Ok guys,, here we go..
Below are the definitions of various terms concerning the 1st CK quiz topic.
1 - Electrons - Electron is the negatively charged part of the atom that orbits the nucleus of the atom. The nucleus of the atom contains neutrons, which have no electrical charge and protons, which have a positive charge.
2 - Voltage - Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It's the push or pressure behind current flow through a circuit.
3 - Volt - The unit of measure for electrical potential. (volt - V )
4 - Current - Current is the measure of the flow of electrons passing through a given point in a circuit in a given amount of time.
5 - Ampere - Ampere is the unit that measures the rate of flow of electricity (current) in a circuit. (amp - A)
6 - Circuit - Circuit describes an electrical arrangement with a defined path of flow of electrical current.
7 - Power - Power is a measure of the amount of work that is being done at a given point in time.
8 - Work - Work is defined as a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement.
9 - Watt - Watt is the unit of measure of power (whether it is power being used OR produced). (watt - W )
10 - Resistance - Resistance is the opposition to the flow of AC or DC voltage in an electric current. Measured in ohms. ( cant find a way to put up the ohm symbol here )
11 - Impedence - The opposition to the flow of alternating current (AC) in a circuit. Measured in ohms .
Learn these, understand them and try and do some indepth research to gain better understanding of these terms..
Would like all experts out there to pick up a term and try and explain them in detail with examples if possible.
Would like all learners to thow questions at us if you find anything confusing or dont understand certain things..
Thanks in advance...
Happy learning..COFFEE
Victor...
Replies (35)
ttocs on 07/20/2005 00:45:24
looks good.
Victor on 07/21/2005 16:39:50
seems no one around is interested.... should i delete this post...???
swez on 07/21/2005 17:13:47
Great idea... may just be poor timing to introduce such things. It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, (USA, Canada and even UK). So, what happens in summer? We play outside a lot after worrk or on weekends.
Mind copying the initial post for future use and try again this Fall/Winter? I think the board will be busier and more folks will participate as well.
Swez
ttocs on 07/21/2005 20:34:04
was it a test?
Victor on 07/22/2005 02:24:11
lol.. no it is not a test..
The classes have started.. in the first lecture I defined the terms we are going to teach/learn in this beginners course.. hehe...
I asked other experts to pick up a term and explain them so that it helps others in gaining a better understanding....
Victor..
ttocs on 07/22/2005 03:50:21
oh its homework, now I see why no responces...
Victor on 07/22/2005 08:21:42
lol....
Crum on 07/22/2005 12:35:01
Good stuff Victor.
I think this info sets up the foundation for understanding Ohm's law. I've looked at a chart that explains how the Ohm's law is manipulated but I've never taken the time to actually learn it. I think that understanding Ohm's law is the secret that separates the golds from the other contributors on this site.
One other thing that I would like help with is understanding the different parameters that are given on devices. For example, if you look at the specs on Adire's webpage for a speaker, I do not know what Qes, Qms, Qts, Vas, Le . . . means.
Crum
ttocs on 07/22/2005 13:34:49
Ohms law was drilled into me after a few years of tech school, that and the resistor color bands... Oh, that would be a fun but somewhat usefull test. Its not that hard if you know the secret.....
Victor on 07/22/2005 15:01:24
ok.. seems the train just blew the GO whistle...
how about picking up a term each for a gold and explaining them.. ?? atleast now..
Victor...
PS. Participation in the learning and discussion process will be the key to pass the test with flying colours..
gearhead on 07/22/2005 15:35:35
BBROYGBVGW
Bad Booze Rots Our Young Guts, But Vodka Goes Well
admin on 07/22/2005 16:35:02
Is it something to do with the Resistor Color Code?
Victor on 07/22/2005 16:43:08
ah.. memory refreshed...lol
Thanks walt.
Victor on 07/22/2005 16:47:42
http://www.bcae1.com/resistrs.htm
ttocs on 07/23/2005 02:52:48
bad boys................
swez on 07/23/2005 13:05:52
After talking with Victor, I have agreed to do the first 5 items... will address the first 5 items in this tutorial training session. In future posts, will address:
Electrons, Volt, Voltage, Amp & Amperes.
First off, let's use analogies to electricity. Since we cannot see, hear or smell any of these parameters, let's talk in terms of what we can see etc. Common thing we come in contact with everyday... water, physical observations and other well known concepts. Here we go:
An Electron is small unit of matter. (potential energy) It part of a family of 4 primary components in an atom
1. Nucleus is the center part of an atom (it bonds everything together)
2. Proton is a positively charged ion, attached to the Nucleus
3, Neutron is a neutrally charged ion, attached to the Nucleus
4. Electron is a negatively charge ion, these revolve around the outer parameter of the atom
Overview:
Think of this like our solar system. The Sun is the Nucleus. It contains many positive and neutral ions. (Protons & Neutrons) The planets that revolve around the Sun, are the Electrons. The Sun has energy, mass and enough gravitational pull, to hold all the known planets in a constant orbit pattern, around itself. Again, the Sun is the Nucleus. The planets are the Electrons. Makes sense so far? (I hope)
===================================================
VOLT:
The Volt is a unit of electrical energy with a "potential" to do work. In this case, we mean moving electrons along a conductive pathway, such as a wire, to drive a load. The difference in "potential" energy is what we need, to do work.
