Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Voltaic Pile of Confusion



Are you thinking of an electrometer, which, after a very small current, measures electrostatic repulsion, or an ammeter (static current, not an oxymoron) which, with a multiplier, is calibrated to
measure PD (Volts)?

bc

P.s. Probably irrelevant to your point. I don't understand the "static" part of your statement though.


Bob Sciamanda wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom McCarthy" <tmccarthy@STEDS.ORG>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2000 2:01 PM
Subject: Re: Voltaic Pile of Confusion
. . .
My question then is why does a
voltmeter measure the extreme voltage, as though all the electrons
traveled
through all three batteries, as opposed to an average?
. . .

The voltmeter, like any other circuit element (external to the EMF's),
responds only to the electrostatic field produced by the static charge
distribution. It thus measures the PD corresponding to that electrostatic
field. It knows nothing directly about the EMF's, which only affect
carriers as they traverse the interiors of the EMF mechanisms.

Bob
Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor