Voltage Simple Definition

In other words it is a measurement of the energy contained within an electric field or an electric circuit at a given point it is equal to the work that would have to be done per unit charge.

Voltage simple definition. The voltage between two ends of a path is the total energy required to move a small electric charge along that path divided by the magnitude of the charge. Voltage definition is electric potential or potential difference expressed in volts. Voltage also called electromotive force is a quantitative expression of the potential difference in charge between two points in an electrical field. There are multiple useful ways to define voltage including the standard definition mentioned at the start of this page.

A simple example of a voltage divider is two resistors connected in series with the input voltage applied across the resistor pair and the output voltage emerging from the connection between them. The greater the voltage the greater the flow of electrical current that is the quantity of charge carriers that pass a fixed point per unit of time through a conducting or semiconducting medium for a given resistance to the flow. There are also other useful definitions of work per charge see this section. A simple analogy for an electric circuit is water flowing in a closed circuit of pipework driven by a mechanical pump.

During early days of electricity voltage was known as electromotive force emf this is why in early formulas as ohm s law voltage is represented by the symbol e in modern days it is represented by the symbol v or e. When describing voltage current and resistance a common analogy is a water tank. It is the push that causes charges to move in a wire or other electrical conductor it can be thought of as the force that pushes the charges but it is not a force voltage can cause charges to move and since moving charges is a current voltage can cause a current. So for this analogy remember.

Voltage in the power source the potential difference between the battery s two poles is activated creating pressure that forces electrons to flow as current out the battery s negative terminal. If a unit of electrical charge were placed in a location the voltage indicates the potential energy of it at that point. Example of voltage in a simple direct current dc circuit. Voltage is a representation of the electric potential energy per unit charge.

Voltage is defined so that negatively charged objects are pulled towards higher voltages while positively charged objects are pulled towards lower voltages. In this analogy charge is represented by the water amount voltage is represented by the water pressure and current is represented by the water flow. How is voltage measured. Resistor voltage dividers are commonly used to create reference voltages or to reduce the magnitude of a voltage so it can be measured and may also be used as signal attenuators at low frequencies.

Voltage is represented in equations and schematics by the letter v. Voltage is what makes electric charges move.