Analogy: We need a specific amount of energy to move a 1 pound weight, a distance of say... 1 foot. It takes some degree of energy to move that weight, a given distance. That energy needed, is called a Volt. The method we can employ here, is a rope (conductor) attached to the load (weight) and the force it takes (Voltage) to move the weight.
Technically speaking, a Volt is one "Coulomb" of energy. (6.25 x 10 exp 18th electrons moved) It's the difference in potential, that allows work to be accomplished. Good nuff!
===================================================
VOLTAGE:
As defined earlier, "Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It's the push or pressure behind current flow through a circuit."
This is the pushing or pressure needed to move that 1 pound weight mentioned earlier. The larger the weight or greater the distance we need to move a given object, is considered to be Voltage. Basically, we need a "potential difference" in energy between the weight (no energy applied, it does not move) and a moving force to act upon the weight, to make it move.
The the basics of Voltage:
1. We have a weight of 1 pound to move (it stays put until we apply pressure)
2. It takes a given amount of pressure/force (Voltage) to move the weight
3. The amount of energy it takes to move the weight a given distance, can be called Voltage
Again, Voltage is a difference in "potential" energy between an object and the force required to move it. Does that make sense to anyone yet? OK, this is the first installment for today.
===================================================
Take Away:
To do a given amount of work, we must apply a given amount of energy to do the work. We must apply energy in some form, to make something happen. In electricity, the most common element is the Volt. It is a "difference in potential" between one static object (a weight) and the force/pressure it takes to move that weight.
The basics of voltage in electricity... is the amount of energy it takes (force/pressure) to move electrons along a conductive pathway that allows work to be accomplished. Fundamentally, we are pushing electrons along a conductor to a given device (motor, speaker, or electromechanical device) to make it work. That device is often called a "load". It can only perform its task properly, when we pass enough electricity (Voltage) to activate the device as designed.
This concludes the segment on Electrons, a Volt, a voltage. We will move on to current and amp/amperage in the next segment.
Hope this is useful to our readers. If not, let me know.
Swez
Victor on 07/23/2005 14:57:31
Good going Swez.. SMILE
Tinker18 on 07/29/2005 01:13:56
As Victor stated earlier
--"Current is the measure of the flow of electrons passing through a given point in a circuit in a given amount of time."
Using Swez's analogy, Current describes how fast the "weight" is being moved. The higher the current, the higher the flow of electrons, therfore more "work" gets done, in a shorter period of time.
The basics of Current.
1. we have the one pound weight. Current describes how fast the weight is moved from point "A" to point "B" in a given amount of time.
2. The higher the Current, the faster the weight is moved.
3. The amount of Current is described by the term "Ampere" or more commonly known as "amp".
Naturally, the amount of current runs parallel to the amount of amperage in a conductive pathway, in other words, the higher the current , the more amps you have.
===========================================
Circuit:
An electrical arrangement with a defined path of flow of electrical current.
I will use a battery with two wires connected to a light bulb as an example. The battery consists of two parts, an anode(positive) and a cathode(negative). Electrons flow from the Anode to the Cathode, or positive to negative.
The basics:
1. there are two types of circuits--series--and parallel.
2. A parallel combination of cells has the same voltage as a single cell, but can supply a higher current (the sum of the currents from all the cells). Example:--the weight is moved from point "A" to point "B" faster, but with the same amount of force.
3. A series combination has the same current rating as a single cell but its voltage is the sum of the voltages of all the cells. Example:-- The weight has more force, but is moved at a slower rate of speed.
--Should cover that. let me know if I missed anything Swez.
-TINK
swez on 07/29/2005 09:32:54
Looks like a solid explaination to me ... good work Tink and thanks for adding to the post!
Voltage is the force (Electromotive energy potential)
Current is the flow rate in which moves electrons slowly or rapidly along the electical pathway
When we combine the 2 elements with a load, we can determine the work done, expressed at Power or Watts.
Power = Voltage x Current (E x I) = W..atts
Swez CLAP
Tinker18 on 07/29/2005 17:38:58
I aced my physics class......can you tell? lol....
-TINK
swez on 07/30/2005 08:48:14
Looks like we have a winner here folks... a new player in the the FAQ/tuitorial side of the board. Keep it coming Tink!
Swez CLAP
Victor on 07/30/2005 10:34:20
Yeah.. its great to have an active member on board.. Keep it going Tink..
How about trying a few out of the other terms...??
Victor...
admin on 07/30/2005 11:26:16
Maybe Tinker gets some
bling bling soon?
swez on 07/30/2005 16:43:35
Was thinking of requesting an upgrade for Tink as soon as he posts a few more items too... the bait has been set, now we have to see if he rises to the bait and runs with it. (hehe)
Anyway, I agree... Tink is definitely on my short list as a new Gold member. Keep up the good work bud! CLAP
Swez USFLAG
Tinker18 on 07/30/2005 20:49:50
Thanks guys.
