4 ms·

In Turkish voltage is known both as voltaj and gerilim. Gerilim means tension, coming from the verb germek, which means to stretch. I think tension is a good an

In Turkish voltage is known both as voltaj and gerilim. Gerilim means tension, coming from the verb germek, which means to stretch. I think tension is a good analogy, and fits with the idea of potential and springs.

SuoDuanDao 6y ago
That analogy would work. In that case voltage (volts) would be the tension on a rubber band, current (amps) would be the width of the rubber band, ad Power (watts) would be the product of tension times the diameter (or mass).
TomNomNom 6y ago
Tension is used in English to mean voltage sometimes too! The most common place I can think of is in the HT (High Tension) leads leading to a car's spark plugs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tension_leads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tension_leads
- ziml77 6y ago
  THAT is what high tension wires are?! I've always seen it in the context of the massive transmission lines, so I thought it meant that the wires themselves were under high tension from their weight.
  - tantalor 6y ago
    I was today years old when I learned...
  - SilasX 6y ago
    Similarly, I thought it meant because they were stretched to high tension to avoid sagging as much.
- awhitby 6y ago
  Also "high tension power lines," which being heavy catenaries presumably are in high mechanical tension, but must surely have gotten that name from the voltage = tension thing. German has this too: voltage = Spannung = tension. This must go right back to the earliest writings on voltage as a concept.
  - natmaka 6y ago
    French also has "tension" in this very sense. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_%C3%A9lectrique https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_%C3%A9lectrique
shawnz 6y ago
In some languages voltage is called "pressure". I think this is also a good analogy because just like how you get energy from a pneumatic system by exploiting a pressure difference, you get energy from an electrical system by exploiting a potential difference
ferlp 6y ago
In spanish "Voltage" (i.e. voltaje) is "tensión" (tension) or "diferencia de potencial" (potential difference). A problem here is that "tension" communicates a concept, but "voltage" communicates nothing, it's only a derivation of the unit used, or perhaps something to do with Alessandro Volta, a gentleman most students these days hadn't the pleasure to meet. A simmilar problem in spanish was "amperaje" (amperage) which is not much heard any more except very colloquially among electricians; the standard term is "corriente" (current). However, the units and letters are somewhat confusing for the students: V(oltage) = E(lectric field?), unit is Volt, is refered as tension of potential differece. A(mp) = I(ntensity), unit is Ampere, is refered as corriente. P(ower), unit Watt, is consistent, as is refered as potencia (power).
grishka 6y ago
In Russian it is напряжение. Which can be loosely translated as tension, but more in the sense of a feeling than of a characteristic of a rope or a spring (that's натяжение).

SuoDuanDao 6y ago

That analogy would work. In that case voltage (volts) would be the tension on a rubber band, current (amps) would be the width of the rubber band, ad Power (watts) would be the product of tension times the diameter (or mass).

TomNomNom 6y ago

Tension is used in English to mean voltage sometimes too! The most common place I can think of is in the HT (High Tension) leads leading to a car's spark plugs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tension_leads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tension_leads

ziml77 6y ago
THAT is what high tension wires are?! I've always seen it in the context of the massive transmission lines, so I thought it meant that the wires themselves were under high tension from their weight.
- tantalor 6y ago
  I was today years old when I learned...
- SilasX 6y ago
  Similarly, I thought it meant because they were stretched to high tension to avoid sagging as much.
awhitby 6y ago
Also "high tension power lines," which being heavy catenaries presumably are in high mechanical tension, but must surely have gotten that name from the voltage = tension thing. German has this too: voltage = Spannung = tension. This must go right back to the earliest writings on voltage as a concept.
- natmaka 6y ago
  French also has "tension" in this very sense. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_%C3%A9lectrique https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_%C3%A9lectrique

shawnz 6y ago

In some languages voltage is called "pressure". I think this is also a good analogy because just like how you get energy from a pneumatic system by exploiting a pressure difference, you get energy from an electrical system by exploiting a potential difference

ferlp 6y ago

In spanish "Voltage" (i.e. voltaje) is "tensión" (tension) or "diferencia de potencial" (potential difference). A problem here is that "tension" communicates a concept, but "voltage" communicates nothing, it's only a derivation of the unit used, or perhaps something to do with Alessandro Volta, a gentleman most students these days hadn't the pleasure to meet. A simmilar problem in spanish was "amperaje" (amperage) which is not much heard any more except very colloquially among electricians; the standard term is "corriente" (current). However, the units and letters are somewhat confusing for the students: V(oltage) = E(lectric field?), unit is Volt, is refered as tension of potential differece. A(mp) = I(ntensity), unit is Ampere, is refered as corriente. P(ower), unit Watt, is consistent, as is refered as potencia (power).

grishka 6y ago

In Russian it is напряжение. Which can be loosely translated as tension, but more in the sense of a feeling than of a characteristic of a rope or a spring (that's натяжение).