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Schematic of the Birkeland or Field-Aligned Currents and the ionospheric current systems they connect to, Pedersen and Hall currents. [1]A Birkeland current (also known as field-aligned current, FAC) is a set of electrical currents that flow along geomagnetic field lines connecting the Earth's magnetosphere to the Earth's high latitude ionosphere.
A related term sealing current (aka wetting current or fritting current) is widely used in the telecommunication industry describing a small constant DC current (typically 1-20 mA) in copper wire loops in order to avoid contact oxidation of contacts and splices.
Contact resistance values are typically small (in the microohm to milliohm range). Contact resistance can cause significant voltage drops and heating in circuits with high current. Because contact resistance adds to the intrinsic resistance of the conductors, it can cause significant measurement errors when exact resistance values are needed.
When it is operating in the second or fourth quadrant, current is forced to flow through the device from the negative to the positive voltage terminal, against the opposing force of the electric field, so the electric charges are gaining potential energy. Thus the device is converting some other form of energy into electric energy.
Such applications include I-V characterizing and testing semiconductors and other non-linear devices and materials, where sourcing voltage and current source span across both positive and negative values. To accomplish this, SMUs have four-quadrant outputs. [1] For characterization purposes SMUs are bench instruments similar to a curve tracer.
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The Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of the New Year, has the potential to be one of the year's best – if the weather cooperates.
Astronomy enthusiasts, brace yourselves for a dazzling display as the Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of 2025, light up the sky. The Quadrantids are unique among meteor showers as they ...