And now for the next excerpt in my beautifully but confusingly painted portrait of car audio physics 101. (if that makes any sense what so ever).
"time rate of doing work or producing or expending energy"
The basics of Power.
1. Power is used to describe the amount of work in a given amount of time. In other words, if it takes longer to do it or to move the load, you are using less power.
Analogy: if it takes you 3 days to figure out 2+2=4 then your brain is not using enough power. lol.
2. The unit of measurement for power is the word "watt" Named in honor of someone called James Watt i think. anwyay, 1 watt is equal to 1 joule per second. The word Watt is used for measuring Electrical Power.
===========================================
Work....work is well...you hate it....9 to 5 sometimes 9 to 8 or worse.....lol...j/k.
Ok seriously. Work.
Victor says "Work is defined as a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement."
Although this is a nice defintition, i believe it to be too vague.
Here is mine.
-Work is the transfer of energy by a force(in this case voltage) to displace a body(in this case, electrons)
The basics of "work"
1. Work is equal to the result of the force & the distance it moves something. If a force acts on something, and it does not move..then no "work" is done.
2. Work is described using the term "joule".
3. For work to be done, a certain amount of force must be used to overcome the friction, in order to move the body.......in our case and laymans terms.....force=voltage.....friction=resistance..and body=electrons/signal.
The force asorbed by the friction is expelled as heat energy, which is why your amp gets hot with higher loads, I.E. a higher load=more friction=more heat.
===========================================
-Resistance is the opposition to the flow of AC or DC voltage in an electric current. Measured in ohms.
The basics of Resistance.
1.Resistance is the force that pushes AGAINST the flow of electrons in a conductive pathway. In our case it is the friction you encounter when trying to push our one pound weight one foot.
2. The unit of measurement we use to describe resistance in a circuit is called the "OHM".
3. Ohm is basically the resistance in a circuit where a potential difference of 1 volt creates a current of 1 ampere. Which means that 1 ohm=1 volt/ampere.
Impedence and Resistance are basically the same thing.
All I have time to write right now.
-TINK
Victor on 07/31/2005 01:11:05
Well done Tink... But i got problems over this statement of yours...
"The force asorbed by the friction is expelled as heat energy, which is why your amp gets hot with higher loads, I.E. a higher load=more friction=more heat."
lets apply it to our feild of car audio...
Does an amp heat up more with a load of 2 ohm or 8 ohms...?? 8 ohm is a higher load.. right..?? then why do we see more heat at lower loads ...?? Why does the heat protection circuitry activate at lower loads then higher ..??
Is it something worth thinking..??
Those are loads of questions, some are self suggestive of their answers while some are left for you to figure out WHY, HOW..??
yes, The work gets harder , more power is needed to displace the electrons at higher loads, The friction converts the energy from electrical to heat energy, more load more friction more heat ..
BUT.. why do we see a contradiction ...?? Tink please Think
Victor..
Also.. impedence and Resistance ARE NOT the same thing..yes you may see them as a barrier towards flow of electron, in the basics they got the same roots, but the branches are WIDE APART we shall discuss them later.. first lets clear the present confusion i just created, hehehe GRIN
Tinker18 on 07/31/2005 02:11:37
Ok well....
lets say it takes 200W to displace a 4 ohm load 50 feet.
That means, it would take 100W to displace a 2 ohm load the same distance because 2 ohms of resistance is half the load, which means half the power is required to push it the same distance. Which also means if you have 200W pushing a 2 ohm load, you double the power, and the length to which it will push it to....which would be 100 ft.
--so--- with the same amount of given power, more work is done when their is less resistance in the circuit. Which means that if more work is done more heat is created, which would be why it is contradictory to what you would think.
-TINK
swez on 07/31/2005 09:45:37
Used a term several times here Tink. Can you add an explaination to the term "Joule"? (pronounced as jewel)
Resistance and Impedence are "similar" in one basic way. They are both opposing forces to the flow of electricity. However, one is affected greatly based on frequency. That's where the similarities begin to part company. I think Victor wanted to handle that one soon.
Victor,
Let the man work without friction for now. That is a variable in every aspect of work. But for now, let's assume friction is not an element of the basic equation of doing the work.
"But i got problems" .... I could not have said it better! LMAO
Swez hehe
PS Tink, well done sir. Keep up the good work. Your Gold Medallion is in the mail.
Victor on 07/31/2005 10:45:43
He hehehe.. you know swez, sometimes i just wander around for words... lol.. I did not find it appropriate too... hehe... but i could not dig deeper in the dictionary.. lol..
I am sure you could have said it better ...errr...but with some spelling mistakes i guess... hehe.
Victor..
swez on 07/31/2005 11:40:10
Hehe, my speelin is not the gratest at times... but getting the point across has never been an issue.
Considering English is not your primary language, I'd say you do weel above aberage with it anywhey.
"But i got problems" ... is a priceless comment! Especially when taken out of context. Sorry bud, I could not resist the opportunafish to take a cheap shot at same. But hey, we all got problems right? That's all part of being part of the human (rat) race.
