Electricisy And Electrical Safety Flashcards
What is electricity?
The effects produced by moving charges
What types of charges are there?
Positive: contain more protons than electrons
Negative: contain less protons than electrons
*like charges repel, opposite charges attract
Coulomb’s Law
Like charges repel, opposite charges attract. The magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion
What is SI unit of charge?
The coulomb
What is electrical potential energy?
If we put a “test charge” into an electric field and hold it still
What is current?
Electrical current is the amount or charge flowing per unit time
And amp (ampere) of current corresponds to 1 coulomb of charge per second
What are conductors?
Materials in which charges can easily move
- to be a good conductors, electrons must be able to move easily from one atom to the next
- metals are good electrical conductors
What are insulators?
Most are non-metals and generally are not good conductors
What is the molecular orbital approach to bonding?
Atomic orbitals from individual atoms are added together to form molecular orbitals that extend over the entire moleule
What is resistance?
The energy required to push electrons through a material
*measured in ohms
Conductance is the ____________ of resistance
Reciprocal
Conductance is measured in mhos
Electric circuit
The closed path through which a charge flows
Direct current (DC) circuit
An electrical circuit in which the current flows in one direction only
Alternating current (AC) circuit
An electrical circuit in which the current reverses its direction in a periodic fashion
Short circuit
A situation in a circuit where the normal resistance of the circuit is bypasses by a low resistance path resulting in a large current
*if current from a short circuit is not limited by a fuse or circuit breaker, the resulting heat from the high current can lead to a fire
Series circuits
When batteries or resistors are connected in a series, the voltages and resistances are added
Parallel circuits
When resistors are connected in parallel, current flows through each resistor independently of the other
Electrical power is the product of what 2 things?
Volts and amps
What is the difference between electrical energy and electrical power?
Power = energy/time
Energy = power x time
*we pay for electrical energy, not electrical power
What are semiconductors?
A moderately good conductor of electricity
P-Type Semiconductor
Positive type
The crystalline lattice thinks it’s a few electrons short or has “positive holes”
N-Type semiconductor
Negative
The crystalline lattice thinks it has extra electrons
What types of diodes are there?
Forward bias: when current passes through, electrons move towards eachother
Reverse bias: when current passes through, electrons move away from eachother. Provides a high level of resistance
What are diodes?
2 semi-conductors put together (N and P).
Used to control current direction