Electricity

Current Electricity Basics

Electric current is uniform flow of charges in a particular direction.

The rate of flow of charge or uniform motion of electrons:

(I= )

Potential difference is the work done in moving a unit charge between two points
in an electric field against the direction of force:

(V= )

Electric resistance is the opposition to the flow of electrons by the conductor.

Factors affecting electric resistance are:

 The length of the conductor

 The cross sectional area of the conductor
 The resistivity of conductor material
 The temperature of the conductor

Thus, ( R =  )

Resistivity of a material is the resistance offered by a conductor having unit length

and unit area of cross section.

Ohm’s law states that the current passing through a conductor is:
  Directly proportional to the voltage in the conductor and
 Inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor

Thus, I =

Current Electricity Circuits

In parallel circuits:

V = V1 = V2 = V3

Itotal = I1 + I2 + I3

= + +

Heating Effect of Electric Current

Heating effect of electricity: when current passes through a conductor, the

conductor gets heated as electric energy is converted into heat energy.

A good heating element should have high resistivity, a high melting point and
should show negligible variation in resistance due to temperature changes.

An electric fuse is used to break the flow of electric current when the device is
over loaded. Its mechanism is based on the heating effect of electricity.
Joule’s law: The amount of heat produced in a conductor is equal to the product of
the amount of current squared, the resistance of the conductor, and the time for
which current passes through the conductor.

Thus, H = i2Rt