Ch 16 Flashcards
The region around a charged object where the object’s electric force is exerted on other charged objects.
Electrical field
A buildup of charges on an object.
Static electricity
The law that states that charges are neither created nor destroyed.
Conservation of charge
The transfer of electrons from one uncharged object to another uncharged object by rubbing.
Friction
. A method of charging an object by allowing electrons to flow from one object to another object through direct contact.
Conduction
A method of redistributing the charge on an object by means of the electric field of another object; the objects have no direct contact.
Induction
The process through which electrons are attracted to or repelled by an external electric field, causing the electrons to move within their own atoms.
Polarization
The loss of static electricity as electric charges transfer from one object to another.
Static discharge
The continuous flow of electric charges through a material.
Electric current
A complete, unbroken path through which electric charges can flow.
Electric circuit
A material that allows electric charges to flow.
Conductor
A material that does not easily allow electric charges to flow.
Insulator
The difference in electrical potential energy per charge between two places in a circuit.
Voltage
The measurement of how difficult it is for charges to flow through an object.
Resistance
The law that states that resistance in a circuit is equal to voltage divided by current.
Ohm’s law
An electric circuit in which all parts are connected one after another along one path.
Series circuit
An electric circuit in which different parts of the circuit are on separate branches.
Parallel circuit
The rate at which one form of energy is transformed into another.
Power
A connection that allows current to take the path of least resistance.
Short circuit
The round prong of a plug that connects any metal pieces in an appliance to the safety grounding wire of a building.
Third prong
Allowing charges to flow directly from the circuit into the building’s ground wire and then into Earth in the event of a short circuit.
Grounded
A safety device with a thin metal strip that will melt if too much current passes through a circuit.
Fuse
A reusable safety switch that breaks the circuit when the current becomes too high.
Circuit breaker
The force between charged objects.
Electrical force
