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Appendix B

Review of Electricity

B.1 Electric Charge

Matter is composed of atoms. An atom consists of a nucleus surrounded by
electrons. The nucleus itself is composed of protons and neutrons. Electric
charge is a property of protons and electrons. There are two types of electric
charge: positive and negative. The proton is positively charged, and the electron
is negatively charged. All electrical phenomena are due to these electric charges.
Charges exert forces on each other. Unlike charges attract and like charges
repel each other. The electrons are held around the nucleus by the electrical
attraction of the protons. Although the proton is about 2000 times heavier than
the electron, the magnitude of the charge on the two is the same. There are as
many positively charged protons in an atom as negatively charged electrons.
The atom as a whole is, therefore, electrically neutral. The identity of an atom
is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus. Thus, for example,
hydrogen has 1 proton; nitrogen has 7 protons; and gold has 79 protons.
It is possible to remove electrons from an atom, making it positively charged.
Such an atom with missing electrons is called a positive ion. It is also possible
to add an electron to an atom which makes it a negative ion.
Electric charge is measured in coulombs (C). The magnitude of the charge
on the proton and the electron is 1.60 × 10−19 C. The force F between two
charged bodies is proportional to the product of their charges Q1 and Q2 and
is inversely proportional to the square of the distance R between them; that is,
KQ1 Q2
F# (B.1)
R2

287
288 Appendix B Review of Electricity

This equation is known as Coulomb’s law. If R is measured in meters, the

constant K is 9 × 109 , and F is obtained in newtons.

B.2 Electric Field

An electric charge exerts a force on another electric charge; a mass exerts a
force on another mass; and a magnet exerts a force on another magnet. All
these forces have an important common characteristic: Exertion of the force
does not require physical contact between the interacting bodies. The forces
act at a distance. The concept of lines of force or field lines is useful in visual-
izing these forces which act at a distance.
Any object that exerts a force on another object without contact can be
thought of as having lines of force emanating from it. The complete line con-
figuration is called a force field. The lines point in the direction of the force,
and their density at any point in space is proportional to the magnitude of the
force at that point.
The lines of force emanate from an electric charge uniformly in all direc-
tions. By convention, the lines point in the direction of the force that the source
charge exerts on a positive charge. Thus, the lines of force point away from a
positive source charge and into a negative source charge (see Fig. B.1). The
number of lines emanating from the charge is proportional to the magnitude
of the electric charge. If the size of the source charge is doubled, the number
of force lines is also doubled.
Lines of force need not be straight lines; as we mentioned, they point in
the direction in which the force is exerted. As an example, we can consider the

FIGURE B.1 ! Two-dimensional representation of the electric field produced by a

positive point charge (a) and a negative point charge (b).
Section B.4 Electric Current 289

FIGURE B.2 ! Lines of force produced by a positive and a negative charge separated
by a distance d.

net field due to two charges separated by a distance d. To determine this field
we must compute the direction and size of the net force on a positive charge
at all points in space. This is done by adding vectorially the force lines due
to each charge. The force field due to a positive and negative charge of equal
magnitude separated by a distance d from each other is shown in Fig. B.2.
Here the lines of force are curved. This is, of course, the direction of the net
force on a positive charge in the region surrounding the two fixed charges.
The field shown in Fig. B.2 is called a dipole field, and it is similar to the field
produced by a bar magnet.

B.3 Potential Difference or Voltage

The electric field is measured in units of volt per meter (or volt per centimeter).
The product of the electric field and the distance over which the field extends
is an important parameter which is called potential difference or voltage. The
voltage (V ) between two points is a measure of energy transfer as the charge
moves between the two points. Potential difference is measured in volts. If
there is a potential difference between two points, a force is exerted on a charge
placed in the region between these points. If the charge is positive, the force
tends to move it away from the positive point and toward the negative point.

B.4 Electric Current

An electric current is produced by a motion of charges. The magnitude of the
current depends on the amount of charge flowing past a given point in a given
period of time. Current is measured in amperes (A). One ampere is 1 coulomb
(C) of charge flowing past a point in 1 second (sec).
290 Appendix B Review of Electricity

B.5 Electric Circuits

The amount of current flowing between two points in a material is propor-
tional to the potential difference between the two points and to the electrical
properties of the material. The electrical properties are usually represented by
three parameters: resistance, capacitance, and inductance. Resistance mea-
sures the opposition to current flow. This parameter depends on the property
of the material called resistivity, and it is analogous to friction in mechani-
cal motion. Capacitance measures the ability of the material to store electric
charges. Inductance measures the opposition in the material to changes in
current flow. All materials exhibit to some extent all three of these proper-
ties; often, however, one of these properties is predominant. It is possible to
manufacture components with specific values of resistance, capacitance, or
inductance. These are called, respectively, resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
The schematic symbols for these three electrical components are shown in
Fig. B.3. Electrical components can be connected together to form an electric
circuit. Currents can be controlled by the appropriate choice of components
and interconnections in the circuit. An example of an electric circuit is shown
in Fig. B.4. Various techniques have been developed to analyze such circuits
and to calculate voltages and currents at all the points in the circuit.

B.5.1 Resistor
The resistor is a circuit component that opposes current flow. Resistance (R)
is measured in units of ohm (!). The relation between current (I ) and

FIGURE B.3 ! Circuit components.

FIGURE B.4 ! Example of an electric circuit.

Section B.5 Electric Circuits 291

voltage (V ) is given by Ohm’s law, which is

V ! IR (B.2)
Materials that present a very small resistance to current flow are called con-
ductors. Materials with a very large resistance are called insulators. A flow
of current through a resistor is always accompanied by power dissipation as
electrical energy is converted to heat. The power (P) dissipated in a resistor is
given by
P ! I2 R (B.3)
The inverse of resistance is called conductance, which is usually designated by
the symbol G. Conductance is measured in units of mho, also called Siemens.
The relationship between conductance and resistance is
1
G! (B.4)
R

B.5.2 Capacitor
The capacitor is a circuit element that stores electric charges. In its sim-
plest form it consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulator (see
Fig. B.5). Capacitance (C) is measured in farads. The relation between the
stored charge (Q), and the voltage across the capacitor is given by
Q ! CV (B.5)
In a charged capacitor, positive charges are on one side of the plate, and
negative charges are on the other. The amount of energy (E) stored in such a
configuration is given by
1
E ! CV 2 (B.6)
2

FIGURE B.5 ! A simple capacitor.

292 Appendix B Review of Electricity

B.5.3 Inductor
The inductor is a device that opposes a change in the current flowing through
it. Inductance is measured in units called henry.

B.6 Voltage and Current Sources

Voltages and currents can be produced by various batteries and generators.
Batteries are based on chemical reactions that result in a separation of positive
and negative charges within a material. Generators produce a voltage by the
motion of conductors in magnetic fields. The circuit symbols for these sources
are shown in Fig. B.6.

B.7 Electricity and Magnetism

Electricity and magnetism are related phenomena. A changing electric field
always produces a magnetic field, and a changing magnetic field always pro-
duces an electric field. All electromagnetic phenomena can be traced to this
basic interrelationship. A few of the consequences of this interaction follow:

1. An electric current always produces a magnetic field at a direction

perpendicular to the current flow.
2. A current is induced in a conductor that moves perpendicular to a
magnetic field.
3. An oscillating electric charge emits electromagnetic waves at the
frequency of oscillation. This radiation propagates away from the source
at the speed of light. Radio waves, light, and X-rays are examples of
electromagnetic radiation.

FIGURE B.6 ! Circuit symbols for a battery and a generator.