Electric Circuits
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Created by:
littlefishin on July 2, 2012
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Definition of Electric Circuits
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26 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Electric Current | rate fo flow of electric charge |
| Ampere | One ampere is the amount of current flowing in each of two infinitely-long parallel wires of negligible cross-sectional area separated by a distance of one meter in a vacuum that results in a force of exactly 2*10^-7 N per meter of length of wire. |
| Current | Current is defined in terms of the force per unit length between parallel current-carrying conductors. |
| Closed Circuit | complete pathway for current |
| Open Circuit | incomplete pathway for current break in circuit infinite resistance |
| Short Circuit | Circuit with little to no resistance - extremely high current overheating |
| Resistance | ratio of potential difference applied across a piece of material to the current through the material |
| Power | energy per unit time |
| Ammeter | measures currents |
| Placement of Ammeter | must be placed in series to allow current to flow through it |
| Ideal Ammeter | has zero resistance so it will not affect current flowing through |
| Voltmeter | measures potential difference |
| Placement of Voltmeter | must be placed in parallel to measure potential difference between two points circuit does not to be broken |
| Ideal Voltmeter | has infinite resistance so it will not allow any current to flow through it and disrupt circuit |
| Potential Divider | resistors in series act as 'potential divider'. they split the potential of the source between them. |
| Light-Dependent Resistor (LDR) Light Sensor | a photo-conductive cell made of semiconducting material whose resistance decreases as the intensity of the incident light increases |
| Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) Thermistor Temperature Sensor | a sensor made of semiconducting material whose resistance decreases as its temperature increases |
| Strain Gauge Force Sensor | a long thin metal wire whose resistance increases as it is stretched since it becomes longer and thinner |
| Resistance | ratio of potential difference applied across a piece of material to the current through the material |
| Ohm's Law | for a conductor at constant temperature, the current flowing through ti is proportional to the potential difference across it |
| Ohmic Device | a device that obeys Ohm's law for a wide range of potential differences (a device with constant resistance) |
| Non-Ohmic Device | a device that does not obey Ohm's law (resistance is not constant) |
| Potentiometer | a tie of variable resistor with three contact points (use as a potential divider) |
| Electromotive Force (emf) | total energy per unit charge supplied by the battery |
| Terminal Voltage | potential difference across the terminals of the battery |
| Ideal Behavior | terminal voltage always equals emf since no internal resistance |
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