EE006-Basic Electrical Engg.
current, AC is always changing and repeatedly
Module 1
Introduction to Electric Circuits
The invention of the battery -- which could produce a
continuous flow of current -- made possible the
development of the first electric circuits. Alessandro
Volta invented the first battery, the voltaic pile, in
1800. The very first circuits used a battery and
electrodes immersed in a container of water. The
flow of current through the water produced
hydrogen and oxygen. Electric circuit theory and
electromagnetic theory are the two fundamental
theories upon which all branches of electrical
engineering are built.
The first widespread application of electric circuits
for practical use was for electric lighting. Shortly
after Thomas Edison invented his incandescent light
bulb, he sought practical applications for it by
developing an entire power generation and
distribution system. The first such system in the
United States was the Pearl Street Station in
downtown Manhattan. It provided a few square
blocks of the city with electric power, primarily for
illumination.
One classification of circuits has to do with the
nature of the current flow. The earliest circuits were
battery-powered, which made in a steady, constant
current that always flowed in the same direction.
This is direct current, or DC. The use of DC continued
through the time of the first electric power systems.
A major problem with the DC system was that power
stations could serve an area of only about a square
mile because of power loss in the wires.
In 1883, engineers proposed harnessing the
tremendous hydroelectric power potential of
Niagara Falls to supply the needs of Buffalo, N.Y.
Although this power would ultimately go beyond
Buffalo to New York City and even farther, there was
an initial problem with distance. Buffalo was only 16
miles from Niagara Falls, but the idea was
unworkable -- until Nikola Tesla made it possible.
Engineer Nikola Tesla, aided by theoretical work by
Charles Proteus Steinmetz, came up with the idea of
using alternating current, or AC. Unlike direct
reverses direction.
So why was AC the answer to the problem of long-
distance power transmission? With AC, it's possible
to use transformers to change voltage levels in a
circuit. Transformers work on a principle of magnetic
induction, which requires a changing magnetic field
produced by the alternating current. With
transformers, voltages can be increased for long-
distance transmission. At the receiving end, the
voltage level can decrease to a safer 220V or 110V
for business and residential use.
We need high voltages for long distances because
wire resistance causes power loss. The electrons
bumping into atoms lose energy in the form of heat
as they travel. This power loss is proportional to the
square of the amount of current moving through the
wire.
Many branches of electrical engineering, such as
power, electric machines, control, electronics,
communications, and instrumentation, are based on
electric circuit theory. Therefore, the basic electric
circuit theory course is the most important course
for an electrical engineering student, and always an
excellent starting point for a beginning student in
electrical engineering education. Circuit theory is
also valuable to students specializing in other
branches of the physical sciences because circuits
are a good model for the study of energy systems in
general, and because of the applied mathematics,
physics, and topology involved. In electrical
engineering, we are often interested in
communicating or transferring energy from one
point to another. To do this requires an
interconnection of electrical devices. Such
interconnection is referred to as an electric circuit,
and each component of the circuit is known as an
element.
An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical
elements. A simple electric circuit is shown in Figure
1. It consists of three basic elements: a battery, a
lamp, and connecting wires. Such a simple circuit can
exist by itself; it has several applications, such as a
flashlight, a search light, and so forth.
 
 circuit: How does it respond to a given input? How
do the interconnected elements and devices in the
circuit interact? We commence our study by defining
some basic concepts. These concepts include charge,
current, voltage, circuit elements, power, and
energy.

