Basic Electrical Theory

Basic electricity

● IT’s invisible
● It’s can hurt you
● Wecan control it
● We can predict it
○ Until recently nobody agreed which way it flowed (+ to - or (- to +) and did it even flow at all
Current flow theories

● There are two theories on how current flows in a circuit

○ Electron Theory (- to +0
○ 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 sports 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 Insulator:
○ Rubber
○ Wood
○ Ceramics
○ Most plastics
Semiconductors

● A semiconductor is neither a good conductor nor good insulator

● Examples of semiconductors:
○ Silicon
○ Germanium
○ carbon
Terms to know

● Voltage
○ Pressure in a hose

● Current
○ Flow of the water in that hose
● Resistance
○ kink in the hose restricting the water
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

○ (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 ahms
● The five basic characteristics that determine resistance
○ The material
○ The length of the conductor
○ The diameter of the conductor
○ Temperature
○ The physical condition of the conductor
DC

With direct current, electricity flows in ne direction between power and ground. In this arrangement there is
always a positive source of voltage and ground (ov) source of Voltage.
AC

With alternating current, the direction electricity flows throughout the circuit is constantly resersing. 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 say that the US power supply is 60 hz, what they mean is thatis is
reversing 120 times per second ( twice per cycle)