Lexikon Spannung specifications

Category : Lexicon

The (electric) voltage is a measure of the energy required to move an electric charge through an electric field, or for the energy that becomes free when an electric charge moves through an electric field. The unit for the electrical voltage is the volt (according to the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta), abbreviated V.

An electrical voltage is created when electrical charges are separated, for example by separating electrons with their negative charge from protons with their positive charge. Since the two attract each other, energy must be expended to separate them, and an electric field is created between the separate charges. The energy expended becomes free again when the particles are allowed to follow their attraction and they move towards each other.

Instead of voltage, we are also talking about the electrical potential, voltage differences are also referred to as potential difference.