1.2. Fundamental Systems of Units

As engineers, we deal with measurable

quantities. Our measurement, however,
must be communicated in a standard
Figure 1. Simple Electric Circuit
language that virtually all professionals can
understand, irrespective of the country
where the measurement is conducted. Such
an international measurement language is
the International System of Units (SI),
adopted by the General Conference on
Weights and Measures in 1960. In this
system, there are six principal units from
which the units of all other physical
quantities can be derived. Table 1 shows
the six units, their symbols, and the physical
quantities they represent. The SI units are
used throughout this article. One great
advantage of the SI unit is that it uses
prefixes based on the power of 10 to relate
larger and smaller units to the basic unit.
Table 2 shows the SI prefixes and their
symbols. For example, the following are
expressions of the same distance in meters
(m):

600,000,000mm 600km 600,000m

Figure 2. Electric circuit of a radio receiver

Table 1. Six basic SI units 

A complicated real circuit is displayed in Figure 2,
representing the schematic diagram for a radio
receiver. Although it seems complicated, this circuit
can be analyzed using the techniques. Our goal is to
learn various analytical techniques and computer
software applications for describing the behavior of
a circuit like this. Electric circuits are used in
numerous electrical systems to accomplish different
tasks. Our objective is not the study of various uses
and applications of circuits. Rather our major
concern is the analysis of the circuits. By the analysis
of a circuit, we mean a study of the behavior of the
Table 2: The SI prefixes  Electric Current (I) – is the rate of flow of
charges, measured in amperes (A).

1 A = 1 C/s

i=dq/dt
 Andre-Marie Ampere – French
mathematician who defined the electric
current and developed a way to measure it
in 1820s.

Figure 1. Electric Current due to Flow of

1.3. Basic Concepts of Electric Circuits
Electronic Charge in a Conductor
Charge and Current

The concept of electric charge is the underlying

 Direct Current (DC) – current that remains
principle for explaining all electrical phenomena.
constant with time.
Also, the most basic quantity in an electric circuit is
the electric charge. We all experience the effect of
electric charge when we try to remove our wool
sweater and have it stick to our body or walk across
a carpet and receive a shock.

 Charge (Q or q) – is an electrical property of

the atomic particles of matter, measured in
coulombs (C)

 Electric Charge Fundamentals

1.

1. There are 6.24 x 1018 electrons in 1

C of charge.

2. 1 e = -1.602 x 10-19 C
Figure 2. Direct Current
3. The law of conservation of charge
states that charge can neither be
created nor destroyed, it can only
be transferred.
  Alternating Current (AC) – current that
varies sinusoidally with time.
Power

 Power – time rate of expending or

absorbing energy, measured in watts
(W)

P = V I
where:                 

   P = instantaneous power

   V = voltage

    I = current

Figure 3. Alternating Current

 Voltage
 Electromotive Force (emf) or Voltage (V)- is
the energy required to move a unit charge
through an element, measured in volts (V).
1 V = 1 J/C
 Alessandro Antonio Volta – Italian physicist
who invented the electric battery, which
provided the first continuous flow of
electricity.
 Passive sign convention – is satisfied
when the current enters through the
positive terminal of an element
and p = + v i . If the current enters
through the negative terminal, 
p = − v i.
+power absorbed=-power supplied
Energy
 Energy – capacity to do work,
measured in Joules (J)

1 Watt-hour = 3600J
Circuit Elements

 Element - basic building block of a circuit

 Circuit analysis - process of determining

voltages across (or the currents through)
the elements of the circuit

 Two Types of Elements

1.

1. Passive elements - not capable of

generating energy
Figure 4. Two Equivalent 1. resistors
Representations of the Same Voltage
2. capacitors
 3. inductors above the pipe, which tries to push water down
through the pipe. But there may be an equally large
2. Active elements – capable of
water pressure below the pipe, which tries to push
generating energy
water back up through the pipe. If these pressures
1. Generators are equal, no water flows. 

