electricity

electricity, class of phenomena arising from the existence of charge . The basic unit of charge is that on the proton or electron —the proton's charge is designated as positive while the electron's is negative. There are three basic systems of units used to measure electrical quantities, the most common being the one in which the ampere is the unit of current, the coulomb is the unit of charge, the volt is the unit of electromotive force, and the ohm is the unit of resistance, reactance, or impedance (see electric and magnetic units ).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Properties of Electric Charges
• Properties of Charges at Rest
• Properties of Charges in Motion
• History of Electricity
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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