2 Basic Concepts

EEE 1201: Electrical Circuits - 1 (DC)
Basic: Voltage, Current, Resistance
Course Teacher: Nafiz Ahmed Chisty
Head, Department of EEE

Associate Professor, Department of EEE & CoE
Faculty of Engineering
Room# D0105, D Building
Email: chisty@aiub.edu
Website: http://engg.aiub.edu/faculties/nafiz
Website: www.nachisty.com
Nafiz A. Chisty| Head, Dept of EEE; Associate Professor, Dept. of EEE & CoE, FE| chisty@aiub.edu
ATOMS AND THEIR STRUCTURE

Nafiz A. Chisty| Head, Dept of EEE; Associate Professor, Dept. of EEE & CoE, FE
❑Protons
❑Electrons
❑Neutrons
a) The orbiting electron carries a negative charge equal in magnitude to

the positive charge of the proton.
b) The atomic structure of any stable atom has an equal number of
electrons and protons.
Charge
❑ Charge is measured in units called

Coulombs, abbreviated C. 1 C is a whole lot
1 proton = 1.6 x 10-19 C of protons!
1 electron = -1.6 x 10-19 C 6.25 x 1018
protons in 1 C.
Electric Field
❑ We know that opposite charges attract each
other, and like charges repel.
❑ The presence of a charged particle creates an
electric field. +
❑ It can point in different directions and have
different strength depending on location.
Voltage
❑ It takes energy to move a charge against the direction of an electric

field (just like it takes energy to lift an object off the ground,
against gravity).
❑ Suppose it takes (positive) energy to move a charge from point a to
point b. Then we say point b is at a higher electric potential than
point a.
❑ The difference in electric potential between two points is called
voltage. Voltage, measured in Volts (V) indicates how much energy
it takes to move a charge from point to point.
V= W/Q
V = voltage (V)
Q = coulombs (C)
W = potential
energy (J)
a b
Unit: Volt (V)
❑ A potential difference of 1 volt (V) exists between two points if 1 joule

(J) of energy is exchanged in moving 1 coulomb (C) of charge between

the two points.
V = W/Q (volts)
• Electrical potential is the energy per unit charge gained or lost when a charge is
moved from some reference point at which the potential is defined to be zero.
• Voltage is the difference in potential between two arbitrary points at which the
potential is not necessarily zero.
Nafiz A. Chisty| Head, Dept of EEE; Associate Professor, Dept. of EEE & CoE, FE Nafiz A. Chisty| Head, Dept of EEE; Associate Professor, Dept. of EEE & CoE, FE| chisty@aiub.edu
Ex. 1-4 Find the potential difference between two points in an electrical system
if 60 J of energy are expended by a charge of 20 C between these two points.
W 60 J
V= = = 3V
Q 20 C
Ex. 1-5 Determine the energy expended moving a charge of 50 μC through a

potential difference of 6 V.
W = Q  V = 50  10 ( −6
) (6 V )
= 300  10 J = 300 J −6
Voltage Conventions
❑ Voltage is always measured between two points (just like

distance). We need to specify the “start” and “finish”.
❑ We can use subscript convention to define a voltage between two
labeled points.
If,
Vab = 5V
Vba= -5V
.
❑ When we put down a + and a – to specify a voltage, it is simply
a reference frame. We are not making a statement about
which point actually has the higher potential, since the voltage
in between can be negative!
Voltage Conventions: Ground

❑ Many times, a common point will be used as the starting (-) point
for several voltage measurements. This common point is called
common or ground.
❑ Voltages with respect to ground are often denoted using a single
subscript:
Va
❑ Notice the symbol for ground.
Symbols Used for

Specific Voltage Sources:
+
+
_ ~
_
Time-varying Solar Cell
Battery
source
These are all…

. Generator Voltage Sources
(power plant)
What Produces Voltage?

