Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

hot
an energized conductor.
hot line work
work performed on energized electric power lines. See glove, hot stick, bare-hand.
hot reserve
the state of an idle thermal generating plant whose boilers and turbines are hot and can thus be quickly brought into service.
hot restart
reassumption, without loss, of all operations in the system from the point of detected fault.
hot stick
an insulated pole used by line workers to make connections to and otherwise manipulare energized overhead conductors.
hot tap
a clamp, applied with a hot stick that connects a branch circuit to an existing conductor and typically applied while the system is energized.
hot wire
an energized conductor, particularly as opposed to a neutral or ground wire, both of which are typically maintained at ground potential
photodetector
device capable of producing or modifying an electrical signal in proportion to the amount of light falling on the active area of the device.
photoelectric effect
the phenomenon whereby light of sufficiently short wavelength falls on the emitter electrode of a photocell and causes electrons to be emitted from the electrode.
photogalvanic effect

See photovoltaic effect
photoluminescence
the process by which light is emitted from solids, atoms, gases, after excitation by an additional light source. The input light excites electrons to higher energy states, and as they relax they emit light (through electron-hole recombination) whose frequency is characteristic of the statistical properties of the carriers.
photovoltaic
effect a photoelectric phenomenon in certain photorefractive crystals, for example, LiNbO3, BaTiO3, LiTaO3,in which the illumination of light leads to the generation of electric current along certain direction in the crystals. This leads to the accumulation of charges on the surfaces of the crystals, causing an open circuit voltage.
photovoltaics
conversion of insolation into DC electricity by means of solid state p-n junction diodes.
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