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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.
In the water-flow analogy, sometimes used to explain electric circuits by comparing them with water-filled pipes, voltage (difference in electric potential) is likened to difference in water pressure, while current is proportional to the amount of water flowing.
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.
Kirchhoff's circuit laws are two equalities that deal with the current and potential difference (commonly known as voltage) in the lumped element model of electrical circuits. They were first described in 1845 by German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. [1] This generalized the work of Georg Ohm and preceded the work of James Clerk Maxwell.
The electric potential outside each material is controlled by its work function, and so dissimilar metals can show an electric potential difference even at equilibrium. The Volta potential is not an intrinsic property of the two bulk metals under consideration, but rather is determined by work function differences between the metals' surfaces ...
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).
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 ...
Galvani potential , Volta potential and surface potential in one phase. The corresponding potential differences computed between two phases. In electrochemistry, the Galvani potential (also called Galvani potential difference, or inner potential difference, Δφ, delta phi) is the electric potential difference between two points in the bulk of two phases. [1]