Electric Utility Glossary - Section V
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Vector – A vector is an arrow with both a direction and a magnitude (or value).
Vector Analysis – As applied to a transformer, it is the process of drawing vectors to represent the transformer connections. When properly drawn, vector analysis shows the phase shift between the incoming and outgoing voltages.
Volt – When an electric force moves 1 Coulomb of electrons to produce 1 Joule of work, the electric force has a measure of 1 Volt. Volt is named after Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) who invented the battery.
Volta, Allesandro (1745-1827) – Allesandro Volta was an Italian physicist, chemist and inventor known for creating the first battery, referred to as the voltaic pile battery. In 1780, Luigi Galvani, an Italian physician with an interest in electricity for medical reasons, made a dead frog twitch using an electrical charge from a Leyden Jar. That twitching frog experiment made its way to Alessandro Volta. Volta is credited with improving upon the early electrostatic generators, eventually leading to the invention of the battery. This is important because Volta was establishing that electricity could be created using both mechanical and chemical conditions. Volta also recreated Galvani’s frog twitch experiments. Then, circa 1800, Volta introduced the world’s first battery.
The invention of the “voltaic pile” battery contained layers of copper, zinc and paper soaked in salt water that were layered together like a sandwich. These layers were surrounded by a copper coil to create the conditions for electrical charge. Volta’s battery could store electric charge and then emit it at a steady rate for a period of time.
Volta’s inventions and Galvani’s theories of biological electric systems contributed to the greater understanding that:
Electricity could be created mechanically and chemically.
Electricity could be stored.
Electricity could be transferred through certain kinds of material.
Volt-Amp – The measure of total power in an alternating-current electrical system. It is obtained by multiplying the voltage by the current in a single-phase system, and by multiplying the voltage by the current by the square of 3 in a 3-phase system.
Voltage – The force that causes electrons to flow. It is often called potential.
Voltage Decay - Usually refers to the rate voltage decreases, or decays, on a capacitor or on shielded underground cable. The actual rate of decay is an exponential rate. Exponential refers to a family of curves called the exponential curves that are mathematically defined.
Voltage Drop – The characteristics of a voltage getting lower and lower the further a conductor runs from the source.
Voltage Spike - An instantaneous rise and drop in voltage. Lightning striking a power line causes an instantaneous rise in voltage, and the voltage then returns to normal. This is a spike. A spike is an older term. Several years ago the term spike was changed to surge.
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