Define electric current and state its unit.
Answers
Answer:
An electric current is said to exist when there is a net flow of electric charge through a region. ... The SI unit of electric current is the ampere, or amp, which is the flow of electric charge across a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second.
Explanation:
An electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge past a point[1]:2[2]:622 or region.[2]:614 An electric current is said to exist when there is a net flow of electric charge through a region.[3]:832 Electric charge is carried by charged particles, so an electric current is a flow of charged particles. The moving particles are called charge carriers, which may be one of several types of particles, depending on the conductor. In electric circuits the charge carriers are often electrons moving through a wire. In an electrolyte the charge carriers are ions, while in an ionized gas (plasma), both ions and electrons are used.[4]
Electric current
Ohm's Law with Voltage source TeX.svg
A simple electric circuit, where current is represented by the letter i. The relationship between the voltage (V), resistance (R), and current (I) is V=IR; this is known as Ohm's law.
Common symbols
I
SI unit
ampere
Derivations from
other quantities
{\displaystyle I={V \over R}\,,I={Q \over t}}{\displaystyle I={V \over R}\,,I={Q \over t}}
Dimension
I
The SI unit of electric current is the ampere, or amp, which is the flow of electric charge across a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. The ampere (symbol: A) is an SI base unit[5]:15 Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.[2]:788
Electric currents cause Joule heating, which creates light in incandescent light bulbs. They also create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, generators, inductors, and transformers.