V = “Electrical pressure”
Battery Lab Power Supply
9V
Solar Cell
1.5 V
Electric
Power Plant
Nerve A few
Cell A few millivolts Volts
11,000 V
Current
FIG. 1 Random motion of electrons in a FIG. 2 Random motion of free

copper wire with no external electrons in an atomic structure.
“pressure” (voltage) applied.
The free electron is the charge With no external forces
carrier in a copper wire or any applied, the net flow of
other solid conductor of charge in a conductor
electricity. in any one direction is zero.
❑ An electric field (or applied energy) can cause charge to 11

move.
Current
❑ The amount of charge moving past a point per time unit is called
current.
❑ Current is measured in Coulombs per second, unit is Amperes
(abbreviated A and called Amps for short).
Q
I=
I = amperes (A)
Q = coulombs (C)
t = seconds (s)
t
❑Even though it is usually electrons that do the moving, current is
defined as the flow of positive charge.
Sign Convention for Current Flow

❑ Electrons carry negative charge
❑ Positive current flow is in opposite direction
- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
electron motion
positive current direction
Current Reference Direction

❑ Current also needs a reference frame. To define a current,

draw an arrow:
5A -5 A
❑ This says “the current moving through the device from left to
right is 5 A”.
❑ We could also say, “the current moving through the device
from right to left is -5 A”.
❑ Drawing an arrow does not make a statement about the
direction the current is actually going. It is just a reference
frame. You can draw arrows however you want when you
need to solve for currents.
Ex. 1-6 The charge flowing through an imaginary surface is 0.16 C every 64
ms. Determine the current in ampere.
−3
Q 0.16 C 160 10 C
I= = −3
= −3
= 2.50 A
t 64 10 s 64 10 s
Ex. 1-7 Determine the time required for 4 × 1016 electrons to pass through the
imaginary surface of Fig. 1.12 if the current is 5 mA.
−3
Q = 4 10 electron 
 1C 

Q 6. 41  10 C
t= =
16
 6.242  1018
electrons  I 5 10 −3 A
= 0.641 10 −2 C = 0.00641 C = 6.41 mC = 1.282 s
+++
When Does Current Flow?

Current can only flow through conductors
Metal wires (conductors)
+++
Current
flow
Conductors are those materials that permit a generous flow of electrons with very little
external force (voltage) applied.
When Does Current NOT Flow?

glass
Current cannot flow through insulators rubber
oil
asphalt
Plastic material (insulators) fiberglass
porcelain
ceramic
quartz
(dry) cotton
(dry) paper
(dry) wood
+++ plastic
air
pure water
No current
flow
Insulators are those materials that have very few free electrons and require a large applied
potential (voltage) to establish a measurable current level.
Wire
• Copper is the most widely used material because it

is quite malleable, ductile and available.
• Wire has a very small resistance.
• For simplicity, we will idealize wire in the following
way: the potential at all points on a piece of wire is
the same, regardless of the current going through
it.
Wire is a 0 Ω resistor
Note that Air is an Insulator

Current cannot flow through insulators
+++
Air
No current flow
That’s why a battery doesn’t

discharge if left on its own.
There can be nonzero voltage over

air or a hole in a circuit!
Fixed (DC) Supplies

The terminology DC is an abbreviation for Direct Current, which

means that the flow of electric charge is only in one direction
DC
AC
❑ Electric sources can be of two types:

i) Independent , or
ii) Dependent.
Independent sources:
❑ The sources that have their terminal values fixed

irrespective of any voltage or current in the circuit are
independent sources.
❑ These could be a voltage or a current source.
❑ An ideal source will have infinite capacity, ie its terminal

value will remain constant irrespective of the amount of
power drawn from the source.
❑ Practical sources have the limitation that the terminal

values decrease if the power drawn from the source is
excessively high.
Dependent sources:
❑ Dependent sources are those whose terminal values

are determined by another voltage or current from
some place in the circuit. This gives rise to four types
of dependent sources:
1.Voltage controlled voltage source, V= a V1
2.Current controlled voltage source, V= b I1
3.Voltage controlled current source, I= k V2
4.Current controlled current source. I= m I2
V1,V2, I1, I2 are the controlling quantities, a,b,k,m are the
multipliers with proper dimensions, to set the terminal
magnitudes.
AMPERE-HOUR RATING
The ampere-hour (Ah) rating provides an indication of how long a battery of

fixed voltage will be able to supply a particular current.
A battery with an ampere-hour rating of 100 will theoretically provide a current of 1 A

for 100 hours, 10 A for 10 hours, or 100 A for 1 hour. Quite
EXAMPLE: How long will a 9 V battery with an ampere-hour rating of

