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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 sun's rays can be used to produce electrical energy. The direct user of sunlight is the solar cell or photovoltaic cell, which converts sunlight directly into electrical energy without the incorporation of a mechanical device. This technology is simpler than the fossil-fuel-driven systems of producing electrical energy.
Electrical energy flows wherever electric and magnetic fields exist together and fluctuate in the same place. The simplest example of this is in electrical circuits, as the preceding section showed. In the general case, however, the simple equation P = IV may be replaced by a more complex calculation.
An electric circuit is an interconnection of electric components such that electric charge is made to flow along a closed path (a circuit), usually to perform some useful task. [56] The components in an electric circuit can take many forms, which can include elements such as resistors, capacitors, switches, transformers and electronics.
Electric current can be directly measured with a galvanometer, but this method involves breaking the electrical circuit, which is sometimes inconvenient. Current can also be measured without breaking the circuit by detecting the magnetic field associated with the current. Devices, at the circuit level, use various techniques to measure current:
A simple electric circuit made up of a voltage source and a resistor. Here, =, according to Ohm's law. An electrical network is an interconnection of electrical components (e.g., batteries, resistors, inductors, capacitors, switches, transistors) or a model of such an interconnection, consisting of electrical elements (e.g., voltage sources, current sources, resistances, inductances ...
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.
The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave, whose positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa (the full period is called a cycle). "Alternating current" most commonly refers to power distribution, but a wide range of other applications are technically ...