9th March 2011 - Electrical Terms

Electrons:
Negatively charged particles present in all atoms.
The movement of electrons creates alectricity in a consumers.

Conductor:
Any material that will allow electrical current to the various circuit components.
The most commonly used materials in automotive use is copper, brass, steel.

Insulator:
Materials that has an extremely high resistance to current flow.
Material that will reject an electrical charge, such as plastic, mica, fibreglass, etc.

Semiconductor:
Materials that act as conductors or insulators depending on temperature, physical or electrical conditios.
Common materials are: Germanium or Doped Silicon.



Voltage (Volts):
Practical unit of pressure.
Practical unit of electromotive force.

The force or pressure that is required to move the electrons in a circuit.


Ampere (Amps):
Unit of circuit.

When electrons moves along a conductor, this means there is now current flowing in the circuit measured in the amperes (amps).
The large amount and flow of electrons larger the current.


Ohms:
This is the unit of resistance.
The resistance to the flow of electrons resistance in introduced into a circuit to reduse or limit current flow and voltage.
It is important to have an understanding of resistance for calculations.


Wattage:
This is the unit of power, and is the rate of doing work.
In an alectrical circuit, the product of the voltage maintained across the circuit and the Amperes flowing through the circuit, is equal to the power output, or dissipation in Watts. It is denoted by a capital W.

( Volts x Amps)= Watts
( 1V x 1W)= 1W


Conventional current flow:
Conventional current flows from Positive to Negative.

Electron flow: 
Electrons flow in the opposite direction to conventional current flow, from Negative to Positive.

8th March 2011 - Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts Summary

1) Volts: Pressure
2) Amps: Current flow in a circuit
3)Ohms: Resistance
4) Watts: Power




Voltmeter 
Available: Black- Negative
                Positive- Measure Point

Voltage Drop -  Voltage (V) is Current (I) devided on Resistance (R)



Amps 
i) Change the leads
ii) Do not exceed higher amps
iii) Break the circuit


Ohms
Turn of the Power Source