Topic 1 : Basic Concepts

1.0 Current

Current (I) is the amount of charge (Q) that flows past a point in a unit of time (t).

dq
I=
dt

Whenever there is movement of charge carriers in a substance, there is an electric current.

Current is measured in terms of the number of electrons or holes passing a single point in one
second.

One ampere is a number of electrons having a total charge of 1 C move through a given cross
section in 1 s. This represents one coulomb (6,240,000,000,000,000,000) of charge carriers
per second past a given point.

What is the current if 2 C passes a point in 5 s?

An ampere is a comparatively large amount of current. The abbreviation is A. Often, current

is specified in terms of milliamperes, abbreviated mA, where 1 mA 0.001 A or a thousandth
of an ampere. You will also sometimes hear of microamperes (µA), where 1 µA 0.000001 A
0. 001 mA, a millionth of an ampere. And it is increasingly common to hear about
nanoamperes (nA), where 1 nA 0. 001 µA 0.000000001 A (a billionth of an ampere). Rarely
will you hear of kiloamperes (kA), where 1 kA 1000 A. The amount of current that will flow
in an electrical circuit depends on the voltage, and also on the resistance. There are some
circuits in which extremely large currents,say 1000 A, flow; this might happen through a
metal bar placed directly at the output of a massive electric generator. The resistance is

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extremely low in this case, and the generator is capable of driving huge amounts of charge. In
some semiconductor electronic devices, such as microcomputers, a few nanoamperes will
suffice for many complicated processes. Some electronic clocks draw so little current that
their batteries last as long as they would if left on the shelf without being put to any use at all.

There are two types of current :

1. DC – direct current : current that flows in one direction only.

2. AC – alternating current: Current that changes direction periodically

Current have an associated direction of flow. Conventionally it is taken as the direction of

positive charge movement

3A -3A

Example

1. Calculate the number of charges represented by 2 million electrons

2. The total charges entering a terminal is given by q(t) = 5t sin4πt mC. Determine the
function for current and calculate the current at t = 1 s.

3. Find the total charges accumulated on a plate that is supplied by 0.25A current for 5s.

1.1 Ammeters

The coil could be attached right to

the meter pointer, and suspended by means of a spring in the field of the magnet. This kind of
meter, called a D’Arsonval movement, is still extensively used today. An ammeter can be
made to allow for a wide range of current measurements. The full-scale deflection of a meter
assembly cannot easily be changed, since this would mean changing the number of coil turns
and/or the strength of the magnet. But all ammeters have a certain amount of internal

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resistance. If a resistor, having the same internal resistance as the meter, is connected in
parallel with the meter, the resistor will take half the current. Then it will take twice the
current through the assembly to deflect the meter to full scale, as compared with the meter
alone. By choosing a resistor of just the right value, the full-scale deflection of an ammeter
can be increased by a factor of 10, or 100, or even 1000. This resistor must be capable of
carrying the current without burning up. It might have to take practically all of the current
flowing through the assembly, leaving the meter to carry only 1/10, or 1/100, or 1/1000 of the
current. This is called a shunt resistance or meter shunt.

1.2 Voltage

When two charge distributions are separated by a distance, there exists an electrical force
between the two. If the distributions are similar in charge (both positive or both negative), the
force is opposing. If the charge distributions are of opposite charge (one positive and the
other negative), the force is attractive.

If the two charge distributions are fixed in place and a small positive unit of charge is placed
within the system, the positive unit of charge will be influenced by both charge distributions.
The unit of charge will move toward the negatively charged distribution (“pulled” by the
negatively charged object and “pushed” by the positively charged object). An electrical field
is used to describe the magnitude and direction of the force placed on the positive unit of
charge due to the charge distributions. When the positive unit of charge moves from one
point to another within this configuration, it will change in potential energy. This change in
potential energy is equivalent to the work done by the positive unit of charge over a distance.
Now, if we divide the potential energy by the positive unit of charge, we get what is called a
voltage (or electrical potential—not to be confused with electrical potential energy). Often
the terms potential and electromotive force (emf) are used instead of voltage. Voltage
(symbolized V) is defined as the amount of energy required to move a unit of electrical

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charge from one place to another (potential energy/unit of charge). The unit for voltage is the
volt (abbreviated with a V, which is the same as the symbol, so watch out). One volt is equal
to one joule per coulomb: 1 V = 1 J/C

In terms of electronics, it is often helpful to treat voltage as a kind of “electrical pressure”

similar to that of water pressure. An analogy for this (shown in Fig. 1) can be made between a
tank filled with water and two sets of charged parallel plates.

Figure 1

Understanding voltages becomes a relativity game. For example, to say a point in a circuit
has a voltage of 10 V is meaningless unless you have another point in the circuit with which
to compare it. Typically, the earth, with its infinite charge-absorbing ability and net zero
charge, acts as a good point for comparison. It is considered the 0-V reference point or
ground point. The symbol used for the ground is shown here:

There are times when voltages are specified in circuits without reference to
ground. For example, in Fig. 2, the first two battery systems to the left simply specify one
battery terminal voltage with respect to another, while the third system to the ground.

