so I've been in maintenance for a while and I've learned a lot about how to troubleshoot HVAC units and appliances but I've come to find that I don't really know a whole lot about the how's and whys of what makes things work the way they do. I can fix almost anything but ever since I really started delving deep into these areas, I've become really interested in electronics and electrical engineering. So my question is, if I were to make a flashlight and I were to not use wire but instead used copper strips how would I calculate the maximum voltage that could go through it without it being strained?
In a battery flashlight, current is the determining factor. The current rating of an electrical conductor (wire or copper strip) is determined by its cross-sectional area, just like the flow rate of water in a certain size of pipe. The bulb or LED in an ordinary flashlight uses only a small fraction of an Amp, so a very thin strip of copper will work.
To understand electricity and electronics, the following sites offer free courses of instruction and advice for beginners. Have look at a few, and discover which suit you. Start with simple projects and work your way up.
Old (allegedly Chinese) proverb: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.”
Many sites also have a user forum for asking questions.
