THE VOLT UNIT OF

POTENTIAL
DIFFERENCE
Lesson 3

BANCOROTLE102020
 Potential
It refers to the possibility of doing work. Any
charge has the potential to do the work of moving
another charge, by either attraction or repulsion.
When we consider two unlike charges, they have a
difference of potential.

BANCOROTLE102020
Potential Between
Different Charges

BANCOROTLE102020
 When one charge
is different from the
other, there must be a

BANCOROTLE102020
difference of potential
between them.
Example A

Consider a positive charge of 3 C, shown at the

right in the figure. The charge has a certain amount of
potential, corresponding to the amount of work this
charge can do. The work to be done is moving some
electrons, as illustrated.

▬ → ▬ →
→ ▬ → ▬

BANCOROTLE102020
▬ → ▬ →
Example A

Assume a charge of 1 C can move 3 electrons. The

charge of +3 C can attract 9 electrons toward the right.
However, the charge of +1 C at the opposite side can
attract 3 electrons toward the left. The net result, then,
is that 6 electrons can be moved toward the right to the
more positive charge.

▬ → ▬ →
→ ▬ → ▬

BANCOROTLE102020
▬ → ▬ →
Example B

One charge is 2 C, while to other charge is neutral

with 0 C. For the difference of 2 C, again 2 x 3 or 6
electrons can be attracted to the positive side.

▬ → ▬ →
→ ▬ → ▬

BANCOROTLE102020
▬ → ▬ →
Example C

The difference between the charges is still 2 C.

The +1 C attracts 3 electrons to the right side. Also, the
-1 C repel 3 electrons. This effect is really the same as
attracting 6 electrons.

▬ → ▬ →
→ ▬ → ▬

BANCOROTLE102020
▬ → ▬ →
 Therefore, the net number of electrons moved in
the direction of the more positive charge depends on the
difference of potential between the two charges. This
difference corresponds to 2 C for all the 3 examples.
Potential difference is often abbreviated PD.

BANCOROTLE102020
Note

The only case without any potential difference

between charge is where they both have the same
polarity and are equal in amount. Then the repelling
and attracting forces cancel, and no work can be done in
moving electrons between two identical charges.

BANCOROTLE102020
 The Volt Unit of
Potential Difference

BANCOROTLE102020
 Volt
This unit is named after Alessandro Volta
(1754-1827). Fundamentally, the volt is a measure of
the work needed to move an electric charge.

BANCOROTLE102020
 BANCOROTLE102020
Alessandro Volta (1754-1827)
 When 0.7376 foot-pound (ft∙lb) of work is
required to move 6.25 × 1018 electrons between two
points, each with its own charge, the potential
difference is 1 V.
Note that 6.25 × 1018 electrons make up one
coulomb. Therefore the definition of a volt is for a
coulomb of charge.
Also, 0.7376 ft∙lb of work is the same as 1 joule
(J), which is the practical metric unit of work or
energy. Therefore, we can say briefly that one volt

BANCOROTLE102020
equals one joule of work per coulomb of charge.
 The symbol for potential difference is V for
voltage. In fact, the volt unit is used so often that
potential difference is often called voltage. Remember,
though, that voltage is the potential difference between
two points. Two terminals are necessary to measure a
potential difference.

BANCOROTLE102020
 Consider the 2.2 V lead-acid
cell. Its output of 2.2 V means that
this is the amount of potential
difference between the two
terminals. The cell then is a
voltage source or a source of
electromotive force (emf).
Sometimes the symbol E is
used for emf, but the standard
symbol is V for any potential
difference. This applies either to
the voltage generated by a source
or to the voltage drop across a

BANCOROTLE102020
passive component, such as
resistor.
 In a practical circuit, the voltage determines how
much current can be produced.

BANCOROTLE102020
Reference:

Bernard Grob, et.al.,Grob Basic Electronics

7th Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1993.

BANCOROTLE102020