Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Definition of open-circuit voltage. The box is any two-terminal device, such as a battery or solar cell. The two terminals are not connected to anything (an open circuit), so no current can flow into or out of either terminal. The voltage v oc between the terminals is the open-circuit voltage of the device.
The current through an ideal voltage source is completely determined by the external circuit. When connected to an open circuit, there is zero current and thus zero power. When connected to a load resistance, the current through the source approaches infinity as the load resistance approaches zero (a short circuit). Thus, an ideal voltage ...
In other media, any stream of charged objects (ions, for example) may constitute an electric current. To provide a definition of current independent of the type of charge carriers, conventional current is defined as moving in the same direction as the positive charge flow. So, in metals where the charge carriers (electrons) are negative ...
In circuit theory, a hypothetical element that maintains a specified voltage between its terminals independent of the current through it. voltage spike A transient electrical voltage higher than normal appearing on an electrical supply. voltage-to-current converter A circuit that produces an output current proportional to an input voltage. volt ...
Whereas the voltage source by itself was an open circuit, adding the load makes a closed circuit and allows charge to flow. This current places a voltage drop across , so the voltage at the output terminal is no longer . The output voltage can be determined by the voltage division rule:
Similarly, when the cell is operated at short circuit, = 0 and the current through the terminals is defined as the short-circuit current. It can be shown that for a high-quality solar cell (low R S and I 0, and high R SH) the short-circuit current is:
Ohm's law, in the form above, is an extremely useful equation in the field of electrical/electronic engineering because it describes how voltage, current and resistance are interrelated on a "macroscopic" level, that is, commonly, as circuit elements in an electrical circuit.
Tree limbs cause a short circuit, triggering an electrical arc during a storm. A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit.