Alternating current behaves differently, depending on what components are in a circuit.

Learn anything you ever wanted to know and more about electrical circuits here. Complete with in-depth explanations and detailed diagrams.

Find out more about German physicist Wilhelm Weber, who developed and enhanced a variety of devices for sensitively detecting and measuring magnetic fields and electrical currents.

Hans Christian Orsted's accidental discovery that an electrical current moves a compass needle rocks the scientific world; a spate of experiments follows, immediately leading to the first electromagnet and electric motor.

This article helps students understand the concepts of electricity and circuits.

There are certain formulas in physics that are so powerful and so pervasive that they reach the state of popular knowledge. The predominant equation which pervades the study of electric circuits is often referred to as the Ohm's law...

Electrical currents and voltage are defined and illustrated.

A teacher lesson plan which could be easily converted into an idea for a student project or presentation. This page describes an activity in which the water-electricity analogy is used to investigate the relationship between current,...

English scientist William Crookes was very innovative in his investigations with vacuum tubes and designed a variety of different types to be used in his experimental work. Crookes tubes are glass vacuum chambers that contain a positive...

Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison duke it out over the best way to transmit electricity and Heinrich Hertz is the first person (unbeknownst to him) to broadcast and receive radio waves.

A current can be induced in a conducting loop if it is exposed to a changing magnetic field. (Java tutorial)

When two or more electrical devices in a circuit can be connected, it is considered a series connection or a parallel connection. When all the devices are connected using series connections, the circuit is referred to as a series...

When two or more electrical devices in a circuit are connected, it is known as a series connection or a parallel connection. When all the devices are connected using parallel connections, the circuit is referred to as a parallel circuit....

Review the components of a circuit and their symbols such as battery, resistor, and switch. Analyze how the power of a resistor is related to the current and electric potential difference across the resistor.

A discovery by Hans Christian Orsted forever changed the way scientists think about electricity and magnetism. While preparing to perform an experiment during a lecture at the University of Copenhagen, he found that the magnetized needle...

Explains what a combination circuit is, reviews the features of series and parallel circuits, and demonstrates how to analyze combination circuits. Includes detailed examples and some problems for students to try. There is also a link to...

After discovering the nature of electrical resistance, scientists devised instruments like this one to measure and control it. (Java tutorial)

Find out how the SPARKS DMM can measure AC voltage and current.

Use this site to learn about the inventor of the electro-magnetic motor, Nikola Tesla. Find out why Tesla's experimentation with alternating current was so important to later inventions and use of electricity.

One-page profile of influential innovator, George Westinghouse, Jr., whose vision and ideas helped to increase the safety of the railroad system in America. His experimentation with electricity also had a huge impact on the power...

Magnetic shunts are often used to adjust the amount of flux in the magnetic circuits found in most electrical motors. (Java tutorial)

Humphry Davy was a pioneer in the field of electrochemistry who used electrolysis to isolate many elements from the compounds in which they occur naturally. Electrolysis is the process by which an electrolyte is altered or decomposed via...

At this site from Georgia State University parallel and series connections of resistors are explained and illustrated. Equations for computing the overal voltage, current, and resistance of such circuits are given and explained.

Read a brief biography of George Westinghouse, who invented the air brake, making trains much safer. Find out how he was responsible for some very important concepts in the delivery of electricity.