Title: Unit 4 Glossary
Course: ELT 102 Basic Electricity & Wiring > Section: ELT 102 Basic Electricity & Wiring

Unit 4 Glossary

Terms

Term | Definitions
Molecule | the smallest particle that still retains the physical and chemical characteristics of that substance.
Node | a terminal of any branch of a network or a terminal common to two or more branches.
Ohm's Law | states that in any electrical circuit the current is directly proportional to the applied voltage of the circuit and inversely proportional to the resistance of the circuit.
Ohmmeter | An instrument for measuring the resistance in ohms of an electrical circuit.
Parallel | also called shunt - connected to the same pair of terminals, do that current can branch out over two or more paths.
Polarity | A collective term applied to the positive (+) and negative ( - ) ends of a magnet or electrical mechanism such as a coil or battery.
Potential | the difference in voltage between two points of a circuit.
Potentiometer | A variable resistor used as a voltage divider.
Power | the rate at which work is done.
Protective Device | A component like a fuse, circuit breaker, or grounding circuit that prevents damage to an electrical system.
Rheostat | A resistor used for regulating a current by means of variable resistance; rheostats allow only one current path.
Switch | A device which opens or closes electrical pathways in an electrical circuit.
Voltage Drop | the difference in voltage between two point, due to the loss in electrical pressure as current flows through a device.
Voltmeter | An instrument for measuring the force in volts of an electrical current. This is the difference of potential (voltage) between different points in an electrical circuit. Voltmeters are connected a ...
Wattmeter | an instrument for measuring the  magnitude of the active power in an electrical circuit.
Work | the magnitude of a force times the distance through which the force is applied.