Voltage
10/16/16
“What is voltage?”
Often times, when you read about electronics, you hear about some abstract measurement called voltage, but what exactly is this concept? Well, Voltage is defined as the difference in electrical potential between two points in space. Basically, one can think of voltage like the electrical equivalent of pressure difference between two points in space, so the more voltage there is between two points, the more “push” there is associated with it. For example, just like a high pressure piping system is necessary to drive a turbine, a higher voltage system might be necessary to power more powerful electronic equipment. The unit for voltage is measured in volts, which is defined as one potential energy per meter, meaning that this would be the work done moving one unit charge. Voltage is occasionally called the “EMF” (especially in respect to batteries).