ELECTRICAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS.
Accumulator:
A cell whose positive and negative electrodes are formed or deposited by a current flowing from a separate source.
A network or a number of wires insulated from surrounding objects and suspended in the air to emit or intercept electromagnetic waves.
An electric current, of which the direction of flow reverses a number of times per second.
The quantity of current which will flow through a resistance of one ohm under a potential of one volt. The unit of current.
The quantity of electricity passed when flowing at the rate of one ampere for one hour.
The positive terminal of a broken circuit or a source of electricity. It is the carbon of a cell or the pole at which a current enters a solution.
The relative ability of a conductor to receive and retain an electric charge.
An unbroken conducting path for an electric current.
A device for receiving and storing up electrostatic energy.
The full period of reversal of an alternating current. A 60-cycle current is one making 60 complete reversals per second.
An instrument for detecting oscillations in the aerial of a receiving station. It either varies its own internal resistance or generates a weak intermittent direct current similar in time and duration with the signals emitted by the transmitting station.
A non-conductor or insulator. It usually refers to the material interposed between the oppositely charged coatings of a condenser.
A current flowing in one direction only.
The terminal of an open electric circuit or a conductor carrying a current and immersed in an electrolyte.
The separation of a chemical compound into its elements by the action of an electric current.
A solution which will conduct a current of electricity.
A mass of iron which is magnetized by the passage of a current of electricity through a coil of wire wound around the mass and insulated therefrom.
The unit of electrical capacity. A condenser having a capacity of one farad would be raised to a potential of one volt by one ampere flowing for one second.
The space which is under magnetic stress in the neighborhood of a magnet or a wire carrying a current.
A coil of heavy wire which furnishes the inductance for the closed oscillation circuit of a wireless transmitter and acts as an auto-transformer to raise the voltage of the high frequency currents.
The unit of induction. It is the induction in a circuit when the electromotive force induced in this circuit is one volt, while the inducing current varies at the rate of one ampere per second.
The property of an electric circuit whereby lines of force are developed around it.
An instrument or device consisting of two independent coils of wire wound around an iron core, and which by magnetic induction steps up an intermittent direct current from a low to a high voltage.
A non-conductor or a substance impervious to the passage of electricity.
A device for making and breaking a current into periods corresponding to the dots and dashes of the telegraph code.
1,000 watts. See watt.
A static condenser which will store up static electricity and is cylindrical in form. So-called because it was originated in Leyden, Holland.
The term expressing the connection of several pieces of electrical apparatus in parallel with each other so that the current is divided between them.
The unit of resistance. It is arbitrarily taken as the resistance of a column of mercury, one square millimeter in cross sectional area and 106 centimeters in height.
The same meaning as multiple. Parallel circuits are those which start at a common point and end at a common point.
The collection of hydrogen upon the positive electrode of a primary cell with a consequent loss of voltage.
Voltage or electrical force.
The quality of an electrical conductor whereby it opposes the passage of an electric current. The unit of resistance is the ohm.
A variable resistance to regulate the strength of an electric current.
Opposed to parallel or multiple. Instruments in series are so connected that the current passes from one to the other and does not divide.
An air gap or open space between two electrodes for the passage of a high voltage discharge.
See accumulator.
A device for stepping up or stepping down the voltage of an alternating current by means of magnetic induction.
A variable inductance for changing the period of the receptor circuit.
The unit of electrical force or potential. The electromotive force which, if steadily applied to a conductor whose resistance is one ohm, will produce a current of one ampere.
An instrument for measuring voltage.
Unit of work. It is the rate of work of one ampere flowing under a potential of one volt. Seven hundred and forty-six watts represent one electrical horsepower.
Plate VI. DeForest and Marconi Systems.