In any electrical circuit there can be which of the following relationships between voltage and current?

• A. There is no such thing as voltage without current
• B. Current without voltage
• C. Voltage without current
• D. Voltage and current cannot exist independently

Answer: (C)

Voltage can exist even when no current flows. In an open circuit, there’s a potential difference between points, but there’s no complete path for charge, so current is zero. This matches V = IR: with an open path, the effective resistance is very large, giving I = V/∞ ≈ 0 while V is still defined. You might see a battery connected to nothing or to a very high-impedance load and still measure a voltage across its terminals. The other statements aren’t generally true for all circuits: current without voltage would require a special source that enforces current regardless of voltage, and in many cases voltage and current can’t be said to exist together in every circuit.