WTF is voltage and how is it different than current?? let's unpack this super weird concept and as a bonus we meet a new lil friend: electric elephant ! 😄
It's difficult for an electrical engineer to find the right words to explain about voltage! Analogy with water pressure is the most used way to get an idea. Thank you Jen!
Another good use for the water analogy that I never hear anyone use is that when you increase pressure at one end of the pipe, the pressure at the other end goes up too in a very short period of time even though the water has barely moved in the pipe at all. In other words, the water moves through the pipe much slower than the pressure change does. In a wire, a voltage increase at one end of the wire results in a voltage change at the other end at the speed of light in the wire. But the actual electrons move much, much slower as current flow in the wire. This was something that I didn't learn about in electronics until college, and it always confused me prior to that. When I was young I assumed the electrons moved at the speed of light. They actually travel down the wire at a few millimeters per second. Very slowly. But the voltage change moves extremely fast.
"They actually travel a few millimeters per second. Very slowly. But the voltage change moves extremely fast." Yep. The "charge" is roughly analogous to momentum (or is it interia? I always mix those two up. Given that I do, I could very well be wrong with this analogy if I constantly mix up momentum and inertia)
I think a better analogy than water "pressure" is "the height of the waterfall." If a stream is flowing at 1 floz per second over a waterfall with a height of 1 foot, the force will be less than 1floz of water per second over a waterfall with a height of 10ft. Obviously with that analogy gravity becomes a factor (and terminal velocity), so it's not 1:1 BUT it helps to explain how the same "volume" of water (the charge. Coulomb) can impart a different "force" depending on the voltage (waterfall height). And if you think of all electrical components as being powered by a water wheel, then 1 floz of water/sec even from a height of 100 ft isn't going to impart enough energy on a water wheel that weighs 200 lbs. The weight of that water wheel is roughly analogous to "resistance"
every analogy has it's pros/cons and, of course, is a stand in to help folks understand something that is hard for our lil' human brains to comprehend.
Hi, Jen! Amazing video!! This is a super complicated topic. I don’t really like the water pressure analogy because pressure is thought as a force distribution over some area (cross section in this case). I always look at it as the potential energy water has! Turns out that voltage might be quite the same, right? I like to think of voltage as “the will” a charge has to flow inside (or outside?) a conductor! This of course all comes down to ∫E•dL where E is the electric field and dL is an infinitesimal vector element tangent to the loop with length L. I believe the water analogy works the same way. In fact, it’s beautiful to see how Maxwell, by the time he was teaching hydrodynamics at Cambridge, sought “shelter” (as he describes in his book) in looking at fluid mechanics to solve electric and magnetic phenomena. This motivates me to think of electricity as water flowing inside pipes but even more special, since the water flow cannot produce another “extra force” like the magnetic force. OR CAN IT? I remember we discussed about the nature of magnetism as a relativistic illusion from our frame of reference and you mentioned a great point: why can’t the electric force be defined as a relativistic illusion from the magnetic force? All of these questions are amazing to look at since they bring up philosophical meanings to the nature of physical phenomena. This leaves me with an intriguing question: is there any analogous “magnetic force” after a fluid starts flowing inside a closed region? 🥹
I have put my tongue on a 9v battery before. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but not as uncomfortable as when I accidentally grabbed bare wires of 110v!! Nothing like "hands on" learning of voltage. LOL Cool video jen foxbot. Dig the title! 🙂
I used to have the habit when I was young of stripping wires with my teeth for my projects. Once I stuck a live telephone line in my mouth to strip the wires. -48V DC to the teeth certainly got my attention. That relatively high impedance phone line would be nothing compared to line voltage to the mouth though.
@@stargazer7644I don't know anything about phone lines (apparently not about electrical lines either 🙂). I was fortunate to have been able to let go of the wires immediately. I've heard of horror stories of people being electrocuted. It's an experience that I do not want to repeat.
Thanks for the explanation. I have always thought about voltage as water pressure and amperage as the "pipe" diameter and the resistance like the force that the pipe exercise against the flow of electrons. I would like to know more about what does it mean eV (Electron Volts) and if that has something to do with "Static electricity" Love you videos!
Think you mean diameter 'cross sectional area'-> volume of water per sec, flow rate gallons per sec or litres per sec , car washer high pressure low volume of water, not hurt much, fire hose less pressure lots of water flow, could break something, like car batteries low voltage 12v high current needs thick cable 800amp, if you wanted mains voltage of similar current the cable be as thick as you arm, cable diameter or pipe there is an upper limit how much current or water flow it can take, a good copper cable be equivalent to a steel pipe best at taking current or water flow without melting or burst
Amperage is the same as the water flow through the pipe. pipe diameter and length have to do with resistance. Your intuition that a bigger pipe diameter will result in more current is correct, but that's because the resistance is lower, and thus more water (current) will flow. Voltage=pressure, Current=flow rate, Resistance=pipe resistance to water flow.
It's difficult for an electrical engineer to find the right words to explain about voltage! Analogy with water pressure is the most used way to get an idea. Thank you Jen!
Thanks for the confusion. I had to throw away the analogies and revert to the actual QM.
