1.

Discussion of theory

Electrical power- power is the rate at which work is done, and in the mechanical system is

generally expressed in horsepower, abbreviated hp. It is equivalent to the rate of 33, 000 ft-lb
of work per minute. This unit was originated by james watt in 1782 because he found it
necessary to specify how much power his new steam engines would develop in terms of the

horses push a crank as they walk in a 24- ft-diameter circle. This action resulted in the operation
of pumps that raised water to elevated tanks. Since the average horse was assumed to exert a
force of about 175lb and made 2 ½ complete revolutions per minute, it followed that 1 hp was

equivalent to 175 x (24 pi) x 2 1/2, or 33 000 ft-lb per minute. Later, when the unit of electrical
power was adopted, it was designated the watt in honor of the inventor james watt.

Following the fundamental definition of power, i.e. the time rate of doing work, the unit
of electrical power is defined in terms of the joule per second, the latter being the work done
when one coloumb of electricity is moved through a potential difference of one volt in one
second. Remembering that 1 coloumb per second is 1 amp. It follows that 1 joule per sec= 1
watt, and this is any product of E (volts) and I (amperes) that is unity. In general, therefore, the
power in watts is

P=ei

Since e=ir, p may be written in terms of I and r; thus

P=(ir)i=i2r

Every electronic and electrical appliance in this world runs with power. When this happens,
some energy is dissipated in the form of Heat. Whereas the Power is the flow of voltage and
current in a conductor or semiconductor.

As you know conductor is a material that allows the flow of electrons when an electric field
(E.M.F.) is applied. Electrons in pure conductor like copper move easily due to their less
resistance.

But, electrons in a conductor such as constantan are less influenced by an external force.
They need more driving force to conduct. This extra energy makes the conductor warm and
hence the temperature increases drastically.

To understand heat, here is a simple example. If we do some work (running or walking) for a
long time, we become warm and get tired.

In electricity also, the same thing happens. Heat is generated by electric current. For instance,
inside an electric heater, a soldering iron (soldering bit) is used.

The soldering iron contains a chrome-nickel wire tied to an insulating former. The wounded
resistance element is fixed to a copper rod. When the electric heater is turned on the wire gets
heats up.

Now let’s take up a little experiment to verify ohms law relation with power. I will
demonstrate 3 cases proving the importance of voltage, current, and power.

To do this experiment we need a torch bulb, current meter, and 4V Battery source.
 Case 1: One Bulb, Single Battery, and an Ammeter: Connect a torch bulb and current device
to the 4V Battery. The current meter will indicate a current of 0.1 Ampere. The bulb glows and
emits light. Here the electric current is converted to light.

Case 2: Two Bulbs, Two Batteries, and an Ammeter: Now connect two bulbs and a current
meter to 2 Voltage sources. The current drawn is 0.1A and the applied voltage is double than the
previous case. Due to high voltage, the bulbs will glow much brighter. Hence, we can say that
power is dependent on the applied voltage.

Case 3: Two Bulbs, Single One Battery, and three Ammeters: Connect the positive lead of
the battery to two bulbs along with two ammeters as shown and negative terminal to the third
ammeter. The two bulbs connected to two ammeters show 0.1A and third ammeter shows 0.2A
current for the same voltage. This proves that power is dependent on current as well as voltage.

Ohms law states current in an electrical circuit is directly proportional to the applied potential
and inversely proportional to the resistance.

The formula for the power can be defined in terms of voltage and current.

Power (W) = Current (I) × Voltage (V)

The units of power are Watt indicated by ‘W’. Semantically I can say, One watt of power is
generated if 1 Ampere of current flow through a resistance connected to the 1V battery source.
Since Ohm’s law states that Voltage is the resultant of current multiplied by resistance.

V=I×R

We can rewrite this equation as I=V/R. If we fix the resistance ‘R’ as constant and increase the
voltage (V), the current (I) will be doubled and if we fix the voltage ‘V’ and doubles the
resistance the current will become half. If we replace equation 2 in equation 1 we get, Power (in
terms of current) = I × R × R = I2 R Similarly, from I=V/R we can get power in the voltage form
as Power (in terms of voltage) = V2/R If we connect the bulbs for longer duration more amount
of energy is consumed and converted into light and heat. Therefore, power is dependent on time
also expressed in watt-second. Formula for power in terms of energy and time is given by P = W/
t = Work / Time

Heating up wires- As free electrons flow through wires, they collide with the ions in the
wire which causes the ions to vibrate more. This increased vibration of the ions increases the
temperature of the wire. Energy has been transferred from the electrical energy carried by the
electrons into the internal energy of the wire.

Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current
flowing through it, provided all physical conditions and temperatures remain constant.

Ohm’s law only holds true if the provided temperature and the other physical factors
remain constant. In certain components, increasing the current raises the temperature. An
example of this is the filament of a light bulb, in which the temperature rises as the current is
increased. In this case, Ohm’s law cannot be applied. The lightbulb filament violates Ohm’s
Law.

Ohm’s Law Statement: Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly
proportional to the current flowing through it, provided all physical conditions and temperature,
remain constant.
 Electrical Power, ( P ) in a circuit is the rate at which energy is absorbed or produced
within a circuit. A source of energy such as a voltage will produce or deliver power while the
connected load absorbs it. Light bulbs and heaters for example, absorb electrical power and
convert it into either heat, or light, or both. The higher their value or rating in watts the more
electrical power they are likely to consume. The quantity symbol for power is P and is the
product of voltage multiplied by the current with the unit of measurement being the Watt ( W ).
Prefixes are used to denote the various multiples or sub-multiples of a watt, such as: milliwatts
(mW = 10-3W) or kilowatts (kW = 103W).

Electrical components are given a “power rating” in watts that indicates the maximum
rate at which the component converts the electrical power into other forms of energy such as
heat, light or motion. For example, a 1/4W resistor, a 100W light bulb etc. Electrical devices
convert one form of power into another. So for example, an electrical motor will covert electrical
energy into a mechanical force, while an electrical generator converts mechanical force into
electrical energy. A light bulb converts electrical energy into both light and heat. Also, we now
know that the unit of power is the WATT, but some electrical devices such as electric motors
have a power rating in the old measurement of “Horsepower” or hp. The relationship between
horsepower and watts is given as: 1hp = 746W. So for example, a two-horsepower motor has a
rating of 1492W, (2 x 746) or 1.5kW.

If the electrical power consumed (or generated) is measured in watts or kilowatts

(thousands of watts) and the time is measure in hours not seconds, then the unit of electrical
energy will be the kilowatt-hours,(kWhr). Then our 100 watt light bulb above will consume
2,400 watt hours or 2.4kWhr, which is much easier to understand the 8,640,000 joules.

1 kWhr is the amount of electricity used by a device rated at 1000 watts in one hour and
is commonly called a “Unit of Electricity”. This is what is measured by the utility meter and is
what we as consumers purchase from our electricity suppliers when we receive our bills.
Kilowatt-hours are the standard units of energy used by the electricity meter in our homes to
calculate the amount of electrical energy we use and therefore how much we pay. So if you
switch ON an electric fire with a heating element rated at 1000 watts and left it on for 1 hour you
will have consumed 1 kWhr of electricity. If you switched on two electric fires each with 1000
watt elements for half an hour the total consumption would be exactly the same amount of
electricity – 1kWhr. So, consuming 1000 watts for one hour uses the same amount of power as
2000 watts (twice as much) for half an hour (half the time). Then for a 100 watt light bulb to use
1 kWhr or one unit of electrical energy it would need to be switched on for a total of 10 hours
(10 x 100 = 1000 = 1kWhr). Now that we know what is the relationship between voltage, current
and resistance in a circuit, in the next tutorial relating to DC Circuits, we will look at the
Standard Electrical Units used in electrical and electronic engineering to enable us to calculate
these values and see that each value can be represented by either multiples or sub-multiples of
the standard unit.
 II. Data and results
Objective a. demonstrate that electrical power is a function of voltage and current by
calculating and measuring the power is a function of a voltage and current by calculating and
measuring the power dissipated in a resistance as the voltage is increased.

Set-up: Figure 1.

Table 1. Calculated current (i) using 50 ohms as load resistors and power (p) dissipated in the
resistors.

Voltage (e) Current (i) Power (p)

2 2/50= 0.40 amp 2(.04)= 0.08 watt

4 4/50= 0.08 Amp 4(.08)= 0.32 Watt

6 6/50= 0,12 Amp 6(.12)= 0.72 Watt

8 8/50= 0.16 Amp 8(.16)= 1.28 watt

10 10/50= 0.20 amp 10(,2)= 2 watt

Formula:

P = (e)(i) and I = v/ r

Table 2. recorded current reading and calculated power using the recorded data.

