Answer #1

Ever since the knowledge and discovery of electricity, which according to history dated back since 1600s and/or older, man already started to show interest and gradually conduct a study to learn more about its properties. Two of the main components of electricity that was revealed were current and voltage. These two elements are different in every way but are interconnected with each other. And because of the close relationship among the two, most people get to confuse them.

People who try to explain the difference between current and voltage generally use the analogy of “flow of water through a pipeline” as an example. But, it is still best to begin with their formal definition first.

Current refers to the amount of electrons (or electric charge) flowing within a circuit in a given point of time. And, voltage refers to the measurement of the difference in electrical energy from one end of the circuit to the other end. Voltage is also referred to as “electric potential”.

In using the “water flow” analogy, current is often equated to the RATE of water flowing within a pipe. However in electricity, it is believed that the flow of electrons (or charge carriers) within a circuit are opposed to the flow of the electric current. Voltage on the other hand is equated with the amount of PRESSURE applied to push the water through the pipe. As a rule, the greater the difference in electrical energy (or pressure) applied in a circuit, the greater the voltage is.

With the last concept in mind, current’s behavior is different with voltage in a way that current moves THROUGH a conductor while voltage moves ACROSS a conductor. Between the two, current is the most dangerous as it can create damage or even kill while voltage can cause sparks and make hairs stand on end.

Another difference are the units used to measure the two, current is to “amps” (A), while voltage is to “volts” (V) which is quite obvious.

Answered By: khristine [216 ]