to flow?

A basic circuit

What is a basic circuit?

Source Path load

How is it measured?
Volts: electrical pressure
Volts do not move through circuits Voltage is simply the strength of the imbalance between protons and electrons and force the electrons to move through a conductor Voltage is measured with a voltmeter that measures the imbalance between the positive side and negative side of a circuit Voltmeters must be wired in parallel

How is it measured?
Amperes: the measurement of the amount of electrons flowing through the circuit
Amps are the measurement of current in an electrical circuit Amps are measured with an ammeter For an ammeter to measure current in a circuit, the current in the circuit must flow through the ammeter Ammeters must be hooked up to a circuit in series

How is it measured?
Ohms: a measurement of electrons resistance to flow through a circuit
Resistance must be present in a circuit to control the flow of electrons Resistance in a circuit can be measured with an ohmmeter An ohmmeter is self-powered and requires the circuit to be open

What are the sources of electricity

Chemical reaction: electrochemistry Magnetism: electromagnetism Pressure: piezoelectricity Light: photoelectricity