Electronics Basics: Voltage
What is voltage?
We can simplify the concept of voltage to the electric potential that electrons have to flow from an area of higher voltage to an area of lower voltage.
We measure it in volts (V).
The more the voltage, the more electrons will flow in a circuit: that is what we call current.
Imagine a circuit with a LED light. You power it with a 1.5V battery, lighting up the led a little bit. If you then add a 3V battery the light will shine more, because there’s more current flowing in the circuit.
Earth has a null electric potential, 0V (zero volts), and we call it ground.
Voltage is a relative measure. It measures the difference of potential between two points. So when we say 5V for example, that’s relative to ground.
Most commercial DC (direct current) electronic devices will run at 5V or 12V.
AA batteries provide 1.5V of power. This means the + pole of the battery has 1.5V more voltage than the - pole. Some devices will use multiple batteries connected with each other to provide more voltage, for example 3V with 2 batteries connected in series.
Your home is wired with a 230V (Europe) or 110V (US) AC (alternating current) and different countries might have different values.
This is why devices need a different transformer to work across different countries
We can measure voltage using a tool like a multimeter device.
download all my books for free
- javascript handbook
- typescript handbook
- css handbook
- node.js handbook
- astro handbook
- html handbook
- next.js pages router handbook
- alpine.js handbook
- htmx handbook
- react handbook
- sql handbook
- git cheat sheet
- laravel handbook
- express handbook
- swift handbook
- go handbook
- php handbook
- python handbook
- cli handbook
- c handbook
subscribe to my newsletter to get them
Terms: by subscribing to the newsletter you agree the following terms and conditions and privacy policy. The aim of the newsletter is to keep you up to date about new tutorials, new book releases or courses organized by Flavio. If you wish to unsubscribe from the newsletter, you can click the unsubscribe link that's present at the bottom of each email, anytime. I will not communicate/spread/publish or otherwise give away your address. Your email address is the only personal information collected, and it's only collected for the primary purpose of keeping you informed through the newsletter. It's stored in a secure server based in the EU. You can contact Flavio by emailing [email protected]. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws in force in Italy and you unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Italy.