ELECTRICITY

Electrical Potential Difference and Potential Energy

Electric potential is a location-dependent quantity that expresses the amount of potential energy per unit of
charge at a specified location. When a Coulomb of charge (or any given amount of charge) possesses a relatively
large quantity of potential energy at a given location, then that location is said to be a location of high electric
potential. And similarly, if a Coulomb of charge (or any given amount of charge) possesses a relatively small
quantity of potential energy at a given location, then that location is said to be a location of low electric potential.
As we begin to apply our concepts of potential energy and electric potential to circuits, we will begin to refer to
the difference in electric potential between two points.
Consider the task of moving a positive test charge within a uniform electric field from location A to location B as
shown in the diagram.

E
B A
+

Diagram 1
In moving the charge against the electric field from location A to location B, work will have to be done on the
charge by an external force. The work done on the charge changes its potential energy to a higher value; and
the amount of work that is done is equal to the change in the potential energy. As a result of this change in
potential energy, there is also a difference in electric potential between locations A and B. This difference in
electric potential is represented by the symbol ΔV and is formally referred to as the electric potential difference.
The electric potential difference is the difference in electric potential (V) between the final and the initial location
when work is done upon a charge to change its potential energy. In equation form, the electric potential
difference is
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 ∆𝑃𝐸
∆𝑉 = 𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = =
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒
The standard metric unit on electric potential difference is the volt, abbreviated V and named in honor of
Alessandro Volta. One Volt is equivalent to one Joule per Coulomb. If the electric potential difference between
two locations is 1 volt, then one Coulomb of charge will gain 1 joule of potential energy when moved between
those two locations. If the electric potential difference between two locations is 3 volts, then one coulomb of
charge will gain 3 joules of potential energy when moved between those two locations. And finally, if the electric
potential difference between two locations is 12 volts, then one coulomb of charge will gain 12 joules of
potential energy when moved between those two locations. Because electric potential difference is expressed
in units of volts, it is sometimes referred to as the voltage.

Electric Current
Current is the flow of charge through a circuit.6 Using the word current in this context is to simply use it to say
that something is happening in the wires - charge is moving. Yet current is a physical quantity that can be
measured and expressed numerically. As a physical quantity, current is the rate at which charge flows past a
point on a circuit. As depicted in the diagram below, the current in a circuit can be determined if the quantity of
charge (Q) passing through a cross section of a wire in a time (t) can be measured. The current is simply the ratio
of the quantity of charge and time.

Diagram 2
Current is a rate quantity. There are several rate quantities in physics. For instance, velocity is a rate quantity -
the rate at which an object changes its position. Mathematically, velocity is the position change per time
ratio. Acceleration is a rate quantity - the rate at which an object changes its velocity. Mathematically,
acceleration is the velocity change per time ratio. And power is a rate quantity - the rate at which work is done
on an object. Mathematically, power is the work per time ratio. In every case of a rate quantity, the mathematical
equation involves some quantity over time. Thus, current as a rate quantity would be expressed mathematically
as
𝑄
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐼 =
𝑡
Conventional Current Direction
The particles that carry charge through wires in a circuit are mobile electrons. The electric field direction within
a circuit is the direction that positive test charges are pushed. Thus, these negatively charged electrons move in
the direction opposite the electric field. But while electrons are the charge carriers in metal wires, the charge
carriers in other circuits can be positive charges, negative charges, or both. In fact, the charge carriers in
semiconductors, streetlamps and fluorescent lamps are simultaneously both positive and negative charges
traveling in opposite directions.
Ben Franklin, who conducted extensive scientific studies in both static and current electricity, envisioned positive
charges as the carriers of charge. As such, an early convention for the direction of an electric current was
established to be in the direction that positive charges would move. The convention has stuck and is still used
today. The direction of an electric current is by convention the direction in which a positive charge would move.
Thus, the current in the external circuit is directed away from the positive terminal and toward the negative
terminal of the battery. Electrons would move through the wires in the opposite direction. Knowing that the
actual charge carriers in wires are negatively charged electrons may make this convention seem a bit odd and
outdated. Nonetheless, it is the convention that is used worldwide and one that a student of physics can easily
become accustomed to. 2