Swez
Tinker18 on 08/1/2005 00:26:24
first off, swez uses a term that may confuse some.....coulumb.
so lets explain that a little.
a coulomb is the unit of electric charge, and is defined by amperes. 1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge carried by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second.
Joule is the unit of measure used to describe work.
It is named after a physicist named James Prescott Joule.
One joule is the work required to move an electric charge of 1 coulomb through an electrical potential difference of 1 volt.
One joule is also the amount of work it takes to produce the power of one watt per second.
An easy way to understand what joule means in relative terms is this.
One joule is required to lift a weight of 102g approx. one meter per sec in earths gravity.
(102g is approx. the weight of a small apple)
As far as impedence and resistance, i just got off of work, i worked 11 hours today and I am way too tired to delve into that subject...will make my brain hurt.
-TINK
swez on 08/1/2005 08:44:13
Hey Tink,
Thanks for covering me on "coulombs" and explaining the "Joule". Until I read your post, did not realize there was no explaination given on the coulomb... (D-oh)
Long day there Tink... especially in the heat we are getting. Hope you worked inside with A/C most of that shift. SMILE
Swez
Victor on 08/1/2005 16:55:02
OK, guys here is the promised ;RESISTANCE and IMPEDANCE SMILE
Have touched the subject just as much as necessary, do not think it appropriate to go in minute details at this stage, but whatever is explained shall give a good over view of the topics and shall give u a basic understanding of how both the terms fall apart.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESISTANCE and IMPEDANCE generally regarded as the same, they have the same roots but have branches which are far apart.
RESISTANCE is the opposition to flow of direct current.
IMPEDANCE is the opposition of flow of Alternating current. (The reason is cause some devices present in a circuit behave differently with an AC current then they do in DC current.)
IMPEDANCE is the resistance of a circuit component at a given frequency. This is from where the branches start moving apart.
RESISTANCE
Every possible thing has a resistance to electric power; it’s just that some elements or objects provide a higher (very very high amount) of resistance and hence they are used as insulator while some have nominal or very less amount of resistance and we use them as conductors.
RESISTANCE is measured in the unit known as ohm as all of us must be already aware.
The RESISTANCE value of a RESISTOR does vary with temperature and age, but the change is so nominal that it is generally ignored for practical use.
IMPEDANCE
IMPEDANCE exists in case of AC current or AC with a DC bias. It does not exist in pure DC current (in DC it’s called RESISTANCE like stated earlier)
IMPEDANCE of a circuit element varies with variation in Frequency and Reactance
For explaining IMPEDANCE I will first have to explain REACTANCE.
REACTANCE is the manner in which components lying in the circuit react with change in frequency.
The resistance of a capacitor in a circuit will increase as frequency gets lower while the resistance of an inductor coil will increase with a rise in frequency.
When the resistance graph is plotted a normal resistor will show a flat line over the frequencies, while a reactive component will slope with the change in frequency. This property of a circuit component is known as REACTANCE.
The capacitors and inductors present in a Xover are reactive components and so is the speaker itself due to the presence of the voice coil.
The speaker’s voice coil is a reactive circuit element and its Impedance (we don’t call it resistance here because) changes with frequency. When measured over the complete audible spectrum the average impedance measured is approx 4ohms etc.
The nominal impedance stated by the manufactures is measured with DC current and is called NOMINAL with a reason. The speaker rated at Nominal impedance rating of 4 ohms shows its rated impedance only at two points, one when its measured using DC current and other when the speaker is at its resonance frequency. Rest of the time the impedance varies around 4 ohms ( above or below ) with change in frequency.
That’s all I can share about Resistance and Impedance, I know its kind of confusing, but that’s the best I could do, if there are any questions or corrections please let them flow in freely.
Hope that helps…COFFEE
Victor…
Comments....
???THINK
swez on 08/2/2005 12:16:34
A few minor tweaks to this topic and it's good to go. Will chat with you on the specifics via IM.
One example:
"The speaker’s voice coil is a reactive circuit element and its Impedance (we don’t call it resistance here because) changes with frequency. When measured over the complete audible spectrum the average impedance measured is approx 4ohms etc."
Ever seen a speaker impedance plot? (resistance VS frequency) The change in impedance can be considerably higher then 4 ohms (nominal) at various frequencies. When we measure "DC resistance" with a VOM, we typicaly get a number below 4 ohms. (3.xx is common)
However, when looking at impedamce and frequency plots, the reactive elements of a voice coil (inductive reactance) can vary a great deal fro the nominal 4 ohms.
Have a look at this woofer spec: Goldwood 6.5", 4 ohm woofer plots
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=290-300
http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/290-300.pdf
http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/290-300z.txt
Swez
aone7706 on 04/2/2009 10:11:42
Thanks for the lesson on voltage. Now I understand why they say the 240V will throw you off. Because it's merely electrical pressure. But 110V will make you hold on because it's not enough pressure to throw you off, but it is enough to contract the muscles. Thanx
Below are the definitions of various terms concerning the 1st CK quiz topic.
