Which one of the following is not a measurable quantity?
- Resistance
- Voltage difference
- Displacement current
- Voltage
Answer
(4) Voltage
Solution
Every measurement of an electrical potential is a comparison between two points: a voltmeter connected between two points reads only the potential difference VA - VB.
As per NCERT, only differences of potential are physically significant; the potential at a single point (voltage) depends on the arbitrary choice of the zero (reference) point, so its value cannot be measured.
Resistance is measured with an ohmmeter (or R = VI), and voltage difference with a voltmeter.
Displacement current, id = 0 d Edt, is measurable: while a capacitor charges it equals the conduction current i in the connecting wires, which an ammeter reads.
Voltage (potential at a point) is not a measurable quantity.
Answer: (4)