Voltage (e) Current (i) Power (p)

2 0.40 amp 2(.03)= 0.06 watt

4 0.08 Amp 4(.05)= 0.20 Watt

6 0,12 Amp 6(.09)= 0.54 Watt

8 0.16 Amp 8(.13)= 1.04 watt

10 0.20 amp 10(,17)= 1.7 watt

Formula:

P = (e)(i)
questions and answers.
questions
a. Compare the calculated values in
table 1 with the measured values
on table 2.
What factors would account for
any differences in the two sets of
values?
What does power do?
b. consider the current and power
levels for 2- and 4-volts table 2. As
the voltage double from 2 to 4 volts
what does current do?
c. now consider the current and
power values recorded for 4 and 8
volts. Did the current double? Did
the current double? Did power
increase four times?
Objective B. determine that the resistance of a lamp filament varies with temperature.
A. measured cold resistance of lamp ds1.
Rcold = 5.6 ohms
b. figure 2.
answers
The data in table 1 is approximately equal in table 2. The
difference is not greater one.
When you measure something using a meter, the accuracy
of the meter can affect the accuracy of your measurements.
Additionally, measurement error (reading the meter at an
angle) can also cause your measured values to differ from
your calculated values. However, the difference should not
exceed 5-10%.
If voltage doubled and current doubled, power should have
increased four times since power is equal to the product of
voltage times current.
Ohm’s law and power tell us that the relationship of
voltage. Current, resistance and power is fixed and
therefore predictable. If current and power had been
recorded in table 2 only for 2 volt entry you could have
filled in the data for the 4 volt entry by multiplying the 2
volt current by 2 and the 2 volt power by 4.
Table 3. recorded and calculated power dissipated by the filament for each set voltage and
current values.

(e) vdc (i) adc (p) w R Ω

1 0.50 amp 1(.05)= 0.05 watt 20 Ω

2 0.12 amp 2(.12)= 0.24 Watt 16.67 Ω

3 0,22 amp 3(.22)= 0.66 Watt 13.63 Ω

4 0.26 amp 4(.26)= 1.04 watt 15.38 Ω

5 0.30 amp 5(,30)= 1.5 watt 16.67 Ω

Formula:

P = (e)(i) and I = v/ r

a. As the voltage and current increases, does the resistance of the filament increases?

It decreases from first to third value of voltage/current and increases from third to fifth value
of voltage/current.

B. how much greater was the filament resistance at one volt than wen cold?

14.4 Ω
c. what was the resistance increase from

1vdc to 2vdc? 3.33 Ω Decrease

2vdc to 3vdc? 3.04 Ω Decrease

3vdc to 4vdc? 1.75 Ω Increase

4vdc to 5vdc? 1.29 Ω Increase

Graph

D, are the increase the same (constant) for each 1-volt increment? No it is not constant

e. the resistance curve is non-linear.

III. Observation

The calculated values for current, power and resistance have a slight difference on the
measured values on the mentioned data on different tables. This is because of the factors
during the experiment namely the accuracy of meters and measurement error.

If the voltage and current doubled, power should have increased four times since power is
equal to the product of voltage times current. Additionally, the filament resistance increases
in a non-linear manner as the applied voltage increases.

iv. conclusion

Resistor tolerance, accuracy of the meters, and measurement error (reading the meter at
an angle) can cause the measured values to differ from the calculated values. However, the
difference should be no greater than 5 to 10 percent.

The voltage and current is directly proportional to the power. Power is equal to the
product of voltage and current squared.

Ohm’s law and power formula states that the relationship of voltage, current resistance
and power is fixed and consequently predictable. If current and power had been recorded in
table 2 only for the 2-volt entry could have filled in the data for the 4-volt entry by
multiplying the 2-volt current by 2 and the 2-volt power by 4.

As filament current increases, power dissipated by the filament increases, raising its
temperature until it glows. Thus power is dissipated in the form of heat and light.

V. reference

Kumar. 2018. Ohms law- heat and power. Retrieved from https://www.codrey.com/dc-
circuits/ohms-law-heat-power/

Siskind, c. 1980. Electrical circuits second edition. Mcgraw-hill international book

company.