1st year of post-compulsory secondary education
Electric current
J.L. San Emeterio
EC Unit
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THE HYDRAULIC SIMILE.

In the visual you can see two water tanks with different levels. The difference in the levels will force the liquid to circulate from one tank to the other the moment we lift the intervening barrier. We have placed a device to measure the current and a device which uses the energy of the water (a turbine for example) in the circuit. Carry out the suggested activities paying special attention to the current of water and the factors which increase or decrease it. Also think about what happens when we place a water pump between the two tanks. Would the energy we use in the pump be equal to that produced in the turbine?


The concept of a circuit
The hydraulic simile
Elements in the circuit
Characteristic magnitudes
Conclusions
Laws and basic magnitudes
Ohm's law
Power and energy in the circuit
The generalization of the laws
Conclusions
More complex circuits
The arrangement of resistances
The arrangement of generators
A combined circuit
Conclusions
Evaluation