Basic Electricity Definition and Engineering Terms

Basic Electrical Engineering Or Electricity Definition.
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Ampere
Unit used in measuring intensity of flow of electricity. Symbol for it is "I".

Alternating Current(AC)
Electric current reversing its direction of flow at regular intervals. For example, it would alternate sixty times every second in a sixty cytle system. This  type of current is commonly found in homes.

Bare Conductor
Wire or cable with no insulation or covering


Current
Flow of electricity through a circuit; either AC or DC.


Circuit
Flow of electricity through two or more wires from the supply source to one or more outlets and back to the source.


Circuit Breaker
Safety device used to break the flow of electricity by opening the circuit automatically in the event of overloading, or used to open or close it manually.


Conductor
Any substance capable of conveying an electric current, in the home, copper wire is usually used.


Covered Conductor
WIre or cable covered with one or more layers of insulation.

Conductor Gauge
Numerical system used to label electric conductor sizes, given in American Wire Gauge(AWG) or square millimeters diamter.


Cable
Conductor insulated from one another.


Direct Current(DC)
Electric current  flowing in one direction. This type of current is commonly found in industries.


Electricity
Energy used to run household appliances and industrial machinery; can produce light, sound, heat and numerous other uses.


Frequency
The number of periods per unit time stated in cycles per seconds or Hertz. For alternating current power lines, the most widely used frequencies are 60 and 50 Hertz.

Fuse
Safety device that cuts off the flow of electricity when the current flowing through the fuse exceeds its rated capacity.


Ground
To connect with the earth as to ground an electric wire directly to the earth or indirectly through a water pipe or some other conductor. Usually a green colored wire is used for grounding the whole electrical system to the earth. A white wire is usually to ground individual electrical components of the whole system.


Impedance
A measure of the complex resistive and reactive attributes of a component in an alternating current circuit

Insulator
Material that will not permit the passage of electricity.


Neutral Wire
Third wire in a three wire distribution circuit, it is usually white or light gray and is connected to the ground.


Resistance
Restricts the flow of current; Unit of resistance is Ohm. The more resistance, the less the current flows.


Service
Conductor and equipment for delivering energy from the electricity supply system to the wiring system of the premises.

Service Drop
Overhead service connectors from the last pole or other aerial support to and including the splices, it any, connecting to the service entrance conductors at  the building or ther structure.


Service Panel
Main panel or cabinet through which electricity is brought to building and distributed. It contains the main disconnect switch and fuses or circuit breakers.


Short Circuit
Break in the flow of electricity due to evercurrent resulting from a fault of negligible impedance between live conductors having a difference in potential under norma operation condition.


Voltage Drop
Voltage loss when wires carry current. The longer the cord, the greater the voltage drop.


Volt
Unit for measuring electrical pressure or force, known as electromotive force. Symbol for it is "E" or "V".


Wires
Conductors carrying the electric current or power to the load; usually black or red.


Watts
Unit of electric power. the formula is Volts time Amperes equals watts

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