Figure 2
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Voltage drop

A loss of energy by electrons (charge) as they flow through a resistance creates a voltage
drop because voltage equals energy divided by charge.

1.3 Voltmeters

Current is a flow of charge carriers. Voltage, or electromotive force (EMF), or potential

difference, is the “pressure” that makes a current possible. Given a circuit whose resistance is
constant, the current that will flow in the circuit is directly proportional to the voltage. It’s
always good when a voltmeter has a high internal resistance. The reason for this is that you
don’t want the meter to draw much current from the power source. This current should go, as
much as possible, towards working whatever circuit is hooked up to the supply, and not into
just getting a reading of the voltage. Also, you might not want, or need, to have the voltmeter
constantly connected in the circuit; you might need the voltmeter for testing many different
circuits. You don’t want the behavior of the circuit to be affected the instant you connect the
voltmeter to the supply. The less current a voltmeter draws, the less it will affect the behavior
of anything that is working
from the power supply.

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1.2 Resistance

Resistance is the term used to describe a reduction in current flow. All conductors
intrinsically have some resistance built in. (The actual cause for the resistance can be a
number of things: electron-conducting nature of the material, external heating, impurities in
the conducting medium, etc.). In electronics, devices called resistors are specifically designed
to resist current. The symbol of a resistor used in electronics is shown next:

One ohm (1 Ω) is the resistance if one ampere (1 A) is flowing in a material when one volt
(1 V) is applied. Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance. 1
G
R
Components designed to have a specific amount of resistance are called resistors.

Resistance depends on resistivity of material (), cross section area (A) and length (L).
Resistance is given by R = L / A.

Material Resistivity(.m) Usage

Silver 1.64 x 10-8 Conductor
Copper 1.72 x 10-8 Conductor
Gold 2.45 x 10-8 Conductor
Aluminum 2.8 x 10-8 Conductor
Carbon 4.0 x 10-5 Semicon
Paper 1010 Insulator
Glass 1012 Insulator
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Teflon 3 x 10 Insulator

Example

Find the resistance of 6.5 m of wire, diameter 0.6 mm, if the resistivity value is 430 nano-
ohm metres (430 nΩm).

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Variable resistors include the potentiometer and rheostat. A potentiometer can be connected
as a rheostat. The center terminal is connected to the wiper

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Summary

Voltage is the amount of energy per charge available to move electrons from one from one
point to another in a circuit.
Current is the rate of charge flow and is measured in amperes.
Resistance is opposition to current and is measured in ohms.

1.3 DC Power Sources

Power sources provide the voltage and current needed to run circuits. Theoretically, power
sources can be classified as ideal voltage sources or ideal current sources. An ideal voltage
source is a two-terminal device that maintains a fixed voltage drop across its terminals. If a
variable resistive load is connected to an ideal voltage source, the source will maintain its
voltage even if the resistance of the load changes. This means that the current will change
according to the change in resistance, but the voltage will stay the same (in I = V/R, I changes
with R, but V is fixed). Now a fishy thing with an ideal voltage source is that if the resistance
goes to zero, the current must go to infinity. Well, in the real world, there is no device that
can supply an infinite amount of current. Instead, we define a real voltage source (e.g., a
battery) that can only supply a maximum finite amount of current. It resembles a perfect
voltage source with a small resistor in series.

An ideal current source is a two-terminal idealization of a device that maintains a constant

current through an external circuit regardless of the load resistance or applied voltage. It must
be able to supply any necessary voltage across its terminals. Real current sources have a limit
to the voltage they can provide, and they do not provide constant output current. There is no
simple device that can be associated with an ideal current source.

1.4 Electric Circuits

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An electric circuit is any arrangement of resistors, wires, or other electrical components that
permits an electric current to flow. Typically, a circuit consists of a voltage source and a
number of components connected together by means of wires or other conductive means.
Electric circuits can be categorized as series circuits, parallel circuits, or series and parallel
Switch Metal strip
Switch Metal strip

Metal reflector Spring

Metal reflector Spring

combination circuits.A basic circuit consists of 1) a voltage source, 2) a path and 3) a load.
An example of a basic circuit is the flashlight, which has each of these.

Series Circuit

Basic Circuit
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 Series Parallel
1.5 Various Switches Circuit

Parallel Circuit

Exercise 1

1. Write the unit and symbols of the following quantities : Charge, current, voltage and
resistance.

2. Determine the work done to move 3C under a potential difference of 10V.

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3. Determine the potential difference between 2 points if 20J of work is done to move 2C of
charge between them.

4. A lightning bolt with 8kA strikes an object for 10µs. How much charge is deposited on the
object?

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