Battery Electricity Water Analogy

Unlike the water pump in our river analogy however the power plant automatically adjusts to meet the demands of the consumer at the end of the wires.

Battery electricity water analogy. Click any part of it for further details. The analogy here is to water flow or more specific the amount of water flowing through a cross sectional area per unit time. You see amp ratings on just about all electric devices. If the plant can t keep up with the demands we experience brown outs a shortage of electric power just like water users at the end of a river would run short on water if the pump were too slow.

In our battery diagram above the battery provides what is known as a potential difference in an electric circuit or voltage. Dc circuit water analogy this is an active graphic. In an electrical system power p is equal to the voltage multiplied by the current. In a direct current dc electrical circuit the voltage v in volts is an expression of the available energy per unit charge which drives the electric current i in amperes around a closed circuit.

The electronic hydraulic analogy derisively referred to as the drain pipe theory by oliver lodge is the most widely used analogy for electron fluid in a metal conductor since electric current is invisible and the processes in play in electronics are often difficult to demonstrate the various electronic components are represented by hydraulic equivalents. Again this is a common quantity. Think a spigot on a house or a water pump. The pump increases the pressure in the pipe causing the water to flow.

The water analogy still applies. Take a hose and point it at a waterwheel like the ones that were used to turn grinding stones in watermills. If we go back to our water analogy the battery is like a water pump that propels water through a pipe.