- #1
UMath1
- 361
- 9
I feel that I don't understand how voltage works in a circuit. I understand voltage to be electric potential energy per unit charge (kq/r). In the case of a circuit, electrons flow from low potential to high potential. But I don't understand how resistors cause a voltage drop. Isn't voltage based on position? How can the resistors cause a drop in potential energy? I can understand the resistor causing a drop in kinetic energy slowing the electrons down, but how does it lower the voltage? And if the total voltage is equal to the sum of the voltages of the resistors, then the voltage difference in wire after the last resistor and the positive terminal would be zero, right? Then how would the electrons be able to flow back to the positive terminal? Wouldn't they just stop?
The best analogy I can think of is a river flowing downhill that turns a turbine. But in this case the turbine doesn't cause a drop in the water's potential energy. It only takes some of the water's kinetic energy.
The best analogy I can think of is a river flowing downhill that turns a turbine. But in this case the turbine doesn't cause a drop in the water's potential energy. It only takes some of the water's kinetic energy.