Electricity Flashcards

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1
Q

Electric Charge

A

(Q or q), Indicates if a body has an excess or deficiency of electrons

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2
Q

Conductor

A

Any substance through which electric charge can flow.

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3
Q

Insulator

A

Any substance through which electric charge cannot flow

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4
Q

Point Discharge

A

The phenomenon where ions in the air are either strongly attracted or repelled from the tip of a charged conductor and move towards or away from it.

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5
Q

Coulomb’s Law

A

The electrostatic force between two point charges is proportional to the product of their charges and inveersely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

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6
Q

Electric Fields

A

The region of space in which electric charges at rest experience an electrostatic force.

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7
Q

Electric Field Lines

A

The line along which a positive charge would move if placed in the electric field.

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8
Q

Electric Field Strength

A

(E), the force per unit positive charge at a point

(N C^-1 or V m^-1)

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9
Q

Potential Difference

A

The work done in moving a charge of one Coulomb from one point to the other.

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10
Q

Electromotive Force

A

(emf) is the voltage that is applied to a cicuit.

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11
Q

Capacitance

A

The ratio of the charge on the capacitor to the poitential difference applied across it.

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12
Q

Capacitor

A

An electrical device capable of storing electric charge.

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13
Q

Electric Current

A

(I), The flow of electric charge.

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14
Q

Joule’s Law

A

The rate of heat production in a conductor is proportional to the square of the current; provided its resistance is a constant.

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15
Q

Fuse

A

A piece of wire that will melt when a current above a certain size passes through it.

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16
Q

Miniature Circuit Breakers

A

(MCBs), are safety devices used to prevent electrocution by fire by preventing too large a current flowing in the circuit.

They contain a bimetallic strip and an electromagnet.

They are advantageous over fuses becuase they operate faster and can be reset with a switch.

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17
Q

Residual Current Devices.

A

(RCDs), are trip switches that cut off current very quickly when a fault in an appliance causes a small current to flow to earth.

They serve the same purpose as an MCB but operate much faster and can be used when dealing with very small currents- therefore safer.

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18
Q

Resistance

A

(R), is the ratio of voltage across an object to the current through it.

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19
Q

Resistor

A

A device that converts electrical potential energy to some other form.

20
Q

Ohm’s Law

A

Under constant physical conditions, the potential difference across a conductor is proportional to the current flowing through it.

21
Q

Resistivity

A

(p), is the constant associated with the resistance of a body; it is equal to the product of the resistance of the body an its cross-sectional area divided by length.

22
Q

Wheatstone Bridge

A

A device used to measure the resistance of an unknown resistor.

Advantages: More accurate than an ohmeter, multimeter or combination of an ammeter and voltmeter.

Disadvantages: Less compact or portable and takes more time to set up than an ohmeter, multimeter or combination of ammeter and voltmeter.

23
Q

Semiconductor

A

A substance whose resistivity is between that of a good conductor and a good insulator.

24
Q

Intrinsic Conduction

A

The movement of charge through a pure semiconductor

25
Q

Extrinsic Conduction

A

The movement of charge through a doped semiconductor.

26
Q

Doping

A

The addition of a small amount of another element to a pure semiconductor to increase its conductivity.

27
Q

N-type Semiconductor

A

One in which the impurity added produces more free electrons available for conduction.

28
Q

P-type Semiconductor

A

One in which the impurity added produces extra holes which are available for conduction.

29
Q

Diode

A

A semiconductor device which allows current to flow in one direction only.

30
Q

LDR

A

(Light-dependent resistor), is a semiconductor whose resistance varies from a high value in the dark to a lower value in bright light.

31
Q

Thermistor

A

A semiconductor device whose resistance decreases rapidly with increasing temperature.

32
Q

Magnetism

A

The phenomenon by which certain materials eert attractive or repulsive forces on other materials.

33
Q

Magnetiv Fields

A

The region in space where magnetic forces can be felt.

34
Q

Magnetic Field Lines

A

Indicates the direction a “magnetic north” would travel in a magnetic field is free to do so.

35
Q

Magnetic Flux Density

A

(B), is the measure of the strength of the magnetic field.

36
Q

Ampere

A

The constant current which, if maintained in two straugh parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible cross section and placed one metre apart in a vacuum, would produce a force on each conductor of 2x10^-7 newtons per metre of length.

37
Q

Electromagnetic Induction.

A

Where an emf is induces by a change in the magnetic flux linking a circuit.

38
Q

Magnetic Flux

A

(Φ), is the total amount of magnetic field in a given region; it’s the product of magnetic flux density (B))= and area (A).

39
Q

Faraday’s Law

A

The magnitude of the induced emf is proportional to the rate of change of flux linking a curcuit.

40
Q

Lenz’s Law

A

The direction of the induced emg is always such as to oppose the change casuing it.

41
Q

Alternating Current

A

(a.c), is an electric current whose direction reverses periodically due to an alternaating voltage,

42
Q

Direct Current

A

(d.c.), is an electric current that flows continuously in the same direction.

43
Q

Mutual Induction

A

Where a changing magnetic field in one coil induces an emf in another coil.

44
Q

Transformer

A

An electrical device used to change the voltage of a.c. power supplies.

45
Q

Self Induction

A

Where a changing magnetic field in a coil induces an emf in the coil itself.

46
Q

Inductor

A

An electrical device used to induce a back emf.