Basic Electricity and Electronic Vocabulary

Accessible - (As applied to wiring methods) Capable of being removed or exposed without
damaging the building structure or finish, or not permanently closed in by the structure or
finish of the building.

Accessible - (as applied to equipment) Admitting close approach: not guarded by locked
doors, elevation, or other effective means. (see Accessible, Readily)

Accessible, Readily - (Readily Accessible) Capable of being reached quickly for operation,
renewal, or inspections, without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb
over or remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, chairs, etc.

Ambient Temperature - The temperature of the air, water, or surrounding earth. Conductor
ampacity is corrected for changes in ambient temperature including temperatures below 86°F.
The cooling effect can increase the current carrying capacity of the conductor. (Review
Section 310-10 of the Electrical Code for more understanding)

Ammeter - An electric meter used to measure current, calibrated in amperes.

Ampacity - The current-carrying capacity of conductors or equipment, expressed in amperes.

Ampere: (A) - The basic unit of current flow. An Ampere of current flow represents electron
movement at a rate of one coulomb per second: that amount of current through one ohm of
resistance with one volt applied.

Atom -The basic building block of matter composed of different types of particles. Major
atom particles are the electron, proton, and neutron.

Battery - A dc voltage source containing a combination of cells, connected to produce higher

voltage or current than a single cell produces alone.

Bonding Jumper - A bare or insulated conductor used to ensure the required electrical
conductivity between metal parts required to be electrically connected. Frequently used from
a bonding bushing to the service equipment enclosure to provide a path around concentric
knockouts in an enclosure wall: also used to bond one raceway to another.

Circuit - A combination of elements or components that are connected to provide paths for
current flow to perform some useful function.

Conductor - A material that has many free electrons due to its atoms' outer ring having less
than 4 electrons, which is less than the 8 needed for chemical and/or electrical stability.

Continuity - The state of being whole, unbroken.

Continuos Load - A load where the maximum current is expected to continue for three hours
or more. Rating of the branch circuit protection device shall not be less tan 125% of the
continuos load.
Coulomb - The basic unit of charge: the amount of electrical charge represented by
6,250,000,000,000,000,000 electrons. (6.25 Quintrillion)

Current: (I) - The progressive movement of electrons through a conductor. Current is

measured in Amperes.

Demand Factor - For an electrical system or feeder circuit, this is a ratio of the amount of
connected load (in kva or amperes) that will be operating at the same time to the total amount
of connected load on the circuit. An 80% demand factor, for instance, indicates that only 80%
of the connected load on a circuit will ever be operating at the same time. Conductor capacity
can be based on that amount of load.

Digital - Pertains to the general class of devices or circuits in which the output varies in
discrete steps. Instruments of this type have a digital readout.

Diode - Unidirectional, two-element device containing a cathode (N) and anode (P) mainly
employed as a rectifier.

Dustproof - Constructed or protected so that dust will not interfere with its successful
operation.

Dusttight - Constructed so that dust will not enter the enclosing case under specified test
conditions.

Duty, continuos - A service requirement that demands operation at a substantially constant

load for an indefinitely long time.

Duty, intermittent - A service requirement that demands operation for alternate intervals of
load and no load, load and rest, or load, no load, and rest.

Duty, periodic - A type of intermittent duty in which the load conditions regularly reoccur.

Duty, short time - A requirement of service that demands operations at a substantially

constant load for a short and definitely specified time.

Duty, varying - A requirement of of service that demands operation at loads, and for
intervals of time, both of which may be subject to wide variation.

Electron - The negatively charged particle in an atom orbiting the atom's nucleus.

Explosionproof - Designed and constructed to withstand and internal explosion without

creating an external explosion or fire.

Farad - Unit of measurement of capacitance. A capacitor has a capacitance of 1 Farad when

a charge of 1 Coulomb raises its potential 1 Volt.
Feeder - A circuit, such as conductors in conduit or a busway run, which carries a large block
of power from the service equipment to a sub-feeder panel or a branch circuit panel or to
some point at which the block power is broken into smaller circuits.

