DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Applied Physics
Assignment No. 3

SUBMITTED TO
SIR Siraj Ul Islam
SUBMITTED BY
Khazran
CMS ID
15390320
Date: 20th Dec,2020
 Conductors
Definition:
In physics and electrical engineering, Conductors can be defined as:
“They are the materials that permit electrons to flow freely from particle to
particle.”
“They are the materials that transmit heat and electricity through them.”
“They are the materials that allow the flow of charge (electrical current) in one or
more directions. “
Conductors perform their jobs as they allow free movement of electrons through
them. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors.
Examples of conductors are:
 Silver.
 Gold.
 Copper.
 Aluminum.
 Mercury.
 Steel.
 Iron.
 Seawater.
In the figure, Conductor (any metal) is carrying an electric current while the insulator is
not carrying the current denoted by the illuminating bulb.

Conductors can be Superconductor or Semi-conductor depending on the

ability of conductor to transfer electrons.
How do Conductors work:
In order for current to flow, it is not necessary for one charged particle to travel
from the machine producing the current to that consuming it. Instead, the charged
particle simply needs to nudge its neighbor a finite amount who will nudge its neighbor
and on and on until a particle is nudged into the consumer, thus powering the machine.
Essentially what is occurring is a long chain of momentum transfer between mobile
charge carriers; the Drude model of conduction describes this process more
rigorously. This momentum transfer model makes metal an ideal choice for a conductor;
metals, characteristically, possess a delocalized sea of electrons which gives the
electrons enough mobility to collide and thus effect a momentum transfer.
Conductors can also transfer protons:
Electrons are the primary mover in metals; however, other devices such as the
mobile protons of the proton conductor (a solid electrolyte, in which H+(proton)are the
primary charge carriers) of a fuel cell rely on positive charge carriers. Pure proton
conductors are usually dry solids. Insulators are non-conducting materials with few
mobile charges that support only insignificant electric currents.

Electrical Conductance:
The conductance of a given conductor depends on the material it is made of, and
on its dimensions. For a given material, the conductance is inversely proportional to
the length and directly proportional to its cross-sectional area.
 For example, a thick copper wire has higher conductance than an otherwise-
identical thin copper wire. Also, a long copper wire has lower conductance than an
otherwise-identical short copper wire. The conductance G and resistance R of a
conductor of uniform cross section, therefore, can be computed as:
R=ρℓ
A
C=σA
ℓ
where ℓ is the length of the conductor, measured in meters [m], A is the cross-
section area of the conductor measured in square meters [m²], σ (sigma) is the
electrical conductivity measured in Siemens per meter (S·m−1), and ρ (rho) is the
electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance) of the material, measured
in ohm-meters (Ω·m). The resistivity and conductivity are proportionality constants, and
therefore depend only on the material the wire is made of, not the geometry of the
wire.
Resistivity and conductivity are reciprocals:
Ρ=1/σ
Resistivity is a measure of the material's ability to oppose electric current.
This formula is not exact: It assumes the current density is totally uniform in the
conductor, which is not always true in practical situation. However, this formula still
provides a good approximation for long thin conductors such as wires.
This formula is not exact for alternating current (AC).
Conductor ampacity:
The ampacity of a conductor, that is, the amount of current it can carry, is related
to its electrical resistance: a lower-resistance conductor can carry a larger value of
current. The resistance, in turn, is determined by the material the conductor is made
from and the conductor's size. For a given material, conductors with a larger cross-
sectional area have less resistance than conductors with a smaller cross-sectional
area.

Conductivity and Resistivity of some Materials:

Material ρ [Ω·m] at 20°C σ [S/m] at 20°C
Silver, Ag 1.59 × 10−8
6.30 × 107

Copper, Cu 1.68 × 10−8

5.96 × 107

Aluminum, Al 2.82 × 10−8

3.50 × 107

Ohmic Conductors:
Those conductors which obey ohm’s law are called ohmic conductors. They have
linear voltage current relationship.
 Equipotential Surface
There are two terms equipotential surface
and equipotential line:
Equipotential lines: These are like contour lines on a
map which trace lines of equal altitude. In this case
the "altitude" is electric potential or voltage.
Equipotential lines are always perpendicular to the
electric field.

Equipotential Surface:
The surface which is the locus of all points which are at the
same potential is known as the equipotential surface. In
three dimensions, the equipotential lines form equipotential
surfaces.

Movement along an equipotential surface requires no work because

such movement is always perpendicular to the electric field.

Explanation:
If the points in an electric field are all at the same electric
potential, then they are known as the equipotential points. If these
points are connected by a line or a curve, it is known as an
equipotential line. If such points lie on a surface, it is called an
equipotential surface. Further, if these points are distributed
throughout a space or a volume, it is known as an equipotential volume.
work Done in Equipotential Surface:
The work done in moving a charge between two points in an
equipotential surface is zero. If a point charge is moved from
point VA to VB, in an equipotential surface, then the work done
in moving the charge is given by
 W = q0(VA –VB)
As VA – VB is equal to zero, the total work done is W = 0.