520 mAh provide:
(a) current of 1 mA?
(b) current of 20 mA?
(c) current of 520 mA?
520 𝑚𝐴ℎ 520 𝑚𝐴ℎ 520 𝑚𝐴ℎ

(a) 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 = = 520h (b) 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 = = 26h (c) 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 = = 1h
1 𝑚𝐴 20 𝑚𝐴 520 𝑚𝐴
the capacity of a battery (in ampere-hours) will change with change in current demand.
Resistance
The flow of charge through any material encounters an opposing

force similar in many aspect to mechanical friction. This opposition,
due to the collisions between electrons and other atoms in the material,
which converts electrical energy into another form of energy such as
heat, is called the resistance of the material. The unit of measurement
of resistance is the ohm (Ω).
At a fixed temperature, the resistance is related to the other three

factor by
l
R =r
ρ : resistivity of the sample
l : the length of the sample
A : cross-sectional area
A
Resistance: Circular Wires

The mil is a unit of measurement for length and is related to the inch by
a wire with a diameter of 1 mil has an area of 1 CM.
For conductors that are not circular,

EXAMPLE 3.1: What is the resistance of a 100 ft length

of copper wire with a diameter of 0.020 in. at 20°C?
Given: l = 100 ft
d=
Therefore,
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
❑ Temperature has a significant effect on the resistance of conductors,

semiconductors and insulators.
❑ For good conductors, an increase in temperature will result in an
increase in the resistance level. Consequently, conductors have
positive temperature coefficients.
❑ For semiconductor materials and insulators, an increase in
temperature will result in a decrease in the resistance level.
Consequently, semiconductors and insulators have negative
temperature coefficients.
Effect of temperature on resistance of

copper
The temperature of -234.5°C is called the inferred absolute temperature |T|

of copper.
Conductance
The quantity of how well the material will conduct electricity

is called conductance (S).
1
G = (siemens, S)
R
Indicating that increasing
A
G= the area or decreasing
r l
(S) either the length or the
resistivity will increase the
Conductance.
Reference
[1] Robert L. Boylestad, “Introductory Circuit Analysis”, 12th Edition, Prentice Hall Inc
Thanks
Ammeters and Voltmeters

It is important to be able to measure the current and voltage levels of

an operating electrical system to check its operation, isolate
malfunctions, and investigate effects. Ammeters are used to measure
current levels while voltmeters are used to measure the potential
difference between two points.
❑ Volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM) / digital multimeter (DMM): These can measure both

voltage and current.
❑ The VOM uses an analog scale, DMM provides a display of numbers with decimal point
TYPES OF RESISTORS
❑ Resistors are made in many forms but all belong in either of two groups:
❑Fixed resistors – are made of metal films, high-resistance wire or
carbon composition.
❑Variable resistors – have a terminal resistance that can be varied by

turning a dial, knob, screw, or anything else appropriate for the
application.
TYPES OF RESISTORS
❑ Variable resistors can have two or three terminals. Most have three.
❑ Variable resistors are classified as a rheostat or a potentiometer,

depending upon the application.
❑Rheostat: Two- or three-terminal device used as a variable resistor
❑Potentiometer: Three-terminal device used for controlling potential

