What Is Voltage Drop?

Voltage drop is also called voltage or potential difference, expressed as U, unit of volts (V), is a physical quantity describing the ability of electric field force to move charge to do work.

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When a charge flows, the energy of the charge is released in the circuit, and the circuit and the components connected to the circuit will absorb the energy of the charge. After energy absorption, the energy released by the charge itself becomes smaller, and people use the voltage drop to measure the ability of the charge to release energy in the circuit. When a current flows through a circuit, a certain voltage drop will occur in each small section of the circuit. The voltage drop represents the amount of electrical energy that is discharged (or expressed as absorbed by the small section circuit) through the small section of the circuit.

Voltage drop is referred to as voltage. The voltage between two points refers to the work done when a unit of positive charge passes through these two points under the action of a power source. The unit of voltage is the same as the electromotive force (referred to as volt, which is represented by the English letter V).

Calculation formula of voltage drop between two points: U = W / q

Where Wthe work done by the electric field force to move the charge, qthe positive charge moved by the electric field force

The reference direction of the voltage drop is indicated by "+" "-" polarity or double subscript. The actual direction of the voltage is defined as the direction in which the electric field force moves the positive charge to do work, from the high potential end ("+" polarity) to the low potential end ("-" polarity), that is, the direction in which the potential decreases.

Voltage drop can also be called potential difference. When the potential of a point is zero, the voltage at any point in the circuit to the reference point is the potential (U) of that point. The potential difference between any two points is also the voltage drop between the two points. ^[1]