potential difference
n. (Symbol V)
The amount of energy per unit charge needed to move a charged particle from a reference point to a designated point in a static electric field; voltage. Also called potential.
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The amount of energy per unit charge needed to move a charged particle from a reference point to a designated point in a static electric field; voltage. Also called potential.
Voltage difference between two points which will cause current to flow in a closed circuit.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts
Synonyms: electric potential, potential, potential drop,
In physics, the potential difference is a quantity related to the amount of energy that would be required to move an object from one place to another against various types of forces. The term is most frequently used as an abbreviation of 'electrical potential difference', but it also occurs in many other branches of physics. Only changes in potential or potential energy (not the absolute values) can ever be measured.
Potential difference is the difference in some quantity between two points in a conservative vector field of that quantity. Some examples are listed below.
In some engineering fields, "potential" is sometimes described as the 'across' variable, whereas flux is the 'through' variable. The product of the flux and the potential difference is the power, which is the time rate of change of energy.
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Electronics Dictionary. Copyright 2001 by Twysted Pair. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Potential difference". Read more |
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