2-5 Current in Liquid
and Gases
In gases, both positive ions and
electrons are involved in current
flow. When a gas is subjected to a
strong electric field, the gas
ionizes. Once ionized, the gas
allows current to flow through it.
Current flow in liquid consists of
both negative and positive ions
moving through the liquid. The
current in liquid is composed
entirely of ions.
A liquid solution which is capable
of carrying current is called an
electrolyte.
One industrial use of current flow
in electrolytes is electroplating.
Electroplating is a process by
which a thin layer of one type of
metal can be plated (surface-
covered) over another material.
HISTORY OF
ELECTRONICS
André Marie Ampère
The unit of the current, the ampere
(A), was named for French Physicist
André Marie Ampère, who discovered
that two parallel wires attract
each other when currents flow
through them in the same direction
and repel each other when currents
are made to flow in the opposite
directions.
2-6 Current in Vacuum
The process of emitting electrons
from a heated surface is called
Thermionic Emission. Thermionic
Emission acquires when the balance
electrons in the heated atoms
gained sufficient energy to escape
both the parent atoms and the
surface barrier of the plate. When
no positive or negative charges are
connected to the plates, the
surface of the cathode becomes
positive as Thermionic Emissions
occur. Thus some of the emitted
electrons are pulled back to the
surface as they cool of and lose
energy.
Thermionic Emission and current in
a vacuum are the heart of
electronic vacuum tubes and cathode
ray tubes (CRTs). These tubes were
used extensively in electronic
equipment, such as oscilloscopes,
radar, TV receivers, and computer
monitors.
2-7 Unit of Current ̶
The Ampere
In Electricity, the amount of
current is specified in terms of
the charge and the time required to
move the charged past a given
point. The amount of electric
current is therefore specified in
coulombs per second. But, since
coulombs per seconds is a rather
long term, the base unit of current
has been named the ampere. The
ampere is the base unit of current.
An ampere is equal to 1 coulomb per
second. The ampere was chosen as
the base unit of current in honor
of André Marie Ampère, a French
scientist who did some early work
in the field of electricity.

The abbreviation for the ampere is

A. To indicate that the current in
a wire is 10 amperes, for example,
we would write I=10A.

charge(Q) Q
Current (I)= or I
time(t) t

coulombs C
Ampere= or A
seconds s