2. Batteries Materials are important as well. A pipe filled with

3. Operational amplifiers
 Two Kinds of Sources
1. Ideal Independent Source - active element
that provides a specified voltage or current
that is completely independent of other
circuit elements.
2. Ideal Dependent (or Controlled) Source -
active element in which the source quantity
is controlled by another voltage or current.
hair restricts the flow of water more than a clean
pipe of the same shape and size. Similarly, electrons
can flow freely and easily through a copper wire, but
cannot flow as easily through a steel wire of the
same shape and size, and they essentially cannot
flow at all through an insulator like rubber,
regardless of its shape. The difference between
copper, steel, and rubber is related to their
microscopic structure and electron configuration,
and is quantified by a property called resistivity.
Resistance

  Resistance - ability to resist the flow of

electric current; it is measured in ohms (Ω).
o A voltage-controlled voltage
source (VCVS). 1Ω = 1 V/A
o A current-controlled voltage R = ρ ℓ /A
source (CCVS).
            Where:
o A voltage-controlled current
source (VCCS). R = resistance

o A current-controlled current                          ρ = resistivity

source (CCCS).                          ℓ  = length
1.4. Resistance and Conductance                          A = cross-sectional area
In the hydraulic analogy, current flowing through a
wire (or resistor) is like water flowing through a pipe,
and the voltage drop across the wire is like the
pressure drop that pushes water through the pipe.
Conductance is proportional to how much flow
occurs for a given pressure, and resistance is
proportional to how much pressure is required to
achieve a given flow. (Conductance and resistance
are reciprocals.)

The voltage drop (i.e., difference between voltages

on one side of the resistor and the other), not the
voltage itself, provides the driving force pushing
current through a resistor. In hydraulics, it is similar:
The pressure difference between two sides of a pipe,
not the pressure itself, determines the flow through Figure 1. Resistor and Circuit Symbol for Resistance
it. For example, there may be a large water pressure
Table 1. Resistivities of Common Materials

Figure 2. Fixed resistors: (a) wirewound type, (b)

carbon film type.

 Short circuit – a circuit element with

resistance approaching zero
Figure 3. Variable resistors: (a) composition type, (b)
 Open circuit - a circuit element with slider pot.
resistance approaching infinity

 Two Types of Resistors

Conductance
1. Fixed Resistor
 Conductance – ability of an element to
2. Variable Resistor conduct electric current; it is measured in
mhos or siemens (S)

G = 1 /R = I /V
            Where: G = conductance

                        R = resistance

1.5. Ohm's Law

A hydraulic analogy is sometimes used to describe

Ohm's law. Water pressure, measured by pascals (or
PSI), is the analog of voltage because establishing a
water pressure difference between two points along
a (horizontal) pipe causes water to flow. Water flow
rate, as in liters per second, is the analog of current,
as in coulombs per second. Finally, flow restrictors—
such as apertures placed in pipes between points
where the water pressure is measured—are the
analog of resistors. We say that the rate of water
flow through an aperture restrictor is proportional to
the difference in water pressure across the
restrictor. Similarly, the rate of flow of electrical
charge, that is, the electric current, through an
electrical resistor is proportional to the difference in
voltage measured across the resistor.
In the circuit shown in Figure 2, calculate
the current I, the conductance G, and the
power P.

Flow and pressure variables can be calculated in fluid

flow network with the use of the hydraulic ohm
analogy. The method can be applied to both steady
and transient flow situations. In the linear laminar
flow region, Poiseuille's law describes the hydraulic
resistance of a pipe, but in the turbulent flow region
the pressure–flow relations become nonlinear.

The hydraulic analogy to Ohm's law has been used,

for example, to approximate blood flow through the
circulatory system. Figure 2. Sample Circuit

 Georg Simon Ohm (1787–1854), a German Solution:

physicist, in 1826 experimentally
determined the most basic law relating
voltage and current for a resistor. Ohm’s
work was initially denied by critics. Born of
humble beginnings in Erlangen, Bavaria,
Ohm threw himself into electrical research.
His efforts resulted in his famous law. He
was awarded the Copley Medal in 1841 by
the Royal Society of London. In 1849, he
was given the Professor of Physics chair by
the University of Munich. To honor him, the
unit of resistance was named the ohm.

 Ohm’s law - states that the voltage across a

resistor is directly proportional to the current
flowing through the resistor.

The voltage across the resistor is the same

V = I R
as the source voltage (30 V) because the
            where: V = voltage resistor and the voltage source are
connected to the same pair of terminals.
                        I = current Hence, the current is
                        R = resistance

Example: