Just so you don t get too confused, keep in mind that electrical work is equivalent to mechanical work and electrical power is equivalent to mechanical power, but in both cases energy conversion is subject to losses. From dynamics, your science teacher moved on to introductory electricity, which offered many of the following fun terms. These, too, require some strong coffee, but maybe not quite as strong as that required for dynamics. An ampere technically is a measure of a flow of charged particles per unit of time. One ampere equals one coulomb of charge flowing past a given point in one second.
Amperage is a bit like the volume of water flowing through a garden hose.
Energy is the capability of doing work. That s right, when the power company sends you your electricity bill, it s for electrical energy, not power. From one perspective, you re paying for the work that the electricity does for you, which is power multiplied by time. One of the units used for energy is the previously mentioned watt-hour, which means that a power of one watt has been used for one hour. Another energy unit is the watt-second, or joule.