Class 12 Physics simulations · Current Electricity

A real cell under load

Connect a load to a cell and separate its emf from the voltage delivered at its terminals.

Open the simulation

What to notice

A cell’s internal resistance wastes power and lowers its terminal voltage when current flows.

Key relation

I = ε/(R+r); Vterminal = ε − Ir

Try this

Increase the load resistance. Does terminal voltage rise or fall?

What you can change

• Cell emf: 2 to 12 V
• Internal resistance: 0.2 to 3 Ω
• Load resistance: 2 to 20 Ω

More in Current Electricity

• Cells in series and parallel
• Ohm’s law circuit
• Electron drift in a wire
• Kirchhoff’s laws: two-loop circuit
• Potentiometer: comparing EMFs
• Resistance and temperature
• Series and parallel resistors
• Wheatstone bridge

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