DC Fundamentals Ch 1, 2, 3

potential difference

A difference in electrical potential between two points, measured in volts.

schematic

A drawing that uses standard symbols to show electrical paths and components.

current

A flow of electrons (therefore, the flow, or movement, of a charge).

conductor

A material that allows current to easily flow through it. It has a low resistance.

insulator

A material that does not allow current to pass through it. It has a very high resistance.

electron

A negatively charged subatomic particle.

neutron

A neutrally charged subatomic particle (neither positive nor negative).

resistor (definition)

A passive two-terminal electrical component that reduces current flow in an electrical circuit.

circuit

A path for current to flow.

proton

A positively charged subatomic particle.

FACET Base Unit

A product developed by Festo, this is the acronym for Fault Assisted Circuits for Electronics Training.

symbol

A simple representative drawing of a component.

two-post connector

A small rigid accessory, used to complete circuits on a training board.

circuit board

A specially constructed board containing many electrical circuits.

terminal post

A tool to help connect conductors for testing circuits.

ammeter

A tool used to measure current. Often, this is one of the modes of a multimeter.

charge

A type of electric energy. The basics are the negative (electron) and the positive (proton).

conductance

Has a reciprocal relationship with resistance and measures the lack of resistance.

atom

A basic building block of nature consisting of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Each element in the universe is formed from its own type of this.

cell

A basic source of power that produces electricity, usually through chemical action.

series circuit

A circuit in which current flows through all components, one after the other, with no branches.

crowbar

A circuit that rapidly shorts the output voltage to ground.

multimeter

A common tool with two wire leads that helps electricians measure voltage, current, and resistance.

power source

A device that supplies electricity to an electrical circuit; also called apower supply.

DC circuit

Direct Current circuits, which features a flow of electrons in one direction along an electrical path.

PPE

Personal Protective Equipment. This generally includes any wearable accessory that keeps workers safe during hazardous work.

ZIF Connector

The Zero Insertion Force is a feature of the FACET Base Unit, which allows for easy swap-out of boards and reliable connections.

voltage

The difference in electrical potential between two points (especially in a circuit).

polarity

The direction of current flow in an electrical circuit. Current flows from the positive pole (terminal) to the negative pole.

electromotive force (emf)

The force that causes current to flow. It is also the potential difference.

tolerance

The maximum difference between an actual value and the required value.

resistance

The opposition to current flow in an electric circuit, in units of ohms.

current

The rate of flow of electric charge past a point or region, usually in a circuit.

coulomb

The unit of measure for charge. One unit of this is defined as the combined charge of 6.28 E18 electrons.

siemen

The unit of measure for conductance.

ampere (amp)

The unit of measure for current. One unit this is defined as the movement of one coulomb past a given point in one second.

volt

The unit of measure for electrical potential. One unit of this produces a current flow of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm.

ohm

The unit of measure for resistance.