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Understanding Basic Electrical Theory

This document provides an overview of basic electrical theory, including: - Electricity is invisible yet can hurt you, and we have learned to control and predict it. Matter is anything that takes up space as solid, liquid, or gas, made of atoms and molecules. - Conductors, insulators, and semiconductors determine how well materials support electric current flow. Conductors like copper transmit electricity well, while insulators like wood do not. - Other key terms are voltage (electrical pressure), current (flow of electrons), and resistance (restriction of flow). Direct current flows one way, while alternating current reverses direction periodically.

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156 views13 pages

Understanding Basic Electrical Theory

This document provides an overview of basic electrical theory, including: - Electricity is invisible yet can hurt you, and we have learned to control and predict it. Matter is anything that takes up space as solid, liquid, or gas, made of atoms and molecules. - Conductors, insulators, and semiconductors determine how well materials support electric current flow. Conductors like copper transmit electricity well, while insulators like wood do not. - Other key terms are voltage (electrical pressure), current (flow of electrons), and resistance (restriction of flow). Direct current flows one way, while alternating current reverses direction periodically.

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Basic Electrical Theory

● Basic electricity
● It’s invisible
● It can hurt you
● We control it
● We predict it
○ Until recently nobody could agree which way it flowed
Current flow theory
● There are two theories on how current flows in a circuit.

● Electron theory (- to +)
● Conventional theory(+ to -)
Matter
● Anything that takes up space 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

● Examples of good conductors


○ Copper
○ Gold
○ Aluminum
○ Steel
Insulators
● An insulator protects you not cable of supporting electricity.

● Examples of good insulators


○ Wood
○ Glass
○ Ceramics
○ Most plastics
Semicoductors
● A semiconductor is neither a good insulator nor a good conductor.

● Examples of semiconductors:
○ Silicon
○ Geranium
○ Carbon
Terms to know
● Voltage
○ Pressure hose

● Current
○ Flow of water in the hose

● Resistance
○ Kink in the hose restricting water
Voltage
● The higher the voltage the more current flow it creates.

● To keep current flowing it is necessary to maintain electrical pressure.


Current
● Electrical current is the movement of electrons through a conductor, such as
wire.
● Current is measure in amps
Resistance
● Resistance to current flow
● It is resistance to load
● Resistance is measure in ohms

● The five basic principles of resistance


○ The material
○ The length of the conductor
○ The diameter of the cord
○ The temperature
○ The physical conduction of the conductor
DC
● Direct current
With direct current, electricity flows in one direction between power and ground. In this
arrangement there is always a positive source of voltage and a ground source.

Red positive

Black negative
AC
With alternating current, the direction electricity flows through the circuit is
constantly reversing. You may even say is is alternating direction. The rate of
reversal is measured in herts, which is the reversal is per second. So, when they
say us power supply is 60 Hz, when reversing 120 times per second

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