levels.
COLOR CODING AND STANDARD RESISTOR VALUES

Color coding was developed to identify resistors that were too small for their
resistance value to be printed on them.
❑Color bands are always read from the end that has the bands closest to it.
❑1st and 2nd band represent the first two digits. 3rd band determines the power-
of-ten multiplier (the number of zeros following the second digit). 4th band is the
manufacturer’s tolerance (precision of the resistor). The fifth band is a reliability
factor, which gives the percentage of failure per 1000 hours of use.
Band 1-2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5
0 Black 100 5% Gold 1% Brown
1 Brown 101 10% Silver 0.1% Red
2 Red 102 20% No band 0.01% Orange
3 Orange 103 0.01% Yellow
4 Yellow 104
5 Green 105
6 Blue 106
7 Violet 107
8 Gray 108
9 White 109
Ohmmeters
The ohmmeter is an instrument used to perform the following tasks

and several other useful functions.
1. Measure the resistance of individual or combined elements
2. Direct open-circuit (high-resistance) and short-circuit (low-
resistance) situations
3. Check continuity of network connections and identify wires of a
multi-lead cable
4. Test some semiconductor devices
FIGURE 1.7 Measuring the resistance of a FIGURE 1.8 Checking the continuity of a
single element. connection.

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EEE 1201: Electrical Circuits - 1 (DC)

Basic: Voltage, Current, Resistance

Course Teacher: Nafiz Ahmed Chisty

Head, Department of EEE

ATOMS AND THEIR STRUCTURE

a) The orbiting electron carries a negative charge equal in magnitude to

❑ Charge is measured in units called

❑ It takes energy to move a charge against the direction of an electric

❑ A potential difference of 1 volt (V) exists between two points if 1 joule

(J) of energy is exchanged in moving 1 coulomb (C) of charge between

Ex. 1-5 Determine the energy expended moving a charge of 50 μC through a

❑ Voltage is always measured between two points (just like

Voltage Conventions: Ground

Symbols Used for

Specific Voltage Sources:

These are all…

What Produces Voltage?

Battery Lab Power Supply

FIG. 1 Random motion of electrons in a FIG. 2 Random motion of free

❑ An electric field (or applied energy) can cause charge to 11

Sign Convention for Current Flow

❑ Positive current flow is in opposite direction

Current Reference Direction

❑ Current also needs a reference frame. To define a current,

When Does Current Flow?

Current can only flow through conductors

Metal wires (conductors)

When Does Current NOT Flow?

• Copper is the most widely used material because it

Note that Air is an Insulator

Current cannot flow through insulators

That’s why a battery doesn’t

There can be nonzero voltage over

Fixed (DC) Supplies

The terminology DC is an abbreviation for Direct Current, which

❑ Electric sources can be of two types:

❑ The sources that have their terminal values fixed

❑ These could be a voltage or a current source.

❑ An ideal source will have infinite capacity, ie its terminal

❑ Practical sources have the limitation that the terminal

❑ Dependent sources are those whose terminal values

The ampere-hour (Ah) rating provides an indication of how long a battery of

A battery with an ampere-hour rating of 100 will theoretically provide a current of 1 A

EXAMPLE: How long will a 9 V battery with an ampere-hour rating of

520 𝑚𝐴ℎ 520 𝑚𝐴ℎ 520 𝑚𝐴ℎ

The flow of charge through any material encounters an opposing

At a fixed temperature, the resistance is related to the other three

Resistance: Circular Wires

a wire with a diameter of 1 mil has an area of 1 CM.

For conductors that are not circular,

EXAMPLE 3.1: What is the resistance of a 100 ft length

of copper wire with a diameter of 0.020 in. at 20°C?

❑ Temperature has a significant effect on the resistance of conductors,

Effect of temperature on resistance of

The temperature of -234.5°C is called the inferred absolute temperature |T|

The quantity of how well the material will conduct electricity

Ammeters and Voltmeters

It is important to be able to measure the current and voltage levels of

❑ Volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM) / digital multimeter (DMM): These can measure both

❑Variable resistors – have a terminal resistance that can be varied by

❑ Variable resistors are classified as a rheostat or a potentiometer,

❑Rheostat: Two- or three-terminal device used as a variable resistor

❑Potentiometer: Three-terminal device used for controlling potential