Basic electrical

theory
● Basic electrical theory
○ It’s invisible
○ It can hurt you
○ We can control it
○ We can predict it
■ Until recently nobody agreed which way it flowed (+ to -) or (- to +) and did it even flow at all?
● There are two theories on how current flows in a
circuit.
○ Electron Theory (- to +)
○ Conventional theory (+ to -)
● Matter
○ Anything that makes up space and time and has mass is considered matter.
○ Matter can be solid, liquid or gas
○ Matter is made out of different combinations of atoms which are called molecules.
● Insulators
○ An insulator is not capable of supporting the flow
of electricity
○ Ex:
■ Rubber
■ Wood
■ Glass
■ Most plastics
● Semiconductors
○ A semiconductor is nether a conductor nor
a good insulator
○ Ex:
■ Silicon
■ Germanium
■ Carbon
● Term to know
○ Voltage
■ Pressure in a hose
○ Current
■ Flow of water in that hose
○ Resistance
■ Kink in the hose restricting the water
● Voltage
○ The higher the voltage the more current
flow can be created
○ To keep current flowing, it is necessary to
maintain electrical pressure
● Current
○ Electrical Current is the movement
(intencity) of electrons through a
conductor, such as a wire.
○ Electrical current may be compared to
water current flowing through a pipe
○ The amount of current flow is measured in
amperes
● Resistance
○ Resistance to current flow
■ The kink in the water hose
○ It is a resistance to load
■ Load is anything that can do work for
you
○ Resistance is measured in ohms
● The five basic characteristics that determine
resistance
○ The material
○ The length of the conductor
○ The diameter of the conductor
○ The physical condition of the conductor
● DC
○ With Direct Current, electricity flows in one
direction between power and ground. In
this arrangement there is always a positive
sources of voltage and ground(0V) source
of voltage.
● AC
○ With alternating current, the direction
electricity flows thoughtght the circuit is
constantly reversing. You may even say
that it is alternating direction. The rate of
reversal is measured in Hertz, which is the
number of reversals per second. So, when
they mean is that it is reversing 120 times
per second (Twice per cycle)