History of electromagnetic theory used to create positively charged anodes and negatively charged cathodes. When a conductor was attached between these, the difference in the electrical potential (also known as voltage) drove a current between them through the conductor. The potential difference between two points is measured in units of volts in recognition of Volta's work. The first mention of voltaic electricity, although not recognized as such at the time, was probably made by Johann Georg Sulzer in 1767, who, upon placing a small disc of zinc under his tongue and a small disc of copper over it, observed a peculiar taste when the
Zero-ohm link resistors can be useful as configuration jumpers, but caution is exercised for PCB designs which may use zero-ohm resistors to select between options which require larger trace currents in the design. For these situations, it is better design practice to specify a low-ohm resistance, such as a 0.001-ohm to 0.003-ohm resistor, rather than the generic "zero-ohm" resistor in which the actual resistance may be higher, and tolerance is not given. The low-ohm resistors are easily obtained with 5% or 1% tolerances on a maximum specified resistance and can be safely utilized to pass much higher currents. For example, a surface-mounted