In any power supply, the positive side will have a higher voltage than the negative side, which is exactly what we want. It sounds silly, but you can’t have a difference without two things to be different. Why does every source of electricity have two sides? This goes back to the idea of “potential”, and that you need a voltage difference in order to get electricity to flow. In batteries and other DC (Direct Current) voltage sources, these sides (often called terminals) are named positive (or "+"), and negative (or "-"). You can see this on batteries, which have metal caps on both ends, or your wall outlet that has two (or more) holes. So, where do you find a higher voltage and a lower voltage? Here's something really useful to know: every source of electricity has two sides. But if the wire isn't connected to anything else, the electricity won't have anywhere to go and still won't move. If you connect a wire to a battery or wall outlet ( WARNING: the voltage in a wall outlet is dangerous, don't do this!), you will be giving the electricity a path to follow. Unlike air coming out of a balloon, electricity can only flow through materials that can conduct electricity, such as copper wire. It's kind of like a blown-up balloon if you pinch it off, there is air in there that could do something if it's released, but it won't actually do anything until you let it out. This is a measurement of the electrical potential produced by the battery, or the utility grid connected to the wall outlet.Īll those volts are sitting there waiting for you to use them, but there's a catch: in order for electricity to do any work, it needs to be able to move. You've probably heard that a battery or a wall outlet has a certain number of volts.
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