1 - Electrons - Electron is the negatively charged part of the atom that orbits the nucleus of the atom. The nucleus of the atom contains neutrons, which have no electrical charge and protons, which have a positive charge.
2 - Voltage - Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It's the push or pressure behind current flow through a circuit.
3 - Volt - The unit of measure for electrical potential. (volt - V )
4 - Current - Current is the measure of the flow of electrons passing through a given point in a circuit in a given amount of time.
5 - Ampere - Ampere is the unit that measures the rate of flow of electricity (current) in a circuit. (amp - A)
6 - Circuit - Circuit describes an electrical arrangement with a defined path of flow of electrical current.
7 - Power - Power is a measure of the amount of work that is being done at a given point in time.
8 - Work - Work is defined as a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement.
9 - Watt - Watt is the unit of measure of power (whether it is power being used OR produced). (watt - W )
10 - Resistance - Resistance is the opposition to the flow of AC or DC voltage in an electric current. Measured in ohms. ( cant find a way to put up the ohm symbol here )
11 - Impedence - The opposition to the flow of alternating current (AC) in a circuit. Measured in ohms .
Learn these, understand them and try and do some indepth research to gain better understanding of these terms..
Would like all experts out there to pick up a term and try and explain them in detail with examples if possible.
Would like all learners to thow questions at us if you find anything confusing or dont understand certain things..
Thanks in advance...
Happy learning..COFFEE
Victor...
Replies (35)
ttocs on 07/20/2005 00:45:24
looks good.
Victor on 07/21/2005 16:39:50
seems no one around is interested.... should i delete this post...???
swez on 07/21/2005 17:13:47
Great idea... may just be poor timing to introduce such things. It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, (USA, Canada and even UK). So, what happens in summer? We play outside a lot after worrk or on weekends.
Mind copying the initial post for future use and try again this Fall/Winter? I think the board will be busier and more folks will participate as well.
Swez
ttocs on 07/21/2005 20:34:04
was it a test?
Victor on 07/22/2005 02:24:11
lol.. no it is not a test..
The classes have started.. in the first lecture I defined the terms we are going to teach/learn in this beginners course.. hehe...
I asked other experts to pick up a term and explain them so that it helps others in gaining a better understanding....
Victor..
ttocs on 07/22/2005 03:50:21
oh its homework, now I see why no responces...
Victor on 07/22/2005 08:21:42
lol....
Crum on 07/22/2005 12:35:01
Good stuff Victor.
I think this info sets up the foundation for understanding Ohm's law. I've looked at a chart that explains how the Ohm's law is manipulated but I've never taken the time to actually learn it. I think that understanding Ohm's law is the secret that separates the golds from the other contributors on this site.
One other thing that I would like help with is understanding the different parameters that are given on devices. For example, if you look at the specs on Adire's webpage for a speaker, I do not know what Qes, Qms, Qts, Vas, Le . . . means.
Crum
ttocs on 07/22/2005 13:34:49
Ohms law was drilled into me after a few years of tech school, that and the resistor color bands... Oh, that would be a fun but somewhat usefull test. Its not that hard if you know the secret.....
Victor on 07/22/2005 15:01:24
ok.. seems the train just blew the GO whistle...
how about picking up a term each for a gold and explaining them.. ?? atleast now..
Victor...
PS. Participation in the learning and discussion process will be the key to pass the test with flying colours..
gearhead on 07/22/2005 15:35:35
BBROYGBVGW
Bad Booze Rots Our Young Guts, But Vodka Goes Well
admin on 07/22/2005 16:35:02
Is it something to do with the Resistor Color Code?
Victor on 07/22/2005 16:43:08
ah.. memory refreshed...lol
Thanks walt.
Victor on 07/22/2005 16:47:42
http://www.bcae1.com/resistrs.htm
ttocs on 07/23/2005 02:52:48
bad boys................
swez on 07/23/2005 13:05:52
After talking with Victor, I have agreed to do the first 5 items... will address the first 5 items in this tutorial training session. In future posts, will address:
Electrons, Volt, Voltage, Amp & Amperes.
First off, let's use analogies to electricity. Since we cannot see, hear or smell any of these parameters, let's talk in terms of what we can see etc. Common thing we come in contact with everyday... water, physical observations and other well known concepts. Here we go:
An Electron is small unit of matter. (potential energy) It part of a family of 4 primary components in an atom
1. Nucleus is the center part of an atom (it bonds everything together)
2. Proton is a positively charged ion, attached to the Nucleus
3, Neutron is a neutrally charged ion, attached to the Nucleus
4. Electron is a negatively charge ion, these revolve around the outer parameter of the atom
Overview:
Think of this like our solar system. The Sun is the Nucleus. It contains many positive and neutral ions. (Protons & Neutrons) The planets that revolve around the Sun, are the Electrons. The Sun has energy, mass and enough gravitational pull, to hold all the known planets in a constant orbit pattern, around itself. Again, the Sun is the Nucleus. The planets are the Electrons. Makes sense so far? (I hope)
===================================================
VOLT:
The Volt is a unit of electrical energy with a "potential" to do work. In this case, we mean moving electrons along a conductive pathway, such as a wire, to drive a load. The difference in "potential" energy is what we need, to do work.