Frequency - Number of times a periodic waveform repeats itself in a unit time (generally
seconds). Units of measurement are Hertz.

Generator - Rotating electric machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy.

Ground - A large conducting body (as the earth) used as a common return for an electric
circuit and as an arbitrary zero of potential.

Grounded, effectively - Intentionally connected to earth through a ground connection or

connections of sufficiently low impedance and having sufficient current-carrying capacity to
prevent the buildup of voltages that may result in undue hazards to connect equipment or to
persons.

Grounded Conductor - A system or circuit conductor that is intentionally grounded, usually

grey or white in colour.

Grounding Conductor - A conductor used to connect metal equipment enclosures and/or the
system grounded conductor to a grounding electrode, such as the ground wire run to the water
pipe at a service; also may be a bare or insulated conductor used to ground motor frames,
panel boxes, and other metal equipment enclosures used throughout electrical systems. In
most conduit systems, the conduit is used as the ground conductor.

Grounding Equipment Conductor - The conductor used to connect the noncurrent-carrying

metal parts of equipment, raceways, and other enclosures to the system grounded conductor,
the grounding electrode conductor, or both, of the circuit at the service equipment or at the
source of a separately derived system.

Grounding Electrode - The conductor used to connect the grounding electrode to the
equipment grounding conductor, to the grounded conductor, or to both, of the circuit at the
service equipment or at the source of a separately derived system.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter - A device intended for the protection of personal that
functions to de-energize a circuit or portion thereof within an established period of time when
a current to ground exceeds some predetermined value that is less than required to operate the
overcurrent protection device of the supply circuit.

Ground Fault Protection of Equipment - A system intended to provide protection of

equipment from damaging line to ground fault currents by operating to cause a disconnecting
means to open all ungrounded conductors of the faulted circuit. This protection is provided at
current levels less than those required to protect conductors from damage through the
operations of a supply circuit overcurrent device.

Henry - Unit of measurement for inductance. A coil has 1 Henry of inductance if an emf of 1
Volt is induced when current through the inductor is changing at a rate of 1 Ampere per
second
Hertz - Unit of measurement for frequency, where 1 Hertz equals 1 cycle per second (cps).
Named in honor of Heinrich Hertz, who discovered radio waves.

Impedance - The sum of resistance and reactive components in an AC circuit representing

the total resistance in that circuit (Z).

Inductance – Inherent property of an electric circuit that opposes a change in current.

Property of a circuit whereby energy may be stored in a magnetic field. Units of measurement
are Henrys.

In Sight From - (within sight from, within sight) Where this Code specifies that one
equipment shall be "in sight from", "within sight from" or m"within sight", etc. of another
equipment, the specified equipment is to be visible and not more that 50´ distant from the
other

Interrupter Rating - The highest current at rated voltage that a device is intended to
interrupt under standard test conditions.

Joule - SI unit of work, where 1 joule is equal to 1 newton-meter (J).

Junction Diode: - A diode having a PN junction.

Kirchhoff's Current Law - At any junction of conductors in a circuit, the algebraic sum of
currents is zero. (It = I1+I2...+ In)

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law - The algebraic sum of voltages around a circuit is zero. (Et =
E1+E2... + En)

Labeled - Items to which a label, trademark, or other identifying mark of nationally

recognized testing labs has been attached to indentify the items as having been tested and
meeting appropriate standards.

Listed - Equipment or materials included in a list published by an organization acceptable to

the authority having jurisdiction and concerned with product evaluation, that maintains
periodic inspection of production of listed equipment or materials, and whose listing states
either that the equipment or material meets appropriate designated standards or has been
tested and found suitable for use in specified manner.

Load - Resistance connected across a circuit that determines current and energy used.

