electromotive force
- the energy available for conversion from nonelectric to electric form, or vice versa, per unit of charge passing through the source of the energy; the potential difference between the terminals of a source of electrical energy: expressed in volts. Abbreviation: emf
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Origin of electromotive force
First recorded in 1825–35
Also called pressure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for electromotive force
Historical Examples of electromotive force
The electromotive-force equation of the alternator will be first deduced, and subsequently that of the continuous-current machine.
The fundamental “electromotive-force equation” of the heteropolar alternator can now be given a more definite form.
electromotive force
- physics
- a source of energy that can cause a current to flow in an electrical circuit or device
- the rate at which energy is drawn from this source when unit current flows through the circuit or device, measured in voltsAbbreviation: emf, EMF Symbol: E Compare potential difference
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
electromotive force
(ĭ-lĕk′trō-mō′tĭv)- The energy per unit charge that is reversibly converted from chemical or other forms of energy into electrical energy in a battery.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
electromotive force
- Electric potential or voltage. Electromotive force is not really a force, but a measure of how much work would be done by moving an electric charge.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.