What are electric current and voltage?

Electric current and voltage: I = Q ÷ t. Current is how much electric charge flows past a point each second; voltage is how much energy each bit of charge carries, the push that drives it. A torch cell gives a push of 1.5 volts; a torch bulb lets through about 0.3 amps.

Read how it works: What are electric current and voltage? · The history of electric current and voltage · More boxes on Glassbox

Chapters in this interactive model

1. Current is a flow, voltage is a push: Build a torch: count the charge flowing each second, and the energy each coulomb carries.
2. One path or many: Fairy lights and house wiring: how current splits, why bulbs dim, and what a fuse is for.
3. The electricity in your walls: 230 volts that swap direction 50 times a second: live, neutral and earth, MCBs and RCCBs.
4. Chemical energy on tap: From an AA cell to an electric car: volts, amp-hours, watt-hours and P = V × I.
5. What really hurts, and two myths: Birds on wires, wet hands, lightning, and why volts alone don’t tell you the current.