Circuits, Currents, and Voltages

Hien Vo
ECE Department
Vietnamese German University
 Outline
 Electrical current and charge
 Water-model analogy
 Voltage
 Power and energy
 Kirchhoff’s current and voltage law
 Resistance
 Ohm’s Law
 Resistive circuit analysis
Engineering Unit Prefixes
Prefix Symbol Value/Scale
tera T 10 12
giga G 10 9
mega M 10 6
kilo k 10 3
milli m 10 -3
micro  10 -6
nano n 10 -9
pico p 10 -12
femto f 10 -15
 Examples: MHz, Gbytes, k  , mA, kWh…
 Review: Atomic Structure
Structure of Copper Atom

 Atomic nucleus comprises of positively charged protons and

neutral neutrons
 Negatively charged electrons revolve around the nucleus in
multiple elliptical orbits at different shells
 Current and Charge
 Each electron carries an electrical charge
of –1.602 x 10 –19 coulombs (C)
18
 1C = the charge of 6.242 x 10 electrons
 Variable: Q. Unit: coulomb (C)
 Current
 flow rate of electrical charge through a
conductor or a circuit element
 Variable: I, i(t)
André-Marie Ampère
 Unit: ampere (A). 1A=1C/s (1775 – 1836)
 Current-charge relationship
t
d
i (t )  q(t ) q(t )   i(t )dt  q(t 0 )
dt t
0
 DC versus AC
 DC
 Direct current
 Current that is constant with time
 Abuse of notation: DC = constant
 For examples, I=3A or V=12V Thomas Edison
 AC (1847 – 1931)
 Alternating current
 Current that varies with time, for example,
current that reverses its direction
periodically (sinusoidal)
 Abuse of notation: AC = time-varying
 For examples, i (t )  2 cos2t ;
v(t )  12 cos200t 
Nikola Tesla
(1856 – 1943)
 Water-Model Analogy
 We cannot see electric current flowing in a wire
 Water-model or fluid-flow analogy helps us
visualize the behaviors of electrical circuits and
elements
 Current = flow of electrical charges ~~ flow of
water molecules
wire / pipe
 Assumptions
 Frictionless pipes i(t)
 No gravity effect
 Incompressible water
cross section
 Material Types
 Conductors
 Materials through which electric currents flow easily
 Examples: metals such as copper, gold, aluminum…
 Insulators
 Materials that do not conduct electricity
 Examples: ceramics, plastic, rubber, glass, air…
 Semiconductors
 Poor conductors such as silicon and germanium until
they are doped with arsenic, phosphorous, or boron
 Examples: transistors, diodes…
 Superconductors
 Special materials that become perfect conductors
below certain critical temperatures
Simple Electrical Circuit
 Voltage
 Voltage
 Measured between two points (terminals)
 Energy transferred per unit of charge that
flows from one terminal to the other
 Intuitive interpretations: potential
Alessandro Volta
difference, water pressure in water model
(1745 – 1827)
 Variable: v(t ), Vin ,Vout ,V1 ,V2 
 Unit: volt (V)
 Water models
 For constant voltage sources
 Constant-pressure water pump
 Constant-torque motor  
 Energy and Power
 Power
 Work produced or dissipated per unit time
 Variable: P
 Unit: watt (W).
 Instantaneous power: p(t )  v (t ) i (t )
 Energy
 When a charge moves in an electrical circuits, it
converts energy from one form to another
This is how
 Variable: E
we pay
 Unit: joule (J) 1 J = 1 watt-second (Ws) for electricity:
t 1 kWh=3.6 MJ

 Instantaneous energy: e(t )  p(t )dt
0
 Average Power ≈ Energy
 Average power
 Integrate instantaneous power over one period then
normalize by the length of the time period
 Example
v(t )  A sin  t  i (t )  sin  t .
A
Find Pave .
R
T T T
1 A2
sin 2  t dt
1 1
Pave   p(t )dt   v(t )i (t )dt  
T 0 T 0 T 0 R
T T
1 A2 1 A2 A2
  1  cos2 t dt   dt 
T 0 2R T 0 2R 2R
 Kirchhoff’s Current Law
N
 Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) i
n 1
n (t )  0
 Conservation of electrical currents
 The sum of all the currents into a node is zero
 The sum of the currents entering a node equals the
sum of the currents leaving a node
node
i1 i3 i1 i3

i2 i2
i1  i2  i3  0
i1  i2  i3 Gustav Kirchhoff
(1824 – 1887)
 KCL in Action
 Series Circuits iA
N1
 Elements in circuit are A
connected end to end
B iB
N1 : i A  i B C
N 2 : i B  iC iC
N2
 i A  i B  iC

 Example 1A
1A
3A 2A 3A 2A

i? 4A
2A
i  2 A
 Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) N


 Conservation of energy
v
n 1
n (t )  0

 The sum of the voltages around any closed path

(loop) is zero
loop 3
 Example
+1 _ _3 +
+ + +
9_ loop 1 5_ loop 2 12
_
3+ +4
_

_
Loop1 : 1V  5V  3V  9V  0 Loop 2 :  3V  12V  4V  5V  0
Loop 3 : 1V  3V  12V  4V  3V  9V  0
 More on KVL
 Conservation of energy vA _
+
p a  pb  p c  0 A
+
i B _v B
 v a i  vb i  v c i  0
 v a  vb  v c  0 C
+ v _
C

 Parallel circuits
 Parallel elements shares the same pair of terminals
 v a  vb  0  v a  vb
+ + +
A _v A B _v B C _v C  vb  vc  0  vb  vc
 v a  vb  v c
 Resistor
 Resistor
 Electrical component that resists the current flow
 Variable: R
 Unit: ohm  
 Practical applications: incandescent light bulbs;
electric heaters, ovens, ranges, and blankets; car
window defrosters; fuses; current-limiting devices…
1
 Conductance G 
R
 Water models for a resistor
R R R
~
=

constriction sponge
Resistor Color Code

Various Types of Resistors

 Resistors in Practice
Incandescent Light Bulb

Resistive Touch-screen Power Amplifier

 Ohm’s Law
 Ohm’s Law v(t )  i(t ) R

i(t ) R v(t)
_
+ i(t)
v(t )
V Georg Ohm
I R (1789 – 1854)

 Ohm’s Law for current i(t )  v(t ) G

 Power dissipated in a resistor
2
v (t )
p (t )  i (t ) v(t )  i (t ) R 
2