- #1
Cursed Lemon
- 3
- 0
Hi, I'm brand hew here, I've heard lots of good things about this forum and thought I'd take a couple questions of mine here. I am trying to learn about electricity and electronics, as it would be incredibly beneficial to my desired job of audio engineer. Most resources about electricity are horribly counter-intuitive and I feel I need an interactive explanation for this.
Firstly, what is voltage? It's defined as the "potential difference" between two points, does this mean literally the difference in the amount of electric charge between two points; that is, Coulombs A minus Coulombs B equals voltage (figuratively speaking)?
My second question is, what exactly is a watt? Is it a property of electricity or is it an abstract measurement of the amount of work that SHOULD be done, given a voltage and amperage? This book I'm reading describes a watt as the "heat lost when a current flows through resistance," which doesn't...sound right. And obviously most resources define a "watt" as the amount of work done when one amp flows through one volt. That's great if I want to conquer the math aspect of it all, but it doesn't help me understand the "picture" of the way electricity works.
And my last question is, what is the criteria for determining whether electrons or holes are the "charge carriers?" Obviously a hole doesn't "carry a charge" but we make the distinction in semiconductors regardless - for what reason (electrically) is a material defined as P-type? A hole is simply the space where an electron isn't, correct? And the backwards "flow" of a hole is just low-energy movements of many electrons, correct?
Firstly, what is voltage? It's defined as the "potential difference" between two points, does this mean literally the difference in the amount of electric charge between two points; that is, Coulombs A minus Coulombs B equals voltage (figuratively speaking)?
My second question is, what exactly is a watt? Is it a property of electricity or is it an abstract measurement of the amount of work that SHOULD be done, given a voltage and amperage? This book I'm reading describes a watt as the "heat lost when a current flows through resistance," which doesn't...sound right. And obviously most resources define a "watt" as the amount of work done when one amp flows through one volt. That's great if I want to conquer the math aspect of it all, but it doesn't help me understand the "picture" of the way electricity works.
And my last question is, what is the criteria for determining whether electrons or holes are the "charge carriers?" Obviously a hole doesn't "carry a charge" but we make the distinction in semiconductors regardless - for what reason (electrically) is a material defined as P-type? A hole is simply the space where an electron isn't, correct? And the backwards "flow" of a hole is just low-energy movements of many electrons, correct?