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Basics of electricity

  • An electrical circuit is an energy delivery system.
  • It takes energy from the cell/battery and ‘drops it off’ at the components (such as the bulb).

These are explained much more over the next few pages, but here is a summary:

QuantitySymbolUnitUnit SymbolDefinition
ChargeCoulomb(no simple definition) - 1C = $6.25\times10^{18} electrons
CurrentAmpereRate of flow of charge
Potential differenceVoltWork done per coulomb charge
ResistanceOhmOpposition to current flow, ratio of p.d. to current