Analogy: We need a specific amount of energy to move a 1 pound weight, a distance of say... 1 foot. It takes some degree of energy to move that weight, a given distance. That energy needed, is called a Volt. The method we can employ here, is a rope (conductor) attached to the load (weight) and the force it takes (Voltage) to move the weight.
Technically speaking, a Volt is one "Coulomb" of energy. (6.25 x 10 exp 18th electrons moved) It's the difference in potential, that allows work to be accomplished. Good nuff!
===================================================
VOLTAGE:
As defined earlier, "Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It's the push or pressure behind current flow through a circuit."
This is the pushing or pressure needed to move that 1 pound weight mentioned earlier. The larger the weight or greater the distance we need to move a given object, is considered to be Voltage. Basically, we need a "potential difference" in energy between the weight (no energy applied, it does not move) and a moving force to act upon the weight, to make it move.
The the basics of Voltage:
1. We have a weight of 1 pound to move (it stays put until we apply pressure)
2. It takes a given amount of pressure/force (Voltage) to move the weight
3. The amount of energy it takes to move the weight a given distance, can be called Voltage
Again, Voltage is a difference in "potential" energy between an object and the force required to move it. Does that make sense to anyone yet? OK, this is the first installment for today.
===================================================
Take Away:
To do a given amount of work, we must apply a given amount of energy to do the work. We must apply energy in some form, to make something happen. In electricity, the most common element is the Volt. It is a "difference in potential" between one static object (a weight) and the force/pressure it takes to move that weight.
The basics of voltage in electricity... is the amount of energy it takes (force/pressure) to move electrons along a conductive pathway that allows work to be accomplished. Fundamentally, we are pushing electrons along a conductor to a given device (motor, speaker, or electromechanical device) to make it work. That device is often called a "load". It can only perform its task properly, when we pass enough electricity (Voltage) to activate the device as designed.
This concludes the segment on Electrons, a Volt, a voltage. We will move on to current and amp/amperage in the next segment.
Hope this is useful to our readers. If not, let me know.
Swez
Victor on 07/23/2005 14:57:31
Good going Swez.. SMILE
Tinker18 on 07/29/2005 01:13:56
As Victor stated earlier
--"Current is the measure of the flow of electrons passing through a given point in a circuit in a given amount of time."
Using Swez's analogy, Current describes how fast the "weight" is being moved. The higher the current, the higher the flow of electrons, therfore more "work" gets done, in a shorter period of time.
The basics of Current.
1. we have the one pound weight. Current describes how fast the weight is moved from point "A" to point "B" in a given amount of time.
2. The higher the Current, the faster the weight is moved.
3. The amount of Current is described by the term "Ampere" or more commonly known as "amp".
Naturally, the amount of current runs parallel to the amount of amperage in a conductive pathway, in other words, the higher the current , the more amps you have.
===========================================
Circuit:
An electrical arrangement with a defined path of flow of electrical current.
I will use a battery with two wires connected to a light bulb as an example. The battery consists of two parts, an anode(positive) and a cathode(negative). Electrons flow from the Anode to the Cathode, or positive to negative.
The basics:
1. there are two types of circuits--series--and parallel.
2. A parallel combination of cells has the same voltage as a single cell, but can supply a higher current (the sum of the currents from all the cells). Example:--the weight is moved from point "A" to point "B" faster, but with the same amount of force.
3. A series combination has the same current rating as a single cell but its voltage is the sum of the voltages of all the cells. Example:-- The weight has more force, but is moved at a slower rate of speed.
--Should cover that. let me know if I missed anything Swez.
-TINK
swez on 07/29/2005 09:32:54
Looks like a solid explaination to me ... good work Tink and thanks for adding to the post!
Voltage is the force (Electromotive energy potential)
Current is the flow rate in which moves electrons slowly or rapidly along the electical pathway
When we combine the 2 elements with a load, we can determine the work done, expressed at Power or Watts.
Power = Voltage x Current (E x I) = W..atts
Swez CLAP
Tinker18 on 07/29/2005 17:38:58
I aced my physics class......can you tell? lol....
-TINK
swez on 07/30/2005 08:48:14
Looks like we have a winner here folks... a new player in the the FAQ/tuitorial side of the board. Keep it coming Tink!
Swez CLAP
Victor on 07/30/2005 10:34:20
Yeah.. its great to have an active member on board.. Keep it going Tink..
How about trying a few out of the other terms...??
Victor...
admin on 07/30/2005 11:26:16
Maybe Tinker gets some
bling bling soon?swez on 07/30/2005 16:43:35
Was thinking of requesting an upgrade for Tink as soon as he posts a few more items too... the bait has been set, now we have to see if he rises to the bait and runs with it. (hehe)
Anyway, I agree... Tink is definitely on my short list as a new Gold member. Keep up the good work bud! CLAP
Swez USFLAG
Tinker18 on 07/30/2005 20:49:50
Thanks guys.
