Electrical Current

Electrical current is defined as the rate at which charge flows. When there is a large current present, such as that used to run a refrigerator, a large amount of charge moves through the wire in a small amount of time. If the current is small, such as that used to operate a handheld calculator, a small amount of charge moves through the circuit...

The rate at which charge flows is the electrical current. The SI unit for electrical current is the ampere, which is defined as one coulomb of charge passing through an area per second.

Consider a flashlight with a switch, a bulb, a battery, and wires. The switch controls the circuit, while the wire provides a current path between the com...