Electromotive Force: Terminal Voltage Quiz

PDF page 998: You can think of many different types of voltage sources. Batteries themselves come in many varieties. There are many types of mechanical/electrical generators, driven by many different energy sources, ranging from nuclear to wind. Solar cells create voltages directly from light, while thermoelectric devices create voltage from temperature differences. A few voltage sources are shown in Figure 21.8. All such devices create a potential difference and can supply current if connected to a resistance. On the small scale, the potential difference creates an electric field that exerts force on charges, causing current. We thus use the name electromotive force, abbreviated emf. Emf is not a force at all; it is a special type of potential difference. To be precise, the electromotive force (emf) is the potential difference of a source when no current is flowing. Units of emf are volts.

PDF page 998: You can think of many different types of voltage sources. Batteries themselves come in many varieties. There are many types of mechanical/electrical generators, driven by many different energy sources, ranging from nuclear to wind. Solar cells create voltages directly from light, while thermoelectric devices create voltage from temperature differences. A few voltage sources are shown in Figure 21.8. All such devices create a potential difference and can supply current if connected to a resistance. On the small scale, the potential difference creates an electric field that exerts force on charges, causing current. We thus use the name electromotive force, abbreviated emf. Emf is not a force at all; it is a special type of potential difference. To be precise, the electromotive force (emf) is the potential difference of a source when no current is flowing. Units of emf are volts.

PDF page 999: Commons); the Krasnoyarsk Dam in Russia (credit: Alex Polezhaev); a solar farm (credit: U.S. Department of Energy); and a group of nickel metal hydride batteries (credit: Tiaa Monto). The voltage output of each depends on its construction and load, and equals emf only if there is no load. Electromotive force is directly related to the source of potential difference, such as the particular combination of chemicals in a battery. However, emf differs from the voltage output of the device when current flows. The voltage across the terminals of a battery, for example, is less than the emf when the battery supplies current, and it declines further as the battery is depleted or loaded down. However, if the device’s output voltage can be measured without drawing current, then output voltage will equal emf (even for a very depleted battery).

PDF page 999: Commons); the Krasnoyarsk Dam in Russia (credit: Alex Polezhaev); a solar farm (credit: U.S. Department of Energy); and a group of nickel metal hydride batteries (credit: Tiaa Monto). The voltage output of each depends on its construction and load, and equals emf only if there is no load. Electromotive force is directly related to the source of potential difference, such as the particular combination of chemicals in a battery. However, emf differs from the voltage output of the device when current flows. The voltage across the terminals of a battery, for example, is less than the emf when the battery supplies current, and it declines further as the battery is depleted or loaded down. However, if the device’s output voltage can be measured without drawing current, then output voltage will equal emf (even for a very depleted battery).

PDF page 999: As noted before, a 12-V truck battery is physically larger, contains more charge and energy, and can deliver a larger current than a 12-V motorcycle battery. Both are lead-acid batteries with identical emf, but, because of its size, the truck battery has a smaller internal resistance . Internal resistance is the inherent resistance to the flow of current within the source itself.

PDF page 999: Figure 21.9 is a schematic representation of the two fundamental parts of any voltage source. The emf (represented

PDF page 999: by a script E in the figure) and internal resistance are in series. The smaller the internal resistance for a given emf, the more current and the more power the source can supply.

PDF page 999: by a script E in the figure) and internal resistance are in series. The smaller the internal resistance for a given emf, the more current and the more power the source can supply.

PDF page 999: resistance related to its construction. (Note that the script E stands for emf.). Also shown are the output terminals across which the terminal voltage is measured. Since , terminal voltage equals emf only if there is no current flowing. The internal resistance can behave in complex ways. As noted, increases as a battery is depleted. But internal resistance may also depend on the magnitude and direction of the current through a voltage source, its temperature, and even its history. The internal resistance of rechargeable nickel-cadmium cells, for example, depends on how many times and how deeply they have been depleted.

PDF page 1001: The voltage output of a device is measured across its terminals and, thus, is called its terminal voltage . Terminal voltage is given by 21.44 where is the internal resistance and is the current flowing at the time of the measurement. is positive if current flows away from the positive terminal, as shown in Figure 21.9. You can see that the larger the current, the smaller the terminal voltage. And it is likewise true that the larger the internal resistance, the smaller the terminal voltage. Suppose a load resistance is connected to a voltage source, as in Figure 21.12. Since the resistances are in series, the total resistance in the circuit is . Thus the current is given by Ohm’s law to be

PDF page 1000: Why are the chemicals able to produce a unique potential difference? Quantum mechanical descriptions of molecules, which take into account the types of atoms and numbers of electrons in them, are able to predict the energy states they can have and the energies of reactions between them. In the case of a lead-acid battery, an energy of 2 eV is given to each electron sent to the anode. Voltage is defined as the electrical potential energy divided by charge: . An electron volt is the energy given to a single electron by a voltage of 1 V. So the voltage here is 2 V, since 2 eV is given to each electron. It is the energy produced in each molecular reaction that produces the voltage. A different reaction produces a different energy and, hence, a

PDF page 1003: being used by a U.S. Navy electronics technician to test large batteries aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and has a small resistance that can dissipate large amounts of power. (credit: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jason A. Johnston) The small device is used on small batteries and has a digital display to indicate the acceptability of their terminal voltage. (credit: Keith Williamson) Some batteries can be recharged by passing a current through them in the direction opposite to the current they supply to a resistance. This is done routinely in cars and batteries for small electrical appliances and electronic devices, and is represented pictorially in Figure 21.14. The voltage output of the battery charger must be greater than the emf of the battery to reverse current through it. This will cause the terminal voltage of the battery to be greater than the emf, since , and is now negative.

PDF page 1003: appliances. Usually, the cells are in series in order to produce a larger total emf. But if the cells oppose one another, such as when one is put into an appliance backward, the total emf is less, since it is the algebraic sum of the individual emfs. A battery is a multiple connection of voltaic cells, as shown in Figure 21.16. The disadvantage of series connections of cells is that their internal resistances add. One of the authors once owned a 1957 MGA that had two 6-V batteries in series, rather than a single 12-V battery. This arrangement produced a large internal resistance that caused him many problems in starting the engine.