Research Papers in Physics and Astronomy
Title
Physics, Chapter 27: Direct-Current Circuits
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
1-1958
Abstract
When a charged particle traverses a closed path in an electrostatic field in
space, the total work done on the particle is zero. The electric field is
conservative. Associated with each point in the field, there is a fixed value
of the electrical potential.
In a simple circuit consisting of a chemical cell and a resistor, as shown
in Figure 27-1, we have seen that the
current flows through the resistor
from the positive terminal of the cell
to the negative terminal of the cell.
The positive terminal is at the higher
potential, so that the current flows
from the higher to the lower potential
outside the cell, but inside the
cell the direction of current flow is from the lower to the higher potential. The cell must do work upon the
charge in order to raise its potential.
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Published in Physics, by Henry Semat and Robert Katz, New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc., 1958. Copyright © 1958 Henry Semat and Robert Katz. All rights reserved. Used by permission.