And now for the next excerpt in my beautifully but confusingly painted portrait of car audio physics 101. (if that makes any sense what so ever).
"time rate of doing work or producing or expending energy"
The basics of Power.
1. Power is used to describe the amount of work in a given amount of time. In other words, if it takes longer to do it or to move the load, you are using less power.
Analogy: if it takes you 3 days to figure out 2+2=4 then your brain is not using enough power. lol.
2. The unit of measurement for power is the word "watt" Named in honor of someone called James Watt i think. anwyay, 1 watt is equal to 1 joule per second. The word Watt is used for measuring Electrical Power.
===========================================
Work....work is well...you hate it....9 to 5 sometimes 9 to 8 or worse.....lol...j/k.
Ok seriously. Work.
Victor says "Work is defined as a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement."
Although this is a nice defintition, i believe it to be too vague.
Here is mine.
-Work is the transfer of energy by a force(in this case voltage) to displace a body(in this case, electrons)
The basics of "work"
1. Work is equal to the result of the force & the distance it moves something. If a force acts on something, and it does not move..then no "work" is done.
2. Work is described using the term "joule".
3. For work to be done, a certain amount of force must be used to overcome the friction, in order to move the body.......in our case and laymans terms.....force=voltage.....friction=resistance..and body=electrons/signal.
The force asorbed by the friction is expelled as heat energy, which is why your amp gets hot with higher loads, I.E. a higher load=more friction=more heat.
===========================================
-Resistance is the opposition to the flow of AC or DC voltage in an electric current. Measured in ohms.
The basics of Resistance.
1.Resistance is the force that pushes AGAINST the flow of electrons in a conductive pathway. In our case it is the friction you encounter when trying to push our one pound weight one foot.
2. The unit of measurement we use to describe resistance in a circuit is called the "OHM".
3. Ohm is basically the resistance in a circuit where a potential difference of 1 volt creates a current of 1 ampere. Which means that 1 ohm=1 volt/ampere.
Impedence and Resistance are basically the same thing.
All I have time to write right now.
-TINK
Victor on 07/31/2005 01:11:05
Well done Tink... But i got problems over this statement of yours...
"The force asorbed by the friction is expelled as heat energy, which is why your amp gets hot with higher loads, I.E. a higher load=more friction=more heat."
lets apply it to our feild of car audio...
Does an amp heat up more with a load of 2 ohm or 8 ohms...?? 8 ohm is a higher load.. right..?? then why do we see more heat at lower loads ...?? Why does the heat protection circuitry activate at lower loads then higher ..??
Is it something worth thinking..??
Those are loads of questions, some are self suggestive of their answers while some are left for you to figure out WHY, HOW..??
yes, The work gets harder , more power is needed to displace the electrons at higher loads, The friction converts the energy from electrical to heat energy, more load more friction more heat ..
BUT.. why do we see a contradiction ...?? Tink please Think
Victor..
Also.. impedence and Resistance ARE NOT the same thing..yes you may see them as a barrier towards flow of electron, in the basics they got the same roots, but the branches are WIDE APART we shall discuss them later.. first lets clear the present confusion i just created, hehehe GRIN
Tinker18 on 07/31/2005 02:11:37
Ok well....
lets say it takes 200W to displace a 4 ohm load 50 feet.
That means, it would take 100W to displace a 2 ohm load the same distance because 2 ohms of resistance is half the load, which means half the power is required to push it the same distance. Which also means if you have 200W pushing a 2 ohm load, you double the power, and the length to which it will push it to....which would be 100 ft.
--so--- with the same amount of given power, more work is done when their is less resistance in the circuit. Which means that if more work is done more heat is created, which would be why it is contradictory to what you would think.
-TINK
swez on 07/31/2005 09:45:37
Used a term several times here Tink. Can you add an explaination to the term "Joule"? (pronounced as jewel)
Resistance and Impedence are "similar" in one basic way. They are both opposing forces to the flow of electricity. However, one is affected greatly based on frequency. That's where the similarities begin to part company. I think Victor wanted to handle that one soon.
Victor,
Let the man work without friction for now. That is a variable in every aspect of work. But for now, let's assume friction is not an element of the basic equation of doing the work.
"But i got problems" .... I could not have said it better! LMAO
Swez hehe
PS Tink, well done sir. Keep up the good work. Your Gold Medallion is in the mail.
Victor on 07/31/2005 10:45:43
He hehehe.. you know swez, sometimes i just wander around for words... lol.. I did not find it appropriate too... hehe... but i could not dig deeper in the dictionary.. lol..
I am sure you could have said it better ...errr...but with some spelling mistakes i guess... hehe.
Victor..
swez on 07/31/2005 11:40:10
Hehe, my speelin is not the gratest at times... but getting the point across has never been an issue.
Considering English is not your primary language, I'd say you do weel above aberage with it anywhey.
"But i got problems" ... is a priceless comment! Especially when taken out of context. Sorry bud, I could not resist the opportunafish to take a cheap shot at same. But hey, we all got problems right? That's all part of being part of the human (rat) race.
