What is Electrical: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Various common phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity, electric heating, electric discharges and many others.
The presence of an electric charge, which can be either positive or negative, produces an electric field. The movement of electric charges is an electric current and produces a magnetic field.
When a charge is placed in a location with a non-zero electric field, a force will act on it. The magnitude of this force is given by Coulomb's law. If the charge moves, the electric field would be doing work on the electric charge. Thus we can speak of electric potential at a certain point in space, which is equal to the work done by an external agent in carrying a unit of positive charge from an arbitrarily chosen reference point to that point without any acceleration and is typically measured in volts.
Electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies, being used for:

Electric power where electric current is used to energise equipment;
Electronics which deals with electrical circuits that involve active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies.Electrical phenomena have been studied since antiquity, though progress in theoretical understanding remained slow until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The theory of electromagnetism was developed in the 19th century, and by the end of that century electricity was being put to industrial and residential use by electrical engineers. The rapid expansion in electrical technology at this time transformed industry and society, becoming a driving force for the Second Industrial Revolution. Electricity's extraordinary versatility means it can be put to an almost limitless set of applications which include transport, heating, lighting, communications, and computation. Electrical power is now the backbone of modern industrial society.

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  1. P

    Chemical or Electrical engineering

    hi guys, i am in a bad situation and i need some tips :( i attend the first year of chemical engineering, but i have doubts about my choice... My university gives me the way to change my course in electrical engineering, and i am thinking to change. I'm not sure that chemical engineering is a...
  2. ramzerimar

    Should I stay in MechE or change to Electrical?

    Hey people. First of all, I'm now in the third semester of my course in Mechanical Engineering. I have interest in aerospace/aeronautics, so there are plenty of things in mechanical that I like - fluid mechanics, aerodynamics - and that was the reason I choose this undergrad. Nonetheless, I do...
  3. Domenico94

    What are the limitations of using electrical circuits to solve PDEs?

    Hi everyone. In electrical engineering, when you study control theory, you're taught that electrical circuits can be used to simulate the behaviour of complex systems. What I don't understand is, what are the limitation of this sistem, and why it can't be obviouslly used in a general way to...
  4. A

    Electrical Efficiency Calculations HVAC

    Hi, I am trying to do a comparison of electrical efficiencies between 2 HVAC compressors but struggling to find formulas or calculations to figure it out. Can anyone help me?
  5. C0balt

    Understanding Electrical Circuits and Power: Questions 10&11

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  6. J

    Engineering Electrical Circuits Reactive Networks Question

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  7. F

    Engineering Electrical Engineering - circuits - Reactive Networks

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  8. J

    An insulating sphere inside a conducting sphere questions

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  9. S

    Are a substance's electrical and heat conductivity related?

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  10. B

    Simple Electrical Modeling Question (w/ only C and L)

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  11. Pull and Twist

    MHB Linear Applications: Electrical Networks

    So I am having difficulty with the following problem; Determine the currents in the various branches. So I went ahead and assigned I names to the various branches and drew in flow directions to help me visualize the problem better. From there I created the following three equations...
  12. S

    Chemical PCP found in older Electrical Transformers

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  13. Z

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  14. N

    Engineering Is electrical engineering a dying field?

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  15. 4

    Puzzle. Electrical VS solid bar switch.

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  16. S

    Maximizing Heat Output from Electrical Energy: Heat Pumps vs Heaters

    I have read that when we directly use 'W' Joules of electrical energy to heat a liquid,the maximum heat we can use to heat the liquid is W. However, when we use a heat pump Q=[COP+1]*W , and that means Q > W. Hence heat pump is more efficient and is preferred over electrical heater. Doesn't this...
  17. Plat

    Radiation or electrical interference? Geiger counter

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  18. N

    Magnetic field and electrical fields

    Can someone please explain to me why, a changing magnetic field can produce an electric field and a changing electrical field can produce a magnetic field. Also how do magnetic fields originate, what causes them?
  19. E

    Exploring the Diversity of Natural Electrical Circuits: A Scientific Perspective

    Hello everyone, I have a strange question. Can complete electrical circuits be found in nature? If so, can you give any examples? And what is necessarily required (besides electricity) for a complete electrical circuit to occur, naturally or unnaturally?
  20. L

    Electrical Help: Connecting a Wire to Thermostat

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  21. N

    Electrical Fields within the body

    So I was thinking, if the body has its own electrical currents... especially in the brain, then the brain must have an electrical field that extends infinitely. If that is the case can the brains electrical field interact with the real world and influence it. So for example if the field was...
  22. A

    What are the benefits of cross-disciplinary learning in engineering?