Diagram 3

Resistivity and Resistance

Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit. It is measured in ohms, symbolize
by the Greek letter omega (Ω). Ohms are named after Georg Simon Ohm (1784-1854), a German physicist who
studied the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance.
Resistance of Different Materials
Depending on the resistance value substances are divided into three categories.
1. There are some materials mainly metallic substances that offer extremely low resistance to the current
through them. These substances are referred to as conductors more precisely electrical conductors.
Silver is an extremely good conductor of electricity, but it is not widely used in electrical systems
because of its high cost. Aluminum is a good conductor and it is a commonly used conductor because
of its low cost and plenty of availability. Copper is another good conductor commonly used in different
electronics and electrical circuits and it is a better conductor than aluminum but at the same time, it is
costlier than aluminum.
2. There is another category of materials called semiconductor. These have a moderate value of resistance
i.e. not remarkably high as well as not very low at room temperature. There are endless uses of
 semiconductors for making electrons devices. Silicon, and germanium are two mostly used
semiconductor materials. In addition to these different compounds also behave as semiconductors.
3. The materials offer extreme resistance to the current is known as the insulator. These materials are a
very bad conductor of electricity and mainly used to prevent leakage current in electric systems. Papers,
dry woods, mica, porcelain, glass epoxy-polyester, mineral oil, SF6 gas, Nitrogen gas, other gases, air,
etc., are very good examples of insulation materials.

Ohm’s Law
As mentioned earlier, Georg Simon Ohm studied the relationship between, current, and resistance. Ohm’s
principal discovery was that the amount of electric current through a metal conductor in a circuit is directly
proportional to the voltage impressed across it, for any given temperature. Ohm express this discovery in the
form of a simple equation, describing how voltage, current, and resistance interrelate:
𝐸 = 𝐼𝑅
Where E is the voltage, I is the current, and R is the resistance. In the algebraic expression above, voltage is
directly proportional to the current and the resistance. As an easy tool, we can use the Ohm’s triangle.

V
I R
Diagram 4
EMF and Batteries
The electromotive force (EMF) E of the source is the energy supplied to the unit charge by the cell.
When a source of electrical energy is connected across a resistance R, it maintains a steady current through the
resistance. The battery makes the positive charge to flow in the external circuit.
Suppose a charge Δq passed through the circuit in time Δt. This charge enters the cell at its lower potential
(negative terminal) and leaves at its positive end (positive terminal), then the source must do work ΔW on the
charge Δq in taking it to the positive terminal which is at the higher potential.
Thus, the emf of the source is defined as “the energy supplied to unit charge by the cell.”

EMF Potential Difference

EMF is the maximum potential difference between
the two electrodes of the cell when no current is
drawn from the cell i.e. open circuit.
It is independent of the resistance of the ciruit.
The term “EMF” is used only for the source of EMF.
It is greater than the potential difference between
any two points in a circuit
Potential Difference is the difference of potentials
between any given two points in a closed circuit.
It is proportional to the resistance between the given
points.
It is measured between any two points of the circuit.
However the potential difference is greater than the
electromotive force when the cell is being charged.

A battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connectionsfor powering
electrical devices. When a battery is supplying electric power, its positive terminal is called a cathode and the
negative terminal is an anode. The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that will flow trough an
external electric circuit to the positive terminal.
Electric Power
Electric power is the rate, per unit time, at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit
of electrical power is watt, one joule per second.
Electric power, like mechanical power, is the rate of doing work, measured in watts, and represented by the
letter P. The term wattage is used colloquially to mean "electric power in watts." The electric power in watts
produced by an electric current I consisting of a charge of Q coulombs every t seconds passing through an electric
potential (voltage) difference of V is
𝑉𝑄
𝑃 = 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 𝑉𝐼
𝑡
where
Q is electric charge in coulombs
t is time in seconds
I is electric current in amperes
V is electric potential or voltage in volts