Difference Between Amps and Volts

Amps vs Volts

Amperes (amps) and volts are the basic concepts that one learns when studying electricity in physics. While current in electricity is measured in amps, voltage describes potential difference across terminals or bodies. There is another physical property of substances that allow flow of electricity through them and is known as resistance (r). Resistance of a conductor is measured in ohms. This article will attempt to find out difference between amps and volts.

One equation that connects all three basic properties of a substance that allows flow of electricity is as follows.

V = I x r = Ir

Here V is the voltage, ‘I’ is the flow of current in amps, and r is the resistance of the body.

Thus it is clear that voltage is the product of the amount of current flowing in a body and its resistance or in other words, current (amps) is the voltage divided by the resistance of the body.

A great analogy of electricity can be drawn with a hose containing water from a tank that you use to sprinkle water in your lawn. You must have observed that when the tank is full, water comes out of the hose at a greater force than when there is little water in the tank. The same principle applies in electricity also. When you increase voltage (through a voltage stabilizer), you tend to send more current in an appliance.

Think of using another hose that has a bigger diameter. This also has the same effect of bringing more water at a greater force than the thinner hose. This is same as decreasing resistance of a body that has the effect of sending more current through it.

All appliances that you use at home have a power rating which means that it describes the energy consumed by them per unit of time. If you are using 100 watt bulb, it means that in 10 hours, the bulb will consume 1000 watts or 1 kilowatts of energy.

P = V x I = VI

Here, P is the power, I is current and V is the voltage.

Thus Watts = Volts x Amps