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Electric potential energy is a potential energy (measured in joules) that results from conservative Coulomb forces and is associated with the configuration of a particular set of point charges within a defined system.
In short, an electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit charge. This value can be calculated in either a static (time-invariant) or a dynamic (time-varying) electric field at a specific time with the unit joules per coulomb (J⋅C −1) or volt (V). The electric potential at infinity is assumed to be zero.
Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potential energy of an object, the elastic potential energy of a deformed spring, and the electric potential energy of an electric charge in an electric field. The unit for energy in the International System of Units (SI) is the joule (symbol J).
Electrical energy is energy related to forces on electrically charged particles and the movement of those particles (often electrons in wires, but not always). This energy is supplied by the combination of current and electric potential (often referred to as voltage because electric potential is measured in volts) that is delivered by a circuit (e.g., provided by an electric power utility).
One volt is defined as the electric potential between two points of a conducting wire when an electric current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power between those points. [2] It can be expressed in terms of SI base units (m, kg, s, and A) as
The electric field was formally defined as the force exerted per unit charge, but the concept of potential allows for a more useful and equivalent definition: the electric field is the local gradient of the electric potential. Usually expressed in volts per metre, the vector direction of the field is the line of greatest slope of potential, and ...
The electric potential is in this case the electrostatic potential energy per unit charge. In fluid dynamics, irrotational lamellar fields have a scalar potential only in the special case when it is a Laplacian field. Certain aspects of the nuclear force can be described by a Yukawa potential.
Voltage, also known as (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In a static electric field , it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to move a positive test charge from the first point to the second point.