    Majored HR in college, but did nothing about it yet. To work properly, learned to use SOLIDWORKS and bit UNIGRAPHICS, to work better, started learning mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, going to be 40 old now, bit difficult, but get to proceed...appreciate your help very much in...
  23. B

    Electrical length of wire wound on magnetic core?

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  24. A

    AC frequency and power of an electrical appliance

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  25. P

    How is electrical current delivered into houses?

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  26. S

    LaTeX Draw Electrical Circuits Free in Tikz w/ GeoGebra

    Can you suggest a free program that allows you to draw electrical circuits and export them in latex through tikz package (like geogebra)?
  27. A

    Engineering What career options can I expect as an Electrical Engineer?

    Hello everyone! =) I am currently a 3rd year Electrical Engineering student at a decent university, and am working towards a BSEE degree with what is currently a 3.8+ cumulative GPA. I have worked here as a paid research assistant and as a teaching assistant (an ECE lab course) for my...
  28. J

    Engineering Square of resistors within a circuit. What is the equivalent

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  29. A

    Programs Is the UPenn Electrical Engineering minor good?

    Would this be a useful sequence of classes for a physics major? http://www.ese.upenn.edu/current-students/undergraduates/minors.php
  30. J

    Electrical reason for big air gap of induction motor

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  31. PlasmaHawk

    Doubts regarding Electrical Eng. and Electronics Eng.

    Hello, everybody First some context: I live in Argentina and I'm a few months away from starting my first year of college. In here they make the distinction between Electrical Engineering and Electronics Engineering (and then there's also Informatics Engineering which I think is the equivalent...
  32. electric jake

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  33. Dunedain979

    Engineering Is electrical engineering becoming outdated?

    I'm wondering if a degree in electrical engineering is still worth pursuing today? Would it be a better choice to get a degree in mechanical engineering? Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.
  34. A

    What to read to learn Electrical Engineering

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  35. B

    Bizarre Electrical Engineering Project....is it possible?

    Ok, I've got a project I want to try, mostly for the "why the heck not?" idea, just for the giggles, you know? I just want to see if it's even possible to do. Here's the goal: Goal: Create a complete and uninterrupted sphere of electricity. This isn't as easy as one might think. It doesn't...
  36. Y

    Generate electrical energy from vibrating transformers

    Hey guys, how are you? I just have an idea but can't figure it out how to solve it. Is it possible to generate electrical energy from a (high power) transformer vibration using piezoelectrics?
  37. C

    Finding Reactance Ratio in Electrical Resonance

    Homework Statement See the picture. If at electrical resonance ##U_c=60 V## and ##U_L=40 V##, find the ratio of reactances ##\frac{X_L}{X_c}##.Homework Equations [/B]##Z=\sqrt{R^2+(\omega L - \frac{1}{\omega C})^2}## , ## Y= \sqrt{\frac{1}{R^2} + (\omega C - \frac{1}{\omega L})^2}## , ##\phi =...
  38. N

    Schools Physics vs. Electrical Engineering in college

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  39. gracy

    Questions based on derivation of electrical potential energy

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  40. D

    How to design discrete circuits for transistor beta changes?

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  41. nunuwishnu

    What is the step for designing a 3 Phase Inverter?

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  42. R

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  43. F

    Show electrical signal and synapse in brain

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  44. Z

    Trying to decide between Electrical and Mechanical....

    I am 2nd year engineering student. I haven't had to take any classes that were specific to a certain type of engineering but next semester I will and now I'm stressing which one I should choose. I know a lot more about mechanical engineering than I do electrical, but I think electrical would...
  45. R

    Conversion of friction energy in to electrical energy is possible?

    It is possible to convert frictional energy into electrical energy directly?... please tell me and if possible give me the formulae...
  46. B

    Heating up a wire using electrical current

    I have very little knowledge when it comes to physics. I'm trying to heat up a guitar string using electricity. The power source is 5 amps and only slightly heats up the string. I need a wire to get hot enough to cut through styrofoam. Please help with wire and power source suggestions.
  47. N

    Graviational vs Electrical Potential

    Hi all, Thanks for taking your time to help me. It means a lot! For some context: I'm a physics student taking an analytical chemistry course and am a bit confused by the concept of electrical potential. Gravitational potential is the potential energy per unit mass, V(gravitational) = U/m. (I...
  48. A

    Electrical Engineering to physics--which subfield is best?

    Hello all Anyone who looks at my past postings here can see that I have a lot of interests and a very indecisive personality, which leads to quite a bit of trouble as I think about grad schools, especially now that I'm a junior in EE. So, I'm not necessarily asking because of some commitment to...
  49. Serhatee

    How can I deactivate the shutter button?

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  50. nmaganzini

    Electrical Engineering PhD application

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