From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals

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Current

Current

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Fundamentals

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Current

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- When a voltage exists between two points, like the terminals of this 9-volt battery, it generates a force that tries to move the surplus of electrons from the negatively charged terminal towards the positive one. Right now these two terminals are insulated from each other so those electrons don't have a way to get from one terminal to the other. The air between the two battery terminals is acting as an insulator to prevent those electrons from making the jump over. But if I create a conductive path between them by connecting them with a copper wire and a light bulb, it allows the electrons to flow from the negative terminal to the positive one, and we see that because the light bulb turns on. This flow of electric charge through the wire is called current, and it's measured in units of amperes, which is usually just shortened to amps. Amps are used to express the flow rate of electric charge with one amp being equivalent…

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