Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The ampere is an SI base unit and electric current is a base quantity in the International System of Quantities (ISQ). [4]: 15 Electric current is also known as amperage and is measured using a device called an ammeter. [2]: 788 Electric currents create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, generators, inductors, and transformers.
The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave, whose positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa (the full period is called a cycle). "Alternating current" most commonly refers to power distribution, but a wide range of other applications are technically ...
The electric field was formally defined as the force exerted per unit charge, but the concept of potential allows for a more useful and equivalent definition: the electric field is the local gradient of the electric potential. Usually expressed in volts per metre, the vector direction of the field is the line of greatest slope of potential, and ...
A measure of a substance's ability to pass an electric current. electrical conductor An object that carries an electric current, with little loss. electrical contact A separable part of an electric device that carries current when touching another contact. electrical discharge machining (EDM) Shaping of a work place by small sparks. electrical ...
Angle notation can easily describe leading and lagging current: . [1] In this equation, the value of theta is the important factor for leading and lagging current. As mentioned in the introduction above, leading or lagging current represents a time shift between the current and voltage sine curves, which is represented by the angle by which the curve is ahead or behind of where it would be ...
A direct current circuit is an electrical circuit that consists of any combination of constant voltage sources, constant current sources, and resistors. In this case, the circuit voltages and currents are independent of time. A particular circuit voltage or current does not depend on the past value of any circuit voltage or current.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
A current is induced in a loop of wire when it is moved toward or away from a magnetic field, or a magnet is moved towards or away from it; the direction of current depends on that of the movement. [9] In April 1820, Hans Christian Ørsted observed that an electrical current in a wire caused a nearby compass needle to move. At the time of ...