When I first began learning about electronics and electricity, there were a number of seemingly obvious questions that never seemed to be answered by my professors, books, or articles on electricity; I had to scrape together answers gradually, gathering knowledge from every source I could find.
I’m collecting these questions and answers here in the hopes that they will someday save some poor internet-goer like yourself from all the trouble I had to go through.
Contents
- Why do we use Alternating Current (AC) instead of Direct Current (DC) in power lines?
- Does electricity flow from positive (+) to negative (-) or from negative to positive?
- What’s the difference between "voltage at a point" and "voltage between two points?" Also, what is ‘ground?’
- How fast do electrons move in a circuit?
- Why can the resistor go at the beginning of the circuit or at the end?
- What’s the difference between neutral and ground?
- How is it possible that there’s not a complete circuit to the power plant?
- How does jump starting a car work if current only flows when there’s a difference in voltage?
- Do transformers obey Ohm’s Law?
Additional Reading:
- How is it possible that there’s not a complete circuit to the power plant?
- What’s the difference between “voltage at a point” and “voltage between two points?” Also, what is ‘ground?’
- Why can the resistor go at the beginning of the circuit OR at the end?
- Do transformers obey Ohm’s Law?
- Does electricity flow from positive (+) to negative (-) or from negative to positive?
2 Comments
“reading this made me nostalgic for an ECE class I took, wherein:
Why can the resistor go at the beginning of the circuit or at the end?
Definitely confused me the most.”
Why can’t basic electronics books write this clearly?