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[Phys-L] voltage rise/drop terminology



When describing circuits, I refer to the voltage "rise" across a battery and the voltage "drop" across a resistor. However, in discussions with students, I think this may be confusing them. It makes them think that there is something traveling from the battery, that they call voltage (and imagine as electrons), that gets "used up" in each resistor. This leads them to several errors. For example, it leads them to think that the last item in a line of bulbs may not light if there is no "voltage left".
To avoid this confusion (at least until they get a better sense of what is going on), does anyone see a problem with referring to the voltage "sources" and "sinks", instead of "rises" and "drops"? Or is there some other language that is clearer?


Robert A. Cohen, Department of Physics, East Stroudsburg University
570.422.3428 rcohen@esu.edu<mailto:rcohen@po-box.esu.edu> http://www.esu.edu/~bbq