Location, damp - A location subject to moderate amount of moisture such as some

basements, barns, cold storage, warehouse and the like.

Location, dry - A location not normally subject to dampness or wetness: a location classified
as dry may be temporarily subject to dampness or wetness, as in case of a building under
construction.

Location, wet - A location subject to saturation with water or other liquids.

Magnetic Flux - Total lines of force in a magnetic field.

Megger - A test instrument fpr measuring the insulation resistance of conductors and other
electrical equipment; specifically, a megaohm (million ohms) meter; this is a regiestered
trade mark of the James Biddle Co.

Megaohm - A unit of electrical resistamce equal to one million ohms.

Megaohmmeter - An instrument for measuring extremely high resistance.

Motor - Rotating electric machine that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy.

Neutron - Electrically neutral particle contained in the nucleus of an atom

Noninductive Circuit - A circuit in which the magnetic effect of the current flowing has
been reduced by one several methods to a minimum or to zero.

Nonlinear Load - A load where the wave shape of the steady state current does not follow
the wave shape of the applied voltage.

Ohm - The basic unit of resistance: the amount of electrical resistance limiting the current to
one ampere with one volt applied.

Ohm's Law - Mathematical relationship between current, voltage and resistance stating that
when a voltage is applied to a metal conductor, the current moving through the conductor is
proportional to the applied voltage. Discovered by Georg Simon Ohm ( name spelled
correctly)

Ohmmeter - an instrument for measuring resistance in ohms. Take a look at this diagram to
see how an ohmeter is used to check a small control transformer. The ohmmeter's pointer
deflection is controlled by the amount of battery current passing through the moving coil.
Before measuring the resistance of an unknown resistor or electrical circuit, the ohmmeter
must first be calibrated. If the value of resistance to be measured can be estimated within
reasonable limits, a range selected that will give approximately half-scale deflection when the
resistance is inserted between the probes. If the resistance is unknown, the selector switch is
set on the highest scale. Whatever range is selected, the meter must be calibrated to read zero
before the unknown resistance is measured.

Overcurrent - Any current in excess of the rated current of equipment or the ampacity of a
conductor. It may result from overload, short circuit or ground fault.

Overload - Load greater than the load for which the system or mechanism was intended. A
fault, such as a short circuit or ground fault, is not an overload.

Panelboard - A single panel or group of panel units designed for assembly in the form of a
single panel: includes buses and may come with or without switches and/or automatic
overcurrent protective devices for the control of light, heat, or power circuits of individual as
well as aggregate capacity. It is designed to be placed in a cabinet or cutout box that is in or
against a wall or partition and is accessible only from the front.
Parallel - Said of two or more circuit elements so connected that the total current flow is
divided between them. Also called a shunt.

Parallel Circuit - Circuit that contains two or more paths for electron flow supplied by a
common voltage source

Plenum - Chamber or space forming a part of an air conditioning system

Quality Factor - A measure of the relationship between stored energy and rate of dissapation
in certain electric elements, structures, or materials. In an inductor or capacitor, the ratio of
reactance to effective series resistance at a given frequency. A measure of the sharpness of
resonance or frequency selectivity of a mechanical or electrical system.. Also called Q-factor,
or figure of merit.

Rainproof - So constructed, projected, or treated as to prevent rain from interfering with the
successful operation of the apparatus under specified test conditions.

Raintight - So constructed or protected that exposure to a beating rain will not result in the
entrance of water.

Reactance (Xt) - Opposition to AC as a result of inductance (Xl) or capacitance (Xc).

Resistance: (R) - In an electrical circuit, the opposition to electron movement or current

flow.

Separately Derived System - A premises wiring system whose power is derived from a
battery, a solar photovoltaic system, or from a generator, transformer, or converter windings,
and that has no direct electrical connection, including solidly connected grounded circuit
conductor, to supply conductors originating in another system.

Series Circuit - A circuit that contains only one possible path for electron flow supplied by a
common voltage source.

