Electricity & Magnets

• Golden rule


  LIKE REPEL, OPPOSITES ATTRACT
• Electricity


  A type of energy that consists of the movement of electrons between two points where there is a potential difference between them
• Charge


  A physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force
• Conductor


  • A material through which electric current can flow easily
  • All metals are conductors e.g. steel, aluminium
• Insulator


  • Have very high resistance to the flow of electric current
• Static electricity


  Describes the situation when electric charges remain stationary (occurs best with insulators)
• Current electricity


  Occurs when electric charges are moving from one place to another (occurs best with conductors)
• Proton


  A subatomic particle occurring in all atomic nuclei (pl for nucleus) with a positive electric charge
• Electron


  A subatomic particle with a charge of negative electricity found in all atomic nuclei and is the primary carrier of electricity in solids
• Neutron


  A subatomic particle of about the same mass as a proton but without an electric charge surrounding atomic nuclei
• Circuit


  A roughly circular line/route that starts and ends at the same place
• Cell


  A chemical store (single unit of device) of energy which provides the push that moves charge around a circuit
• Battery


  A collection of cells that convert chemical energy into electrical energy (different from cells)
• Current


  The amount of charge flowing per second
• Ampere (Amps, A)


  The unit used to measure current
• Ammeter


  A device used to measure current
• Voltage


  A measure of the strength of the cell or battery used to send a current around a circuit
• Volt (V)


  The unit used to measure voltage
• Voltmeter


  A device used to measure voltage
• Potential difference (p.d.)


  The push in which the cell or battery provide to make charges move
• Series circuit


  A circuit in which all circuit elements are arranged in a single path (the current is same everywhere, pd adds up)
• Parallel circuit


  A circuit in which the circuit elements are arranged in different branches of the circuit (pd is the same)
• Resistance


  A measure of opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit
• Ohm (Ω)


  The unit to measure resistance
• Magnetic Material


  A material which is attracted to a magnet e.g. nickel
• Magnetic field


  A region where there is a force on a magnet or a magnetic material (Earth has a magnetic field)
• Permanent magnet


  An object made from a material that is magnetised and creates its own persistent magnetic field
• Electromagnet


  A type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current