Instead, the coil is pulled through the external magnetic field, which induces a voltage across it.

ECONOMIST: Weighing a kilogram

Although the exact mechanism is still not entirely understood, it turns out that illuminating the liquid crystal, applying a voltage across a small region of it, and then turning off the light source causes a small amount of charge to be stored in that region.

ECONOMIST: Just press print

When a voltage is applied across the coating, the window darkens, allowing less light to enter but still permitting a view.

ECONOMIST: Green homes

Outages that used to last a few hours now can drag on for the better part of a week as repair crews contend with flooding, downed trees and snapped high-voltage power lines across vast regions.

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Each glass sheet has rows of conducting wires running across it, and the two sets of wires are at right angles, so that a voltage can be applied across the liquid crystal at any chosen intersection.

ECONOMIST: Just press print

Liushi, across the Oujiang estuary from Wenzhou, accounts for 40% of the country's low-voltage electrical switches.

ECONOMIST: Boom time in capitalist Wenzhou | The

Once, before dual voltage became the standard for consumer electronics, there was plentiful physical evidence of the fact that if you plug in across systems without a transformer, the result is either a flame-out or a non-starter.

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