Electrical Engineering Definitions

SI units
Electric Charge, Electrostatic Force, Electric
and Magnetic Fields
Electric Voltage, Current, and Power
DC and AC sources
Conductors, Resistance, Capacitance
Ohms Law
Currently, there are two main sets of measurement standards in use
The U.S Customary System
The International System (SI for short)
The primary system of measure for the world is the SI system often
referred to as the metric system
The scientific and engineering community use the SI system, so it is
important to learn the system
Some commonly used prefixes for the international
system of units
Prefi x Symbol Power of 10 Prefi x Symbol Power of 10
exa E deci d
peta P centi c
tera T milli m
giga G micro
mega M nano n
kilo k pico p
hecto h femto f
deka da atto a
18
10
15
10
12
10
9
10
6
10
3
10
2
10
1
10
1
10

2
10

3
10

6
10

9
10

12
10

15
10

18
10

PEN
The seven basic SI units
Measured Quanti ty Uni t Symbol
Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Electric Current Ampere A
Thermodynamic Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of a Substance Mole mol
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
Some important SI units and symbols you
should commit to memory
Measured Quanti ty Uni t Symbol Measured Quanti ty Uni t Symbol
Angle Radian rad Electric Potential Volt V
Frequency Hertz Hz Resistance Ohm
Force Newton N Conductance Siemens S
Pressure Pascal Pa Inductance Henry H
Energy/Work/Heat Joule J Capacitance Farad F
Power Watt W Magnetic Flux Weber Wb
Electric Charge Coulomb C Magnetic Flux Density Tesla T
Electrical Charge
The fundamental unit of charge is denoted:
It is the charge associated with a single electron or proton and is
equal in magnitude to
1.60 x 10
-19
Coulombs
The Coulomb, denoted by C, is the basic unit of electrical charge.
q
Formal Definition of Electric Charge

Charge can be either positive or negative

One Coulomb = approximately 6.24 x 10
18
unpaired electrons or unpaired
protons.
Example finding net charge:
What is the magnitude of charge, in coulombs, of 756.23 x 10
17
electrons?
18
number of electrons
6.24 10 electrons/C
net
q
x
=
17
18
756.23x10 electrons
6.24 10 electrons/C
net
q
x
=
12.12
net
q C =
Electrical Charge
To characterize electrical charge behavior we must start at the atom
which consist of
1. Proton(s): positive charges
2. Neutron(s): neutral charges
3. Electron(s): negative charges
Charge properties
1. Like charges repel one another
2. Unlike charges attract one another
3. The force of repulsion or attraction obeys the inverse square law
EXAMPLE 4.1
A atom that has the same number of positive particles (protons)
and negative particles (electrons) has a net neutral charge.
-
-
+
N
N
+
-
N
+
N
-
-
+
N
N
+
-
N
+
N
If an atom loses an electron, it has a net positive charge
-
+
N
N
+
-
N
+
N
-
-
+
N
N
+
-
N
+
N
-
Once an electron is removed from an atom, which requires
some form of work, we are left with a positively charged atom
and a free, negatively charged, electron
The free electron may
1. Be captured by a nearby positive atom
2. Remain free and migrate to the surface of the material
which occurs because like charges repel
Note: option 2 assumes the energy applied to dislodge the
electron from the atom was not sufficient to completely ionize
the electron from the material
Once at the surface of the material the electron will:
a. move along the surface if it encounters an electrical field
b. remain localized on the surface until it is captured by a nearby positive
charged atom
These localized electrons produce a negatively charged region or what we refer
to as static electricity
Static example:
comb through the hair
Electrons are mechanically removed from the hair and rest on the comb
The strands of hair are charged positive, and stands up because the positive
charges seek the most distance between each other
Over time the positive charge diminishes
The repulsion and attraction phenomena of charge can be
best explained by looking at the equation for the force
present between two charges, or Coulombs law
Electrostatic Force
Electrostatic Force is the force exerted by one body of
charge on another. This force can be calculated for
simple point charges by using the following equation.
F - is the force between the charges, q
1
and q
2
r - is the distance of separation
k - is a proportionality constant = 8.99 x 10
9
Nm
2
/C
2
- is a unit vector pointing from q
1
to q
2
EXAMPLE 4.2
12
2
2 1

