Voltage

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[edit] Voltage

Voltage is a term that we are all familiar with, it is reffered to often in our everyday lives. But what is voltage?

Voltage is the Electron Moving Force (EMF) i.e. the force that moves the electrons around your circuit (see charged particles). Commonly voltage is produced by a generator (thats where your mains voltage started off its life), a battery (a chemical reaction) or less commonly from photo electric cells. Voltage can also be created in by piezo electric cells and other devices.

Voltage is sometimes reffered to as the "potential difference" which is in fact an accurate description of voltage. It is the difference in charge between two points in a circuit.

In series circuit the voltage will vary in value at different points of the circuit, when components are in parallel the voltage will be the constant thoughout the circuit.

[edit] Measuring Voltage

Voltage is measured in volts. One volt is defined as the potential difference required to produce a current of 1 amp through through a 1 ohm resistor.

To measure voltage we can use a multimeter. The important thing to remember is that voltage is always measured by connecting your meter in parallel across two points of a circuit (remember that the voltage is the same across a parallel circuit). In everyday use we tend to favour one of those points to be the "common ground". Because we use the common ground as one of our measuring points, this allows us to compare voltages of two sources eg. between the different lines coming from a power supply.

It is important that you connect components to the correct voltage for their operation. Provide too much voltage and you will drive too much current through it. For some components that will release the "magic smoke" inside that makes them work!

[edit] Voltage Calculations

Ohm's Law is the most commonly used formula for calculating voltages in a cicuit. It is expressed as E within the formula (as in EMF)

--justblair 09:28, 22 September 2006 (EDT)