(1745 - 1827) Italian physicist who gave his name to lots of things electrical.

© Ian Sefton, School of Physics, The University of Sydney

 

  

symbol for ampere, the SI unit of current.

literally, alternating current. Often used loosely to refer to other things which involve alternating current; for example AC voltage probably means either alternating emf or alternating potential difference.

a device which does something. It is nearly always a source of emf, but its important property could be that it is sending a signal of some kind. (See also passive device.)

of a power point is the "live" or high potential (high voltage) terminal. The neutral terminal is supposed to remain close to earth potential, but it may vary from that. See also earth.

    (AC) a current which is continually changing its value and direction in a regular fashion. Usually it means a current which can be described by the equation: i = io sin(2p f t) (a "sinusoidal" current) in which i is current, io is a constant called the amplitude of the current, t is time and f is the frequency of the current. [..]

current meter; a contraction of ampere-meter.