Electricity and Circuits!!!
Circuit
A closed path through which an electric current flows or may flow. ◇ Circuits in which a power source is connected to two or more components (such as light bulbs, or logic gates in a computer circuit), one after the other, are called series circuits.
Parallel Circuit
A parallel circuit is a closed circuit in which the current divides into two or more paths before recombining to complete the circuit. Each load connected in a separate path receives the full circuit voltage, and the total circuit current is equal to the sum of the individual branch currents.
Circuit Breaker
A switch that automatically interrupts the flow of electric current if the current exceeds a preset limit, measured in amperes. Circuit breakers are used most often as a safety precaution where excessive current through a circuit could be hazardous. Unlike fuses, they can usually be reset and reused.
Alternating Current
Alternating Current (AC) is a type of electrical current, in which the direction of the flow of electrons switches back and forth at regular intervals or cycles. Current flowing in power lines and normal household electricity that comes from a wall outlet.
Open Circuit
An electric circuit in which the normal path of current has been interrupted, either by the disconnection of one part of its conducting pathway from another, or by the intervention of an electric component, such as a transistor. Compare closed circuit.
Electric Current
An electric current is a flow of electric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire.
Voltage Difference
Electromotive force or potential difference, usually expressed in volts. voltage in Science Expand. voltage. (vōl'tĭj) A measure of the difference in electric potential between two points in space, a material, or an electric circuit, expressed in volts.
Static Electricity
When the outer layer of an atom is rubbed off, it creates a slightly positively charged atom. The item that rubs off the outer layer takes the electrons and that built up electricity.
Electricity
a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.
Resistance
a measurement of the difficulty encountered by a power source in forcing electric current through an electrical circuit, and hence the amount of power dissipated in the circuit. Resistance is measured in ohms.
Electrons
a stable subatomic particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all atoms and acting as the primary carrier of electricity in solids.
Fuse
an electrical safety device that can stop current from flowing if it becomes overloaded, or a device that is used to ignite an explosive device.
Series Circuit
circuit is a closed circuit in which the current follows one path, as opposed to a parallel circuit where the circuit is divided into two or more paths. In a series circuit, the current through each load is the same and the total voltage across the circuit is the sum of the voltages across each load.
Cathode
the negatively charged electrode by which electrons enter an electrical device. the positively charged electrode of an electrical device, such as a primary cell, that supplies current.
Anode
the positively charged electrode by which the electrons leave a device. the negatively charged electrode of a device supplying current such as a primary cell.
