My understanding of voltage is broken again

[Sigmoid]

Do we REALLY need to bring static charges into this, when someone is apparently having trouble grasping voltage? I think the real question is, how can voltage be explained in a way that's intuitively understandable. There are some examples here of how, and some, markedly, of how not. (And "technically more precise" is not always the best way to go about it.)

Also, during one of my walks, I think it finally came in a way that makes sense to me.

Voltage really is a game of "relatives".

Hypothetically, I have a brother, a sister, a mother, and a father. If I am the reference point, then this person (relative to me) is my brother, or my sister. If a person is not connected to me through my family, then the question "Relative to me, who are you?" doesn't make sense. However, if my sister married this stranger, then I can say that person is my brother-in-law because he is connected to my sister, who is connected to me.

Numbers work well too.

1 is less than 2, which is less than 3. We can say that 5 is greater than 3 because 5 is greater than 4 which is greater than 3. We can get to 3 from 5 because they are connected through 4. A question like "Is 5 greater than blue?" makes no sense because blue is not connected to any numbers.

But without any reference point, "sister" has no meaning. It even applies to directions. To the left.........to the left of what?

Back to the example, A and B are "connected" because they are two parts of the same cell, but A and D are not. Without physically connecting A to D, asking what is the voltage of D w/respect to A is undefined.

I'm not certain that the part about the relatives and numbers is entirely on the right track, but ultimately, it's safe to think that without a connection, the voltage difference between A and D is undefined.

For the specific case where you connect cells in series, you can think about it in terms of circuits (I believe you said you understand circuits in a practical way)... If A and B are connected, according to Ohm's law, there is no potential difference between them. Uad=R*I, R=0 (we assume an ideal conductor connecting the two points), therefore Uad=0*I=0 Sorry probably scratch that, I don't want to confuse you further.

[Sigmoid]

Following your example with relatives, think of it like this...

There is Adam, who has a son, Bob: Bob = Adam + 1

There is Claire, who has a daughter, Denise: Denise = Claire + 1

Let's set Claire as 0 (the reference) completely arbitrarily.

If Adam and Denise marry (Adam = Denise), then Bob is the grandson-in-law of Claire:
Claire = 0 (reference)
Denise = Adam = Claire + 1 = 1
Bob = Adam + 1 = 2

If Bob and Claire marry, then Adam is the grandfather-in-law of Denise:
Adam = Bob - 1 = -1
Bob = Claire = 0 (reference)
Denise = Claire + 1 = 1

[Ratch]

Sentry7,
 
I am sorry you feel so discombobulated about my response to your question.  Hopefully, others in this forum can give you the help you seek in understanding this circuit senario.

Ratch

[Ratch]

So you do know how to quote!

It appears that you only want see the last response of what I am answering.  If you made that clear earlier, I could have complied sooner.  I hope I "got it" now.

Potential difference is a difference of energy due to the repositioning of an object in a field. The amount of energy is scaled based on the parameter of the force equation that corresponds to that object. For instance, Coulomb's Law is \$ F = k {q_1 q_2 \over r^2} \$. The parameter corresponding to our object is \$ q_1 \$, the object's charge. In your example, the potential difference between the terminals is 5 joules per coulomb, or 5 volts. Volts are a derived unit, not a base unit.
This would have been obvious if you had bothered to read the rest of the paragraph, which contains the gravitation analogy. The potential difference of an object raised 1m is the increased potential energy scaled by the object's mass: 9.81 m²/s². We can say that this is the potential difference of the vertical distance 1m, or equivalently, that the gravitational field is the gradient of this potential.

The potential difference of energy due to charge movement within an electric field depends on the amount of charge  and the change in electric field strength.  That is what voltage defines, joules/coulomb.

Ratch

[sentry7]

Sentry7,
 
I am sorry you feel so discombobulated about my response to your question.

 
You have already stated this in post #43; there is no need to restate it.

Hopefully, others in this forum can give you the help you seek in understanding this circuit senario.

I believe you mean "scenario".

[Ratch]

Sentry7,

Sorry for the typo.

Ratch