Swez
Tinker18 on 08/1/2005 00:26:24
first off, swez uses a term that may confuse some.....coulumb.
so lets explain that a little.
a coulomb is the unit of electric charge, and is defined by amperes. 1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge carried by a current of 1 ampere flowing for 1 second.
Joule is the unit of measure used to describe work.
It is named after a physicist named James Prescott Joule.
One joule is the work required to move an electric charge of 1 coulomb through an electrical potential difference of 1 volt.
One joule is also the amount of work it takes to produce the power of one watt per second.
An easy way to understand what joule means in relative terms is this.
One joule is required to lift a weight of 102g approx. one meter per sec in earths gravity.
(102g is approx. the weight of a small apple)
As far as impedence and resistance, i just got off of work, i worked 11 hours today and I am way too tired to delve into that subject...will make my brain hurt.
-TINK
swez on 08/1/2005 08:44:13
Hey Tink,
Thanks for covering me on "coulombs" and explaining the "Joule". Until I read your post, did not realize there was no explaination given on the coulomb... (D-oh)
Long day there Tink... especially in the heat we are getting. Hope you worked inside with A/C most of that shift. SMILE
Swez
Victor on 08/1/2005 16:55:02
OK, guys here is the promised ;RESISTANCE and IMPEDANCE SMILE
Have touched the subject just as much as necessary, do not think it appropriate to go in minute details at this stage, but whatever is explained shall give a good over view of the topics and shall give u a basic understanding of how both the terms fall apart.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESISTANCE and IMPEDANCE generally regarded as the same, they have the same roots but have branches which are far apart.
RESISTANCE is the opposition to flow of direct current.
IMPEDANCE is the opposition of flow of Alternating current. (The reason is cause some devices present in a circuit behave differently with an AC current then they do in DC current.)
IMPEDANCE is the resistance of a circuit component at a given frequency. This is from where the branches start moving apart.
RESISTANCE
Every possible thing has a resistance to electric power; it’s just that some elements or objects provide a higher (very very high amount) of resistance and hence they are used as insulator while some have nominal or very less amount of resistance and we use them as conductors.
RESISTANCE is measured in the unit known as ohm as all of us must be already aware.
The RESISTANCE value of a RESISTOR does vary with temperature and age, but the change is so nominal that it is generally ignored for practical use.
IMPEDANCE
IMPEDANCE exists in case of AC current or AC with a DC bias. It does not exist in pure DC current (in DC it’s called RESISTANCE like stated earlier)
IMPEDANCE of a circuit element varies with variation in Frequency and Reactance
For explaining IMPEDANCE I will first have to explain REACTANCE.
REACTANCE is the manner in which components lying in the circuit react with change in frequency.
The resistance of a capacitor in a circuit will increase as frequency gets lower while the resistance of an inductor coil will increase with a rise in frequency.
When the resistance graph is plotted a normal resistor will show a flat line over the frequencies, while a reactive component will slope with the change in frequency. This property of a circuit component is known as REACTANCE.
The capacitors and inductors present in a Xover are reactive components and so is the speaker itself due to the presence of the voice coil.
The speaker’s voice coil is a reactive circuit element and its Impedance (we don’t call it resistance here because) changes with frequency. When measured over the complete audible spectrum the average impedance measured is approx 4ohms etc.
The nominal impedance stated by the manufactures is measured with DC current and is called NOMINAL with a reason. The speaker rated at Nominal impedance rating of 4 ohms shows its rated impedance only at two points, one when its measured using DC current and other when the speaker is at its resonance frequency. Rest of the time the impedance varies around 4 ohms ( above or below ) with change in frequency.
That’s all I can share about Resistance and Impedance, I know its kind of confusing, but that’s the best I could do, if there are any questions or corrections please let them flow in freely.
Hope that helps…COFFEE
Victor…
Comments....
???THINK
swez on 08/2/2005 12:16:34
A few minor tweaks to this topic and it's good to go. Will chat with you on the specifics via IM.
One example:
"The speaker’s voice coil is a reactive circuit element and its Impedance (we don’t call it resistance here because) changes with frequency. When measured over the complete audible spectrum the average impedance measured is approx 4ohms etc."
Ever seen a speaker impedance plot? (resistance VS frequency) The change in impedance can be considerably higher then 4 ohms (nominal) at various frequencies. When we measure "DC resistance" with a VOM, we typicaly get a number below 4 ohms. (3.xx is common)
However, when looking at impedamce and frequency plots, the reactive elements of a voice coil (inductive reactance) can vary a great deal fro the nominal 4 ohms.
Have a look at this woofer spec: Goldwood 6.5", 4 ohm woofer plots
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=290-300
http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/290-300.pdf
http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/290-300z.txt
Swez
aone7706 on 04/2/2009 10:11:42
Thanks for the lesson on voltage. Now I understand why they say the 240V will throw you off. Because it's merely electrical pressure. But 110V will make you hold on because it's not enough pressure to throw you off, but it is enough to contract the muscles. Thanx
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