Volt

Volt, vōlt, n. the unit of electro-motive force now in universal use among electricians, defined legally in terms of the ohm and ampere.—adj. Vol′ta-elec′tric, of or pertaining to galvanism.—n. Vol′ta-electrom′eter, an instrument for measuring electric currents.—adj. Vol′ta-electromō′tive.—n. Vōl′tage, electro-motive force reckoned in volts.—adj. Voltā′ic, pertaining to Alessandro Volta, an Italian scientist (1745-1826), who mainly developed the theory of current electricity along purely physical lines, discovered the electric decomposition of water, and invented a new electric battery, the electrophorus, and the electroscope.—ns. Vol′taism, that branch of electric science which treats of the production of an electric current from the chemical interaction of two immersed dissimilar metals (same as Galvanism); Voltam′eter, an instrument for measuring the decomposition produced by an electric current; Vōlt′-am′pere, the rate of activity in an electric circuit when the electro-motive force is one volt and the current one ampere; Volt′atype, an electrotype; Vōlt′meter, an instrument for measuring voltage.—Voltaic pile, a galvanic battery.