What is voltage?

In the electronic circuit, in addition to current, another important concept is voltage. Voltage is the force that drives the flow of electrons in volts (V). Voltage, like current, is related to the electrons flowing in the circuit, but they play different roles in the circuit.

Definition of voltage

Voltage, defined in physics as the potential difference between two points in an electric field, is a physical quantity that describes the strength of the electric field to do work on the charge. In layman's terms, voltage is like the water level difference between the upstream and downstream of 1 dam. It drives the water flow (in the circuit, current) from high potential to low potential, completing the transfer and conversion of energy. The unit of voltage is the volt (V), which quantifies the magnitude of this potential difference.

Voltage can be understood as the driving force for electron flow. The higher the voltage, the greater the force that pushes the electrons to flow, so the current will increase accordingly; conversely, the lower the voltage, the smaller the force that pushes the electrons to flow, and the current will decrease accordingly.

Type of voltage

The voltage can be divided into direct current voltage (DC) and alternating current voltage (AC) according to whether its direction changes with time. The direction of DC voltage always remains unchanged, common in batteries, DC power supplies and other equipment; the direction of AC voltage is periodically changed over time, is the main form of home power grid, power system. AC voltage waveform variety, the most common is the sine wave, but there are square wave, triangle wave and other shapes.