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Electrical to Thermal Dissipation
Electrical to Thermal Dissipation
Electrical energy can be lost in a circuit as thermal energy. This is caused by electrical current meeting resistance within circuit components.
What happens to the temperature of components when they are plugged into a complete circuit?
If we increase the temperature of a substance, what type of energy do we increase?
Energy __________ be created or destroyed. It can only be transferred from one form to another.
If energy cannot be created or destroyed, what type of energy is transferred to thermal energy in the components of a circuit?
What could cause the energy to be transferred to heat energy?
Current is the movement of electrons. When electrons bump into ions in the material of a component, they lose some energy. This means the current loses some of its electrical energy. The other particles gain this energy and vibrate, causing the release of thermal energy.
This is known as the heating effect of electric current.
Do all wires have the same resistance?
So energy is transferred from electrical to heat when the current meets resistance in a component. We can take measures to reduce this energy loss. For example, we can use low resistance wires which reduce the amount of energy lost to heat in the wires.
True or false? We can't use the heating effect of electric current for anything useful.
In which of the following situations would the heating effect of an electric current be useful? Pick all the options you think are correct.
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We can use the heating effect of an electrical current to our advantage in a number of ways.
Heaters are an obvious use, but other uses are less obvious. For example a light bulb.
The filament in a light bulb is made of tungsten which emits a light when heated.
We also use the heating effect in a fuse.
If the current becomes dangerously high, the heat melts the fuse wire which stops the circuit from working.
Is the heating effect of electric current always an advantage?
In which of the following would we not want the components to heat up with the heating effect of a current? Pick all the options you think are correct.
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To combat overheating in circuits we need to fit cooling devices in large circuits. What are the issues with this? Pick all the options you think are correct.
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There are a number of disadvantages to the heating effect of electric current. For example, overhead cables can overheat due to the high amount of current passing through them. In large circuits with a high number of components, coolant systems are fitted to keep the temperature of the circuit down. These can be very expensive.