Another good use for the water analogy that I never hear anyone use is that when you increase pressure at one end of the pipe, the pressure at the other end goes up too in a very short period of time even though the water has barely moved in the pipe at all. In other words, the water moves through the pipe much slower than the pressure change does.
In a wire, a voltage increase at one end of the wire results in a voltage change at the other end at the speed of light in the wire. But the actual electrons move much, much slower as current flow in the wire. This was something that I didn't learn about in electronics until college, and it always confused me prior to that. When I was young I assumed the electrons moved at the speed of light. They actually travel down the wire at a few millimeters per second. Very slowly. But the voltage change moves extremely fast.
"They actually travel a few millimeters per second. Very slowly. But the voltage change moves extremely fast."
Yep. The "charge" is roughly analogous to momentum (or is it interia? I always mix those two up. Given that I do, I could very well be wrong with this analogy if I constantly mix up momentum and inertia)
I think a better analogy than water "pressure" is "the height of the waterfall." If a stream is flowing at 1 floz per second over a waterfall with a height of 1 foot, the force will be less than 1floz of water per second over a waterfall with a height of 10ft. Obviously with that analogy gravity becomes a factor (and terminal velocity), so it's not 1:1
BUT it helps to explain how the same "volume" of water (the charge. Coulomb) can impart a different "force" depending on the voltage (waterfall height). And if you think of all electrical components as being powered by a water wheel, then 1 floz of water/sec even from a height of 100 ft isn't going to impart enough energy on a water wheel that weighs 200 lbs. The weight of that water wheel is roughly analogous to "resistance"
every analogy has it's pros/cons and, of course, is a stand in to help folks understand something that is hard for our lil' human brains to comprehend.
Hi, Jen! Amazing video!! This is a super complicated topic. I don’t really like the water pressure analogy because pressure is thought as a force distribution over some area (cross section in this case). I always look at it as the potential energy water has! Turns out that voltage might be quite the same, right? I like to think of voltage as “the will” a charge has to flow inside (or outside?) a conductor! This of course all comes down to ∫E•dL where E is the electric field and dL is an infinitesimal vector element tangent to the loop with length L. I believe the water analogy works the same way. In fact, it’s beautiful to see how Maxwell, by the time he was teaching hydrodynamics at Cambridge, sought “shelter” (as he describes in his book) in looking at fluid mechanics to solve electric and magnetic phenomena. This motivates me to think of electricity as water flowing inside pipes but even more special, since the water flow cannot produce another “extra force” like the magnetic force. OR CAN IT? I remember we discussed about the nature of magnetism as a relativistic illusion from our frame of reference and you mentioned a great point: why can’t the electric force be defined as a relativistic illusion from the magnetic force? All of these questions are amazing to look at since they bring up philosophical meanings to the nature of physical phenomena. This leaves me with an intriguing question: is there any analogous “magnetic force” after a fluid starts flowing inside a closed region? 🥹
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All electricity related stuff just went over my head in high school physics! :(((((
Electrifying Question, Electric Elephant! 😊
I have put my tongue on a 9v battery before. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but not as uncomfortable as when I accidentally grabbed bare wires of 110v!! Nothing like "hands on" learning of voltage. LOL
Cool video jen foxbot. Dig the title! 🙂
I used to have the habit when I was young of stripping wires with my teeth for my projects. Once I stuck a live telephone line in my mouth to strip the wires. -48V DC to the teeth certainly got my attention. That relatively high impedance phone line would be nothing compared to line voltage to the mouth though.
@@stargazer7644I don't know anything about phone lines (apparently not about electrical lines either 🙂). I was fortunate to have been able to let go of the wires immediately. I've heard of horror stories of people being electrocuted. It's an experience that I do not want to repeat.
This has always bothered/confused me since High School - thanks Jen!
Which book where you reading?
the book i wrote! "Beginning Breadboarding" : link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-9218-1
Thanks for the explanation.
I have always thought about voltage as water pressure and amperage as the "pipe" diameter and the resistance like the force that the pipe exercise against the flow of electrons.
I would like to know more about what does it mean eV (Electron Volts) and if that has something to do with "Static electricity"
Love you videos!
Amp is not pipe diameter.
Think you mean diameter 'cross sectional area'-> volume of water per sec, flow rate gallons per sec or litres per sec , car washer high pressure low volume of water, not hurt much, fire hose less pressure lots of water flow, could break something, like car batteries low voltage 12v high current needs thick cable 800amp, if you wanted mains voltage of similar current the cable be as thick as you arm, cable diameter or pipe there is an upper limit how much current or water flow it can take, a good copper cable be equivalent to a steel pipe best at taking current or water flow without melting or burst
Amperage is the same as the water flow through the pipe. pipe diameter and length have to do with resistance. Your intuition that a bigger pipe diameter will result in more current is correct, but that's because the resistance is lower, and thus more water (current) will flow. Voltage=pressure, Current=flow rate, Resistance=pipe resistance to water flow.
failed to make it clear.
u should have gone towards charge... path.
"it is the same thing, one is speed other one is volume"
what say you?