Voltage

How it is used

Physics textbooks, especially British ones, prefer 'potential difference' (p.d.); 'voltage' is more common in speech and in the US. A voltmeter is connected in parallel across a component. You say 'the voltage across', not 'the voltage through'.

Example sentences

1. The voltage across the resistor is 6 V when the current is 0.2 A.

2. A 9 V battery provides a higher voltage than a 1.5 V cell.

Common collocations

• voltage across
• potential difference
• supply voltage
• high voltage
• measure the voltage

Related terms

• electric currentThe rate at which electric charge flows past a point in a circuit. It is measured in amperes (A), and one ampere is one coulomb of charge per second.
• resistanceHow strongly a component or material opposes the flow of electric current. It equals voltage divided by current and is measured in ohms (Ω).
• Ohm's lawThe rule that the current through a metal conductor is directly proportional to the voltage across it, as long as its temperature stays the same. It is usually written V = IR.
• electromotive forceThe energy that a source such as a battery or generator gives to each coulomb of charge passing through it. Despite its name, it is not a force, and it is measured in volts.
• electric fieldThe region around a charged object where another charge feels an electric force. Its strength is the force per unit charge, measured in newtons per coulomb (N/C) or volts per metre (V/m).

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• voltage · Electrical & Electronics Engineering

More terms: Electricity and Magnetism

• electric charge
• circuit
• magnetic field
• electromagnetic induction
• capacitor