Susan Brown
Okay, here are some more ways to think about Voltage and Voltage Drop.
Voltage is a cause. The difference in electrical charge that causes current to flow (if there’s a complete circuit for the electrons to travel).
Voltage drop is an effect. Current flowing through a load (a component that has resistance) will create a difference in electrical charge from one side to the other.
Here are a few questions I’d like you to answer:
1. If you set your meter to read Vac and put the probes on either side of an OPEN switch, and you read 120vac, is that voltage or voltage drop?
2. If you set you meter to read VAC and put the probes on either side of a load – say, a light bulb or an element – and read 120vac, is that voltage or voltage drop?
3. The Ohm’s Law equation E = I x R is calculating voltage or voltage drop?