Service Drop - Run of cables from the power company's aerial power lines to the point of
connection to a customer's premises.

Service Conductors - The supply conductors that extend from the street main or
transformers to the service equipment of the premises being supplied

Service Entrance Conductors - (Overhead) The service conductors between the terminals of
the service equipment and a point usually outside the building, clear of building walls, where
joined by tap or splice to the service drop.

Service Entrance Conductors - (Underground) The service conductors between the

terminals of the service equipment and the point of connection to the service lateral.

Service Equipment - The necessary equipment, usually consisting of a circuit breaker or

switch and fuses and their accessories, located near the point entrance of supply conductors to
a building and intended to constitute the main control and cutoff means for the supply to the
building.
Service Lateral - The underground service conductors between the street main, including
any risers at a pole or other structure or from transformers, and the first point of connection to
the service-entrance conductors in a terminal box, meter, or other enclosure with adequate
space, inside or outside the building wall. Where there is no terminal box, meter, or other
enclosure with adequate space, the point of connection is the entrance point of the service
conductors into the building.

Service Point - The point of connection between the facilities of the serving utility and the
premises wiring.

Shunt - A parallel resistor used to conduct excess current around a meter moving coil to
increase range of the meter. See parallel.

Switchboard - A large single panel, frame, or assembly of panels having switches,

overcurrent, and other protective devices, buses, and usually instruments mounted on the face
or back or both. Switchboards are generally accessible from the rear and from the front and
are not intended to be installed in cabinets.

Switch, general use - A switch intended for use in general distribution and branch circuits. It
is rated in amperes and is capable of interrupting its rated voltage.

Switch, general-use snap - A type of general-use switch so constructed that it can be

installed in flush device boxes or on outlet covers, or otherwise used in conjunction with
wiring systems recognized by the National Electric Code.

Switch, isolating - A switch intended for isolating an electrical circuit from the source of
power. It has no interrupting rating and is intended to be operated only after the circuit has
been opened by some other means.

Switch, knife - A switch in which the circuit is closed by a moving blade engaging contact
clips.

Switch, motor-circuit - A switch, rated in horsepower, capable of interrupting the maximum

operating overload current of a motor of the same horsepower rating as the switch at the rated
voltage.

Switch, transfer - A transfer switch is an automatic or nonautomatic device for transferring

one or more load conductor connections from one power source to another.

Switch-Leg - That part of a circuit run from a lighting outlet box where a luminaire or
lampholder is installed down to an outlet box that contains the wall switch that turns the light
or other load on or off: it is a control leg of the branch circuit.

Transformer - Device that transfers energy from one circuit to another by mutual induction.

Turns Ratio - Ratio of the number of turns of a primary winding to the number of turns of a
secondary winding.

Ultra High Frequency - Frequency band from 300 MHz - 3000 MHz (UHF).
Very High Frequency - Frequency band from 30 MHz - 300 Mhz (VHF).

Volt - Unit of measure of electric potential and potential difference, where 1 Volt equals 1
Joule per Coulomb.

Voltage Drop - The loss of voltage between the input to a device and the output from a
device due to the internal impedance or resistance of the device. In all electrical systems, the
conductors should be sized so that the voltage drop never exceeds 3% for power, heating, and
lighting loads or combinations of these. Furthermore, the maximum total voltage drop for
conductors for feeders and branch circuits combined should never exceed 5%.

Watertight - So constructed that water/moisture will not enter the enclosure under specified
test conditions.

Wavelength - The length in space occupied by one cycle of a periodic wave.

Weatherproof - So constructed or protected that exposure to the weather will not interfere
with successful operation.

Zener Diode - A PN junction diode that makes use of the breakdown properties of a PN
junction. The diode is designed to conduct in the reverse direction when its value of
breakdown voltage is reached. Beyond this point, the diode will maintain a relatively constant
voltage despite variations in current. Widely used for voltage regulation in electronic
products.