| Voltage |
E |
VOLT |
Electrons exerting a Potential Force |
| Current |
I |
AMP |
A Flow of Electrons |
| Resistance |
R |
OHM |
A Real Physical Property |
| Power |
P |
WATT |
Electrons flowing through a Resistance |
Of
these entities, Resistance
is the only real physical property; the rest--for the most part--are the
result of their encounter with Resistance.
Resistance
is the property of a material to resist the flow of Electrons.
Everything has this resistive
property: Air resists greatly the flow of electrons, but they do flow --especially
if you are swinging a "nine-iron" on a hilltop, under low hanging
dark clouds in the summertime!
Copper wire also resists the
flow of electrons--but not very effectively.
Superconductors
are the only materials that DO
NOT resist the flow of electrons.
Speaking of the flow of electrons,
that is the definition of Current.
And, you guessed it: Electrons
exert a potential force measured in VOLTS
and--you're ahead of me--is called Voltage.
WOW, that was
easy, we've covered it all in a few short sentences!
--------- ---------
O p p
s !
Oh yea--except for POWER.
POWER,
is the result of VOLTS,
AMPS,
and OHMS,
all getting together!
That is, the Energy
released by Electrons (I)
flowing through a Resistance (R),
the number of which being determined by the Electron potential (E).
[I
= E/R] [P = E x I]
OK, you have a 100
Watt light bulb in a drop cord (Drop Light);
You plug it in to the 120 VOLT
wall outlet and turn it on.
The light bulb offers a resistance
to the 120 volt (electron
potential) flow of electrons coming out
of the wall socket--they're
just sitting there doing nothing, until they find a path Home...
If the light bulb's resistance
is too low the fuse will blow!
If the light bulb's resistance
is too high, not much will happen;
But, if the light bulb's resistance
is "Just Right," it will consume 100
WATTS of Power,
to produce energy in the form of light; also, it gets hot as Hell--put
your tongue on it, you'll see what I mean.
The light bulb/Resistor
performed a useful function: it put out light to read by, and it also produced
Heat. Heat that is thought of as "Loss," is technically still light,
but at a wavelength few can read by.
And, by the way, that drop
cord (Drop Light) is also resistive and will get warm, which is Loss--wasted
energy. |