r F
r
q q
k =
12

r
The Electrostatic Force depends on the presence of at least
two charges a fixed distance apart.
We can generalize the force exerted by a single point charge
by defining a field, known as the Electric Field..
Electric Field
Note the units are in Newton/Coulomb or force/unit charge
0
q
F
E =
This is in terms of the force a test charge would experience when
placed in the electric field produced by other charges.
Graphically representing Electric Field lines
++
1. Field lines originate on a positive
charge and terminate on a
negative charge. If there is no
negative charge to terminate on,
the lines will continue out to infinity
2. The number of field lines is
proportional to the magnitude of
the net charge
3. The density of the field lines at a
given point is proportional to the
magnitude of the field at that point
Electric Current
How is moving charge is described, or how do we quantify the amount of
charge we can move through a wire connected to a battery.
Electric Current
Electric Current, symbolized by I, is the quantitative measure of the
flow rate of electric charge carriers. It is measured by determining the
number of coulombs of charge that pass a specific point in the period
of time. The unit of electric current is the Ampere.



dq Coulombs
I Ampere
dt Second
= = =
Example of current
A piece of wire is connected across the terminals of a battery for a
period of 3 seconds. During this time, it is determined that 18
coulombs of charge move through the wire. What is the current in
the wire while it is connected to the battery terminals?
18
6
3
C
I A
Sec
= =
dq
I
dt
=
Magnetic Field
All changing Electrical fields have an
accompanying Magnetic Field. The magnetic
field is the result of charge movement or
Current . If a current exist you have an
associated magnetic field.
The magnetic field produced by a current is
related the magnitude of the current and the
geometry and other physical characteristics
of the conductor the current is in.
BATTERY-WIRE COIL-NAIL
Magnetic Flux due to a Current

(a) (a)
(b) (b)

(a) (a)
(b) (b)
2
7
0
(Weber)
cross-sectional area of the coil
permeability of core material, in freespace
4 x 10 /
number of turns in the coil
length of the coil
current in the coil
c
m
c
N A
I
l
A
H m
N
l
I

=


=
=
= =
=
=
=
Will all materials support a current, allow charge to flow? Part of the
answer to this question depends on the materials ability to Conduct
Electricity which is dependant the materials properties.
Category Descri pti on Exampl es
Insulator
A material that restricts the flow of current.
Large potential differences are required to push
electrical current through these materials.
Wood, Rubber, Plastic,
and Glass
Semiconductor
A material that is usually viewed as a poor
conductor, but under special circumstances it
can be a useful conductor
Silicon and Germanium
Conductor
A material that allows for the easy
establishment of a current with a minimal
applied voltage
Silver, Copper,
Aluminum, and most
other metals
Superconductor
A material that is capable of conducting
electrical current with no resistance when
placed below a certain temperature. This
means that electrical currents can exist without
the presence of an electric field.
Mercury below 4.15K
and barium-yttrium-
copper-oxide below 92K
K = Kelvin
Voltage (potential): is defined as electrical potential energy
per unit charge.
Voltage can be thought of as a measure of stored electrical
energy that has the ability to do work, such as moving other
charges via an electric field.
This stored energy is equal in magnitude to the work done to
move a charge from point A to B where A and B are of
different potentials.
When we talk about Voltage, or potential difference, we are
really describing the voltage difference between two points


W Joule
Volt
q Coulomb
= =
Definition of Electric Voltage
Voltage Example
Any measure of potential must include a reference point
Electrical Power
Electrical power is a measure of the electrical work, or energy used, per
unit time, the following relationship is known as Watts Law
Instantaneous Power
The instantaneous power, of an electrical device is defined as
the work that is done per unit of time. In terms of the voltage, V,
and current, I ,
EXAMPLE 4.3
Watt
Second
Joule
IV P = = =
DC Signal
Has a constant voltage and current, neglecting the changes
occurring during power on and power off.
Common sources
Batteries
DC power supply
constant
constant
V
I
=
=
t
AC Signal
Alternating Current
Alternating Current is a fluctuating current that is associated with a
changing potential difference (AC Voltage). The most common
alternating current pattern is associated with a sinusoidal change in
voltage.
Common Sources
Household power
Signal generator
Peak, peak-to-peak
RMS
EXAMPLE 4.4
( ) sin(2 ) v t A ft =
t
Resistance
Physically resistance is a measure of a materials
opposition to charge flow or current.
Resistance is measured in units called Ohms
The higher the resistance of a material, the more potential
difference is required to maintain a current.
The resistance of a material is temperature dependant.

