electro-, electr-, electri-

1. The point at which electrical power is taken from a wiring system, a power-line termination which delivers a signal or operating power to equipment that is plugged into it.
2. A power line termination from which electric power can be obtained by inserting the plug of a line cord.

1. Alternating current, AC, power plugs and sockets that are devices for connecting removable electrically operated devices to a power supply.
2. A "male" electric plug in for inserting electrical contact prongs in order to connect mechanically and electrically into slots of a matching "female" electric socket.

1. A displacement of bound charges in a dielectric when placed in an electric field.
2. The separation of charges in a material to form electric dipoles, or the alignment of existing electric dipoles in a material when an electric field is applied.

A dipole is a localized positive and negative charge distribution that has no net charge, and whose mean positions of positive and negative charges do not correspond.

1. The work done by moving a unit positive charge from a specified location; sometimes an infinite distance, sometimes from earth's surface, to the specific point in the electric field.

Similarly, a magnetic potential exists at every point of a magnetic field, measured by the work than is needed to move a unit magnetic pole from one point in the field to another point.

2. The potential measured by the energy of a unit positive charge at a point expressed relative to an equipotential surface that has zero potential, generally the surface of the earth.
3. The work which must be done against electric forces to bring a unit charge from a reference point to the point in question.

The reference point is located at an infinite distance, or, for practical purposes, at the surface of the earth or some other large conductor.

The product of electric current and electromotive force; that is, multiplication of current flowing by voltage forms the basis of the calculation of electric power.

In a direct current (DC) circuit, the current measured in amperes, multiplied by the voltage between wires, is the power in watts.

A thousand watts constitute the kilowatt, a larger and more frequently employed unit of electric power.

The voltage and current may not be in phase with each other in an alternating current (AC) circuit and, while the instantaneous power is the product of the instantaneous voltage and current, this out-of-phase relation causes the power to fluctuate between positive and negative values.

For many years, the term power, in association with electricity, has tended to lose its true meaning; so, power is often found used in nontechnical literature where actually the correct term energy should be used.

By definition, power is the rate at which energy is transformed or is made available and is measured in watthours.

From an economic viewpoint, the most important of all electrical measurements is the measurement of energy. The watthour meter in various forms can be found in nearly every home, factory, highway billboard, and other locations where electrical energy is being purchased.

Metering, installation and wiring have been governed by national, industrial, and local codes for so many years that, at least in the United States, a particular type of installation is nearly identical everywhere in the country.

Measurement of energy is almost always with a "fixed-installation metering". This provides safety because of the grounding of the meter enclosure and ease of reading as a result of a proper location and mounting.

Tamper-proof housing, which are also weatherproof where necessary, are typical structures that normally insure the integrity of the electric meter readings.

A data network which uses a building's electrical system as the transmission system and regular wall outlets as connecting points.

Powerline networks do not interfere with the delivery of electricity in the same circuit because the data are transmitted at a much higher frequency than the 60Hz or 50Hz used for AC (alternating current) power.

Machinery that converts raw energy into useful applications; such as, light, power for machinery, etc.: The electric power plant is a hydrosteam, diesel, or nuclear generating electrical station for uses of all kinds of equipment or transportation services.

This "plant" reference is apparently linked to the action of pressing on a shovel, or some other tool, with the "sole of the foot" in order to work the soil for planting.

1. A generating station or an electric power substation.
2. A facility that generates electrical energy using generators.
3. An assembly of equipment in an electric power system through which electric energy is passed for transmission, transformation, distribution, or switching.

1. A complex assemblage of equipment and circuits for generating, transmitting, transforming, and distributing electric energy.
2. The circuitry applied to many electrical devices, in which electric energy is generated, transmitted, transformed, and distributed in the form of heat or as a driving force to other motor-controlled systems.

The large-scale production of electricity for various commercial, industrial, residential, and rural use, generally in places designed for that purpose: Although limited amounts of electricity can be generated in various ways, including chemical reactions (as in batteries) and engine-driven generators (as in automobiles and airplanes), electric power generation generally implies large-scale productions in stationary factories, or industrial sites, that are designed for that purpose.

A procedure using an electric field to enhance the separation of hydrocarbon reagent dispersions: "Electric precipitation makes the separation of hydrocarbon dispersions more efficient because such a process of scatterings or divisions are too fine to accomplish efficiently by any other method."

A tool used to measure electron temperatures, electron and ion densities, space and wall potentials, and random electron currents in a plasma.

It consists substantially of one or two small collecting electrodes to which various potentials are applied, with the corresponding collection of currents being measured.

A propeller whose pitch is regulated by an electric motor.

1. Any form of rocket propulsion in which the propellant is either composed of charged electrical particles or accelerated by an electric or magnetic field.
2. A general term encompassing all the various types of propulsion in which the propellant consists of electrically charged particles which are accelerated by electric or magnetic fields, or both.
3. Propulsion of spacecraft and other vehicles by electrothermal, electrostatic, or plasma techniques, as contrasted to chemical propulsion, which involves the direct use of fuel.