Static / Current Electricity

Capacitor

A basic electrical component that stores electric charge. Capacitors are made from two electrical conductors separated by an insulator.

Resistor

A basic electronic component that prevents the flow of electric current.

Inductor

A basic passive electrical component that resists changes in electric current. Inductors are generally made by winding or coiling a wire, sometimes around a magnetic core. The unit of measure for an inductor is the Henry.

Electron

A basic subatomic particle found in all atoms, electrons carry electricity by flowing from one atom to the next in a conductive material.

Battery

A device that stores and produces electricity from chemical cells.

Coulomb's law

A law of physics that describes the electrostatic interaction between charged particles.

Ohm's law

A law of physics that describes the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance using the equation V = IR.

Insulator

A material in which an electronic charge does not flow freely and does not conduct the flow of electric current.

Conductor

A material that allows the free flow of electric charge. Copper wiring is the most widely used electrical conductor.

Semiconductor

A material that behaves between a conductor and an insulator depending on the conditions. Silicon is a widely used semiconductor in electronics.

Transistor

A semiconductor device used in an electric circuit to regulate current flow to act as a gate, switch, or amplifier for electronic signals.

Direct current (DC)

A type of current that only flows in one direction (unlike AC which periodically reverses direction).

Electric circuit

An electric circuit is a collection of electronic components connected by a conductive wire that allows for electric current to flow.

Alternating current (AC)

An electric current that reverses direction on a periodic basis. It is widely used to transport power on power lines.

Transformer

An electrical component that transfers electrical energy using inductive coupling between two winding circuits.

Diode

An electronic component that only allows current flow in one direction.

Electric current

Electric current is the flow of electric charge through a material. The standard unit for electric current is the ampere.

Ampere

The ampere is the standard unit of measure of electric current. It is sometimes written as amp.

Static electricity

The build up of an electric charge on the surface of an object. The charge remains in one area rather than flowing to another area.

Electric potential

The electric potential is the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit. It is also called the voltage. The standard unit for electric potential is volts.

Electromagnetism

The interaction between magnetic fields and electric currents.

Magnetic field

The magnetic influence produced by electric currents and magnetic materials.

Farad

The standard unit of measure for capacitance.

Volt

The standard unit of measure for electric potential (voltage).

Henry

The standard unit of measure for inductance.

Ohm

The standard unit of measure for resistance.

Watt

The standard unit of measure used for electric power.

Electric charge

This is a basic characteristic of matter that is based on the balance of protons (positive charge) and electrons (negative charge). The standard unit for electric charge is the coulomb.