Figure 4.6. This water pipe illustrates the concept of resistance. The smaller center section of the pipe
has a larger resistance to water flow.
Resistive Material Resistive Material
Figure 4.7 The electrical equivalent of the water-based example given in figure 4.6. A resistive material connected to
two conducting copper wires.
Type Characteristics
Carbon Least expensive, wide available range of values
and tolerances, typically used for low power and
low frequency applications
Metal Film Used in higher voltage applications and where
high precision is called for. These devices exhibit
internal capacitance, due to the metal film
deposits, which can cause changes in the device
impedance at higher frequencies.
Wirewound Used for medium to high voltage applications
requiring high power handling. However due to
their geometry they exhibit high inductive
properties, making them suitable only for lower
frequency applications.
Numeric 1 Numeric 2 Numeric 3 Multiplier Tolerance
Black 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 1 10 1%
Red 2 2 2 100 2%
Orange 3 3 3 1K
Yellow 4 4 4 10K
Green 5 5 5 100K 0.5%
Blue 6 6 6 1M 0.25%
Violet 7 7 7 10M 0.10
Gray 8 8 8 0.05%
White 9 9 9
Gold 0.1 5%
Silver 0.01 10%
Color
Four band Resistor
The first two bands indicate numeric
values.
The third band is the multiplier.
The fourth band is the tolerance.
Example:
[Red2][Green5][Yellow10k][Silver10%]
Resistor value = 25 x 10k = 250 kOhm 10%
Five band Resistor (High precision)
The first three bands are numerical
values.
The fourth band is the multiplier.
The fifth band is the tolerance.
Example:
[Blue6][Gray8][Red2][Blue1M][Brown1%]
Resistor value = 682 x 1M = 682 MOhm 1%
Capacitance
Capacitance
Capacitance, simply stated is the amount of charge that a
capacitor is capable of holding per unit of voltage applied.
Where Q is the net charge, V is the voltage, and C is the
capacitance. Units are Farads (F).
V
Q
C =
Capacitor is a device capable of storing energy in an electrical field
Energy Stored by a capacitor:
Units of Joules
2
1
2
U CV =
Example of a parallel plate capacitor
+ -
Plate
Separation
distance, d
+ -
Plate
Separation
distance, d
Figure 4.8. A conceptual example of a basic
capacitor. A capacitor consists of two metal
plates separated by an insulating dielectric
material.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Plate
Separation
Distance, d
Electric Field Lines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Plate
Separation
Distance, d
Electric Field Lines
Figure 4.9. An illustration of the electric field
lines existing between the plates of a capacitor.
The energy that is stored in a capacitor is stored
in this electric field.
d
x A
C
) F/m 10 85 . 8 (
12
=

Type Characteristics
Paper Cheap, low to high voltage, low frequency, low
capacitance/volume, non-precision general
purpose applications
Mica Very stable, high precision, good for tuned
circuit applications, high capacitance/volume,
low leakage current
Tantalum or Aluminum Polarized, largest capacitance/volume, high
loss, commonly used for power supply filtering.
Ceramic High voltage, available in both low loss and high
loss, Capacitor tolerance can run from +100%
to -20%
Codes see: http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Capacitor_Codes
There exist a nice relationship that ties together the quantities
Voltage, Current, and Resistance known as Ohms Law
Ohms Law
Ohms Law gives a relationship between a materials
resistance, R, the voltage across it, V, and the current flowing
through it, I.
IR V =
Ohms law gives us an equation we can use to find voltage, current, or
resistance if we know two of the quantities. MEMORIZE IT
EXAMPLE 4.5
CHECK 4.5
What You should know
1. Basic SI units
2. How charges behave (repel, attract)
3. Definition of current
4. Definition of voltage
5. Definition of resistance
6. Ohms law
7. Watts law
8. Difference between a DC and AC signal
9. How to find peak, peak-to-peak, and RMS voltage
values