Voltage and Resistance Essay Example

Voltage and Resistance Essay In a conductor, electric current can flow freely, in an insulator it cannot. Metals such as copper typify conductors, while most non-metallic solids are said to be good insulators, having extremely high resistance to the flow of charge through them. Conductor implies that the outer electrons of the atoms are loosely bound and free to move through the material. Most atoms hold on to their electrons tightly and are insulators. In copper, the valence electrons are essentially free and strongly repel each other. Any external influence which moves one of them will cause a repulsion of other electrons which propagates, domino fashion through the conductor. Simply stated, most metals are good electrical conductors, most nonmetals are not. Metals are also generally good heat conductors while nonmetals are not. VOLTAGE: This is the pressure the water is under. We can also think of this as the force that we push or pull something with. Effort is another word we can use here. In this example, the force the person uses, which is the voltage, affects the speed at which the car will move (the current). If youve ever had to push a car, you will know how this works! The harder you push, the faster it goes. From this we can see that as Voltage increases, Current increases. That means that the harder you push the electricity through the circuit, the faster it goes and the more of it you can move at any one time. Lets put that into physics-speak: as Voltage increases, Current increases. We will write a custom essay sample on Voltage and Resistance specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Voltage and Resistance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Voltage and Resistance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer RESISTANCE: This can be seen as blockages in the water pipe. It can also be seen as friction which acts to slow down a moving object Another take on the above example is that of pushing a light car compared to pushing a bus. The heavier car takes a heck of a lot more effort to move than the light one. Have a look: The weight of the cars is like resistance in electric circuits; it makes it harder to move. The more weight, the more pressure you need to make the car move. In other words, as resistance increases, you need to increase voltage to keep the same current.