electro-, electr-, electri-

(Greek > Latin: electric, electricity; from amber, resembling amber, generated from amber which when rubbed vigorously [as by friction], produced the effect of static electricity)

Electronics in our lives consists of numerous tools

Equipment which we use everyday relies on electronics to function including calculators, car controls, cameras, washing machines, medical scanners, mobile telephones, radar systems, computers; as well as many other applications or devices which are listed in this unit.

electrical oil, insulating oil
A chlorinated hydrocarbon; such as, trichlorobenzene, mixed with fluorinated hydrocarbons, whose high dielectric strength and high flash point allow it to be used in switches, circuit breakers, and transformers as an insulator and cooling medium.
electrical paper
Paper formed from wood pulp fibers that are modified with binders; used for insulation in machine parts or in the slots of small motors.
electrical patch, electroporation
1. A type of osmotic transfection in which an electric current is used to produce temporary holes in cell membranes, allowing the entry of nucleic acids or macromolecules.
2. An experimental electrical device for delivering medications transdermally.

The difference between this and conventional transdermal patches is that the slight electric current used in electrical patches will allow larger molecules to be transported through the skin.

electrical porcelain, insulation porcelain
Any of the various insulating materials consisting of molded silica, molded steatite (compact, fine-ground rock), or specially compounded ceramics, often containing zirconia (powder used in making heat-resistant materials) or beryllia (white crystalline oxide used to make electrical insulators).
electrical potential energy
1. The ability to move an electrical charge from one point to another.
2. Energy which is possessed by electric charges because of their positions in an electrostatic field.
electrical power-transmission tower (s) (noun), electrical power-transmission towers (pl)
A reinforced steel tower that support high-voltage power-transmission lines: An electrical power-transmission tower is designed to maintain a large space between conductors and between the earth's surface in order to prevent corona discharge or a discharge of electricity appearing as a bluish-purple glow on the surface of and adjacent to a conductor when the voltage gradient exceeds a certain critical value and results in power losses.
electrical pressure transducer (s) (noun), electrical pressure transducers (pl)
An instrument part which determines a fluid pressure and produces an electrical, mechanical, or pneumatic signal related to the pressure.

Although pneumatic and mechanical transducers are commonly used, electrical measurement of pressure is often preferred because of a need for long-distance transmission, higher accuracy requirements, more favorable economics, or quicker responses.

Electrical pressure transducers may be classified depending on the operating principle as resistive transducers, strain gages, magnetic transducers, crystal transducers, capacitive transducers, or resonant transducers.

electrical properties
1. The measurable characteristics of electrical circuits; such as, power dissipation, current, voltage, and resistance.
2. Properties of a substance that determine its response to an electric field; such as, its dielectric constant or conductivity.

The term dielectric refers to insulating material or a very poor conductor of electric current; and therefore, useful as an insulator.

electrical prospecting
The use of down-hole electrical logs to obtain subsurface information for geological analysis.
electrical resistance
1. A material's opposition to the flow of electric current which is measured in ohms.
2. The difficulty electrons have moving through a conductor or substance.
3. The opposition to the flow of electrical current between two points of a circuit.
electrical resistance meter, electrical-resistance meter, resistance meter
Any instrument which measures electrical resistance.
electrical resistance thermometer, electrical-resistance thermometer, resistance pyrometer
1. A thermometer in which the sensing electrical element is a resistor whose resistance is an accurately known function of temperature.
2. Temperature sensors that exploit the predictable change in electrical resistance of some materials with changing temperatures.
electrical resistivity
1. The electrical resistance offered by a material to the flow of electric current, times the cross-sectional area of current flow, and per unit length of current path; the reciprocal of the conductivity.
2. The ability of a material to resist or to inhibit the flow of an electrical current, measured in ohm-meters.
3. A measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current.
electrical resistor
1. An electronic component that resists the flow of current in an electronic circuit.
2. One of the three basic passive components of an electric circuit that displays a voltage drop across its terminals and produces heat when an electric current passes through it.
3. A device designed to have a definite amount of resistance.

It is used in circuits to limit current flow or to provide a voltage drop.

electrical resonator, tank circuit
A circuit that exhibits resonance at one or more frequencies, and which is capable of storing electric energy over a band of frequencies continuously distributed around the resonant frequency; such as, a coil and capacitor in parallel.

The references or sources of information for compiling the words and definitions in this unit are listed at this Electronic Bibliography page or specific sources are indicated when they are appropriate.


A cross reference of word units that are related, directly and/or indirectly, with "electricity": galvano-; hodo-; ion-; piezo-; -tron; volt; biomechatronics, info; mechatronics, info.