Basic Electrical Theory

Engineering 2
8/17/22
By Madison Burt
Basic Electricity
● Its 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?

Circuit Theories
● There are two theories on how current flows in a
circuit.
○ Electron Theory (- to +)
○ Conventional Theory (+ to -)
Matter
● Anything that takes up space and has mass is
considered matter
● Matter can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas
● Matter is made up of different combinations of
atoms which are called molecules.
Conductors
● A conductor supports the flow of electricity
through it
● Examples of good conductors:
○ Copper
○ Gold
○ Aluminum
○ Steel
Insulators
● An insulator is not capable of supporting the
flow of electricity
● Examples of good insulators:
○ Rubber
○ Wood
○ Ceramics
○ Most plastics
Semiconductors
● A semiconductor is neither a good conductor
nor a good insulator
● Examples of semiconductors:
○ Silicon
○ Germanium
○ Carbon
Terms to know
● Voltage
○ Pressure
● Current
○ Flow of electricity
● Resistance
○
○ A block in the flow of electricity
Voltage
● The higher the voltage, the more current flow it
can create
● To keep current flowing, it is necessary to
maintain electrical pressure. (Voltage)
Current
● Electrical current is the movement (intensity) 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
● It is a resistance to load
○ Load is anything that can do work for you
● Resistance is measure in ohms

There are Five Basic Characteristics That

Determine Resistance

1. The Material
2. The length of the conductor
3. The diameter of the conductor
4. Temperature
5. The physical condition of the conductor
DC
● With direct current, electricity flow in one
direction between power and ground. In this
arrangement there is always a positive source
of voltage ground (OV) source of voltage.
AC
● With Alternate current, the direction electricity
flows throughout the circuit constantly
reversing. You may even say that it is alternate
direction. The rate of reversal is measure in
Hertz, which is the number of revals per second.
So when they say that the US power supply is 60
HZ what they mean is that it is reversing 120
times per second (twice per cycle).