6.8 COMMON ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Admittance

The ease with which current flows in an ac circuit; the reciprocal of impedance, measured in mhos (siemens).

Ambient temperature

The normal or average temperature associated with a particular location.

Amperehour

The unit measuring the charging or discharging of a battery; 1 ampere of current flow for 1 hour.

Ampere-turns

Equal to amperes of current flow multiplied by the number of turns of wire on a coil or winding (transformer).

Attenuation

A reduction of signal strength, expressed in decibels.

Autotransformer

A transformer that has only one coil or winding; the single winding serves as both primary and secondary.

Breadboard

A temporarily constructed circuit that is used for tests.

Cascade

An alternate name for the series connection.

Choke

An induction used to pass large amounts of dc current; used in power supplies to improve regulation and reduce ripple, and as blocking devices to prevent radio-frequency interference from feeding into a circuit.

Conductance

The ease of conducting current; the reciprocal of resistance in a dc circuit, and the real part of an impedance in ac circuits; expressed in mhos.

Coulomb

The unit of electrical charge consisting of 6.25 10 ¹⁸ electrons.

Ground

The common return path for electric current in electric/electronic circuits; a reference point assumed to be at zero potential with respect to the Earth.

Induction

The process by which a voltage is induced into a conductor by a changing magnetic field, causing current to flow in the conductor...