Basic electricity:1.4 Voltage

1.4 Voltage

Electricity can be compared with water flowing through a pipe. A force is required to get water to flow through a pipe. This force comes from either a water pump or gravity. Voltage is the force that is applied to a conductor that causes electric current to flow.

Electrons are negative and are attracted by positive charges. They will always be attracted from a source having an excess of electrons, thus having a negative charge, to a source having a deficiency of electrons which has a positive charge. The force required to make electricity flow through a conductor is called a difference in potential, electromotive force (emf), or more simply referred to as voltage. Voltage is desig- nated by the letter "E", or the letter "V". The unit of measurement for voltage is volts which is designated by the letter "V".