Properties of Equipotential Surface:

1. The electric field is always perpendicular to an equipotential surface.
2. Two equipotential surfaces can never intersect.
3. For a point charge, the equipotential surfaces are concentric spherical shells.
4. For a uniform electric field, the equipotential surfaces are planes normal to the x-
axis
5. The direction of the equipotential surface is from high potential to low potential.
6. Inside a hollow charged spherical conductor the potential is constant. This can be
treated as equipotential volume. No work is required to move a charge from
the center to the surface.
7. For an isolated point charge, the equipotential surface is a sphere. i.e. concentric
spheres around the point charge are different equipotential surfaces.
 8. In a uniform electric field, any plane normal to the field direction is an
equipotential surface.
9. The spacing between equipotential surfaces enables us to identify regions of a
strong and weak field i.e. E= −dV/dr ⇒ E ∝ 1/dr

Electric Current
Definition:
Electric current is a measure of the quantity of charge
passing any point of the wire per unit of time.
Explanation:
Electric current is movement of electric charge carriers,
such as subatomic charged particles (e.g., electrons having
negative charge, protons having positive charge), ions (atoms that
have lost or gained one or more electrons), or holes (electron
deficiencies that may be thought of as positive particles), moving
through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of
electric charge past a region. The moving particles are called charge carriers.
Formula:
If charge dq passes through a hypothetical plane in time dt then the current ”I”
through that plane is defined as:
I = dq dt We can find
the charge that passes through the plane in a time interval extending from 0 to t by
integration:
t
q = ∫ dq = ∫0 I dt

Unit:
The charge is measured in coulombs and time in seconds, so the unit of electric
current is coulomb/Sec (C/s) or amperes (A). The amperes is the SI unit of the
conductor. The I is the symbolic representation of the
current.
The direction of the electric current
A convention for direction:
Scientists agree to use a convention which shows the direction of the electric
charge flow (the current) in a circuit as being from the positive terminal of the battery
towards the negative terminal. This is in the opposite direction to the actual flow of
electrons – the most common moving charges in metal wires, so in most classroom
circuits, and in many situations in the home as well.
This somewhat unhelpful state of affairs came about because the convention was
established before it was known that electrons move through the wires of a circuit.
Types of Current
The current can be divided into two types.
Direct Current:
Direct current travels towards the same
direction at all points, although the
instantaneous magnitude can differ.
An example of DC is the current generated by
an electrochemical cell.
Alternating Current:
The flow of charge carriers is towards
the
opposite direction periodically in an alternating
current.

The number of AC cycles per second is known as frequency and calculated in Hertz.

Current Density
Definition:
The amount of electric current traveling per unit cross-section area is called as
current density and expressed in amperes per square meter.
Explanation:
More the current in a conductor, the higher will be the current density. However,
the current density alters in different parts of an electrical conductor and the effect takes
place with alternating currents at higher frequencies.
Electric current always creates a magnetic field. Stronger the current, more
intense is the magnetic field. Varying AC or DC creates an electromagnetic field and
this is the principle based on which signal propagation takes place.
Vector Quantity:
Current density is a vector quantity having both a direction and a scalar magnitude. The
electric current flowing through a solid having units of charge per unit time is calculated
towards the direction perpendicular to the flow of direction.
It is all about the amount of current flowing across the given region.
Current Density Formula:
The formula for Current Density is given as,
J=I/A
Where,
I = current flowing through the conductor in Amperes
A = cross-sectional area in m2.
We can write the amount of current through the elements as J.dA where dA is the
area vector of element, perpendicular to; the element. The total current passing through
the surface is then:
I = ∫ J . dA
Unit:
Current density is expressed in A/m2 .
In terms of (ρ) and (v):
By definition, current density is the product of charge density (ρ) and velocity (v).
vector definition
J = ρv
ρ = charge density [C/m3]
v= Drift velocity [m/s]

The following table gives an idea of the maximum current density for various materials.
Material Temperature Maximum current density
1000 μA⋅μm−2 (1000
25 °C
Copper interconnections A⋅mm−2)
(180 nm technology) 700 μA⋅μm−2 (700
50 °C
A⋅mm−2)
0.1–10 × 108 A⋅cm−2 (0.1–
Graphene nanoribbons[16] 25 °C
10 × 106 A⋅mm−2)

Drift Velocity
Definition:
Drift velocity can be defined as:
The average velocity attained by charged particles, (eg. electrons) in a material due to
an electric field.

Explanation:
Subatomic particles like electrons move in random directions all the time. When
electrons are subjected to an electric field they do move randomly, but they slowly drift
in one direction, in the direction of the electric field applied. The net velocity at which
these electrons drift is known as drift velocity.
Formula To Calculate Drift Velocity:
We can use the following formula in order to calculate drift velocity:
I=nAvQ
Where,
 I is the current flowing through the conductor which is measured in amperes
 n is the number of electrons
 A is the area of the cross-section of the conductor which is measured in m2
 v is the drift velocity of the electrons
 Q is the charge of an electron which is measured in Coulombs
Drift velocity is proportional to current. In a resistive material it is also proportional to the
magnitude of an external electric field. Thus Ohm's law can be explained in terms of drift
velocity. The law's most elementary expression is:

where u is drift velocity, μ is the material's electron mobility, and E is the electric field. In
the MKS system these quantities' units are m/s, m2/(V·s), and V/m, respectively.
Unit:
The SI unit of drift velocity is m/s. It is also measured in m2/(V.s).
Vector:
It is the velocity so it is vector quantity.
order of drift velocity:
Drift velocity of electrons in a conductor is of the order of 10−4 m/s. It is very
small compared to the thermal speed which is of the order of 105 m/s. Drift velocity of
electrons in a conductor is of the order of 10−4 m/s. Due to the collision between the
electrons, the average velocity i.e. electron drift velocity is very small. when the switch is
on, an electric field is established at a speed of light, it exerts an electric force on every
free electron in the conductor that makes them all move with a large acceleration.

References:
wikipedia/Electrical_conductor

hyper physics Equipotential Lines

byjus.com equipotential-surface

wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current

britannica.com/science/electric-current

wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_density

byjus.com/physics/drift-velocity/