Chapter 3

Running Around in Circuits

In This Chapter

arrow Making the right connections with a circuit

arrow Being positive about the direction of current flow

arrow Shedding light on a circuit in action

arrow Seeing how voltages and currents measure up

arrow Finding out how much electrical energy is used

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Electric current doesn’t flow just anywhere. (If it did, you’d be getting shocked all the time.) Electrons only flow if you provide a closed conductive path, known as an electrical circuit, or simply a circuit, for them to move through, and initiate the flow with a battery or other source of electrical energy.

In this chapter, you discover how electric current flows through a circuit and why conventional current can be thought of as electrons moving in reverse. You also explore the depths of a simple electronic circuit that you can build yourself. Finally, you find out how to measure voltages and currents in ...

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