CURRENT, RESISTANCE AND

ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE
 Current
• A current is any motion of charge from
one region to another.
• The current is the rate at which charge
flows through this surface.
 Drift Velocity
• The speed of the
charge carriers vd is
an average speed
 Current Density
• Current per cross-sectional area.
• A wire carries a current of 1A.
How many electrons pass any
point in the wire each second?
 Electrolysis
• The liberation of free elements from
liquids through which electric currents
are passed is called electrolysis.
• Faraday’s laws of electrolysis state
that the mass m of an element set free
at either electrode is proportional to
two quantities:
1. The total charge Q passed through
the liquid, which is equal to the
product It of current I and time t.

2. The molar mass A of the element

divided by the number v of electron
charges (plus or minus) on its ions.
Faraday’s Laws can be combined in the
formula:
QA ItA
m 
Fv Fv
• F, is called the faraday, is equal to
96, 500 C and represents the total
charge of 1 mol of electrons. Thus
the passage of 1 F of charge will
liberate 1 mole of element X from
a solution that contains X+ or x-
ions, ½ mol of element Y from a
solution that contains Y2+ or Y2-
ions, 1/3 mol of element Z from a
solution that contains Z3+ or Z3-
ions, and so forth.
 Electrolysis Example
• A 12-A current is passed through
an electrolytic cell in which the
anode (positive electrode) is a zinc
bar, and the electrolyte contains
Zn2+ ions. How much zinc is
plated on the cathode (negative
electrode) after 2h?
RESISTIVITY
Resistance
1. A 120-V toaster has a resistance
of 12Ω. What must be the
minimum rating of the fuse in the
electric circuit to which the
toaster is connected?

2. What is the resistance of a copper

wire 0.50mm in diameter and
20m long? The resistivity of
copper is 1.7 x 10-8 Ω.m.
3. A platinum wire 80 cm long is to
have a resistance of 0.1 Ω. What
should be its diameter? The
resistivity of platinum is 1.1x10-7
Ω.m

4. The specific resistance of

Nichrome is 600 Ω.cmil/ft. How
long should a Nichrome wire 20
mils in diameter be for it to have
a resistance of 5 Ω?
• A copper wire has a resistance of 10.0
Ω at 200C (a) What will its resistance
be at 800C? (b)at 00C? The
temperature coefficient of resistance
of copper is 0.004/C0.