Electrical circuits electric potential

Power, P, defiaed as the rate at which work is performed, is expressed ia terms of energy divided by time and is most commonly given in units of horsepower, as for the power suppHed by mechanical devices such as diesel engines, or in the SI units of watts, especially when measuring electrical power. One horsepower is equivalent to the amount of power needed to lift 33,000 pounds (14,982 kg) one foot (30.5 cm) in one minute. One watt is equivalent to the power required to perform one joule of work per second. In a simple direct-current circuit where potential is represented by E ... 

Inductive interference the production of electrical potentials in conductors due to the induction from alternating magnetic fields arising from short-circuit currents or operational currents in high-voltage power lines. 

The electric potential measured between two points in an electric circuit is the same regardless of the path along which it is measured. 

Under most conditions, the process is spontaneous/ A chemical potential difference drives the reaction and AG < 0. When the reactants are separated as shown in Figure 9.3, the chemical potential difference can be converted to an electrical potential E. When the electrodes are connected through an external circuit, the electrical potential causes an electric current to flow. Because the electrical potential is the driving force for electrons to flow, it is sometimes... 

The difference in electrical potential between two electrodes is the cell potential, designated E and measured in volts (V). The magnitude of E increases as the amount of charge imbalance between the two electrodes increases. For any galvanic cell, the value of E and the direction of electron flow can be determined experimentally by inserting a voltmeter in the external circuit. 

Measurement of electrical potential differences requires a complete electrical circuit, i.e., the electrochemical cell. An electrochemical galvanic cell consisting of all conducting phases, and among them at least one interface separating two immiscible electrolyte solutions is called for short a liquid galvanic cell. In contrast, the system composed of con-... 

The ends of a correctly constructed electrochemical circuit measuring electrical potential difference must always have metals or conductors with identical chemical composition. It is usually reached by simple connection of two metals by copper wires. The inclusion between two metal conductors of a third metal conductor according to Volta s law does not change the difference of potentials at the output of a circuit. The difference of potentials in an electrochemical circuit at equilibrium is caused by the change of Gibbs free energy during the appropriate electrochemical reaction ... 

This can be accomplished by applying an electrical potential in the external circuit in such a manner that an emf occurs in opposition to that of the galvanic cell. The opposing emf is varied by means of a potentiometer until the current flow from the cell is essentially zero. Under these conditions, the cell may very well approach reversibility. This is readily tested by changing the direction of the current and allowing an infinitesimally small current flow in the opposite direction. If the cell is reversible, the cell reaction will proceed in the reverse direction with the same efficiency as in the forward direction. For a reversible reaction... 

An electrical potential difference between the electrodes of an electrochemical cell (called the cell potential) causes a flow of electrons in the circuit that connects those electrodes and therefore produces electrical work. If the cell operates under reversible conditions and at constant composition, the work produced reaches a maximum value and, at constant temperature and pressure, can be identified with the Gibbs energy change of the net chemical process that occurs at the electrodes [180,316]. This is only achieved when the cell potential is balanced by the potential of an external source, so that the net current is zero. The value of this potential is known as the zero-current cell potential or the electromotive force (emf) of the cell, and it is represented by E. The relationship between E and the reaction Gibbs energy is given by... 

The portion AQ = AH - AG = TAS of AH is transformed into heat. Ideal theoretical efficiencies % determined by the types and amounts of reactants and by the operating temperature. Fuel cells have an efficiency advantage over combustion engines because the latter are subdued to the Carnot limitation. High thermodynamic efficiencies are possible for typical fuel cell reactions (e.g., e,h = 0.83 (at 25°C) for H2 + I/2O2 -> H20(i)). The electrical potential difference between anode and cathode, = -AG/W(f, which is also called the electromotive force or open-circuit voltage, drives electrons through the external... 

A simple electrochemical cell can be made from two test tubes connected with a third tube (the crossbar of the H ), as shown in Figure 12-1. The hollow apparatus is filled by simultaneously pouring different solutions into the two test tubes, an aqueous solution (aq) of zinc sulfate into the left tube and a copper sulfate solution into the one on the right. Then a strip of zinc metal is dipped into the ZnS04 solution, a piece of copper is inserted into the CUSO4 solution, and the two ends of the metal strips are connected by wires to an voltmeter. The lateral connecting tube allows ionic migration necessary for a closed electrical circuit. The voltmeter will show the electrical potential of 1.10 volts, which leads to the movement of electrons in the wire from the zinc electrode toward the copper electrode. 

Electrodes in a voltaic cell, however, are connected to circuits— paths by which electrons flow. Voltaic cells are sources of electricity, so they can be used to drive electrolytic reactions or perform other activities that require electricity. The term voltaic honors the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), a pioneer of electrochemistry. A simple voltaic cell can form a battery, invented by Volta in 1800. The unit of electric potential, the volt, also honors Volta. 

Figure 6 A schematic band diagram (electrical potential energy versus distance) of a conventional p-n homojunction solar cell at equilibrium (left) and at short circuit under spatially uniform illumination (right). The energies of the conduction- and valence-band edges are Ecb and Evb. respectively. EF is the Fermi level at equilibrium and EFn and EFp are the quasi-Fermi levels of electrons and holes, respectively, under illumination.

The electrical current that flows through the external circuit of an electrochemical cell is a measure of the flux of electrical charge and hence the flux of material transformed in electrochemical reactions. The current measures the rate of reaction which is controlled by the electrical potential difference at the interface. 

Under open circuit conditions, the electric current /= J) Zj-F-Jj vanishes. As long as tQ2- = 1 this means thaty o2- = To2- 7o2- - 0. or equally V /02- = Zj-F-Vtp = 0. This is true since oxygen ions are the mobile majority species with a constant chemical potential independent of any variation in the oxygen potential. It follows that the electrical potential in the oxide electrolyte of a galvanic cell is constant under open circuit conditions, despite the different oxygen potentials at the two electrodes. 

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