Kirchhoff's Circuit Laws Kirchhoff's First Law Kirchhoff’s first law states that: The sum of the currents entering a junction always equals the sum of the currents out of the junction A junction is...
Resistance As electrons move through the metal wire of a circuit (or any other component), they transfer some of their electrical potential energy to the positive ions of the metal Free electrons c...
Circuit Diagrams The diagram below shows the various circuit symbols that could be used in circuit diagrams Common circuit symbols Functions of Most Common Components Switch: it turns the circuit o...
Coulomb's Law Any charged particle generates an electric field This field exerts a force on any other charged particle within range The electrostatic force between two charges is defined by Coulomb...
Electric Fields An electric field is a region of space in which an electric charge “feels” a force It is a vector field The direction of the electric field is the same as the direction of the elect...
Potential Difference Potential difference is a measure of the electrical potential energy transferred from an electron as it moves between two points in a conductor Potential difference is work don...
Drift Speed In conductors, only negatively charged (delocalised) electrons are allowed to move between atoms In general, an electric current can arise from the flow of either positive or negative p...
Charge Charge is measured in coulombs (C). One coulomb is defined as: The charge carried by an electric current of one ampere in one second Charge is a scalar quantity Electrons have a negative cha...
Harmonics Stationary waves can have different wave patterns, known as harmonics These depend on the frequency of the vibration and the boundary conditions (i.e. fixed and/or free ends) The harmonic...
