Of Volt, Ampere and Ohm

Vahe H. Apelian

Needless to say, discovering electricity is among the greatest achievements of humankind. Understanding how to best produce electricity and how to best harness it, is an ongoing endeavor. We could not have the eclectic cars we have today, a decade or two ago, because we did not know how to best produce electricity to harness it for driving cars.

Thank God, that we had great minds that discovered electricity, studied it and made it available for us twent four hours of the day, seven days a week, and year around in the coldest season of the year – winter, and in the hottest season of the year - summer. As I blog this blog, Lebanon, the country I was born and raised and Syria, where I spent the most memorable periods of my life in Kessab, are experiencing severe electrical shortage that has disrupted their lives. 

When I spent my summers in Kessab with my paternal grandparents and uncle, we did not have electricity at home but we got by. Life and demands for living were much different then. Nowadays, it is almost impossible not only to visualize but to sustain life without electrify, especially that electricity is a form of energy that cannot be stored like other sources of energy such as food for sustenance, gas in canisters for cooking, petrol in 55 gallon drums for driving cars and heating. But we have come to take for granted to have electricity with the flick of a switch, at any moment.

In spite of the fact that electricity is so vital for our existence, I imagine many are like me, and are clueless of the everyday terms used for electricity.  

Recently, I came across this cartoon and found it graphically presented the relationship between volt, ampere and ohm, terms that regulate the wonder that is the electricity.

I have copied what the terms mean from the source` Wikipedia!!!!

What is a volt? 

A volt is a measure of the electricity moving between two points.

The symbol for volt is V and is named after Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist

What is an ampere?

An ampere is measure of electricity moving past a point in 1 second. 

‎The symbol for ampere is A and is named after ‎André-Marie Ampère, a French physicist.

What is an Ohm?

An ohm is a measure of the resistance encountered when 1 Volt is pushing 1 Ampere.

This value is usually represented in schematics with the Greek letter "Ω", which is called omega, and pronounced "ohm” and is named after George Simon Ohm, a German 

What is watt?

A Watt is not in the cartoon, because it is a unit, sort of the work done by force (amperes) and the distance the electrons move, volts. Watts = Volts x Amperes

The symbol is W and is named after James Watt, an English physicist

And finally, what is electricity?

Wikipedia says that “Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. Electricity is both a basic part of nature and one of the most widely used forms of energy.” Let us say that is exciting the electrons.

Let us not forget to give tribute to Nikola Tesla, who is said to have understandood electricity like no other person before him or since. 

 So, next time around when we flick the electric switch, or plug the computer to catch on what is going in the Facebook, let us pose a minute in appreciation of the thing that is called electricity and the people who made it available for us and are continuing to  study and understand it to best produce it, store it as long as they can and harness its energy for, I imagine wonders to come.