Electricity

GENERATION: Electricity is produced when certain forces (mechanical, magnetic,

heat, or light) interact with energy resources — sunlight, wind, water, natural gas,
coal, oil, nuclear. Various processes convert the potential energy from these
resources to electric current, which is the movement of charged particles.
 
TRANSMISSION: Electric current then moves to an interconnected group of power
lines and other equipment. These lines move electricity from its source, often
transmitting high voltage electric current across great distances.
 
DISTRIBUTION: Devices called transformers then reduce the voltage of the
electricity and move it to another set of lines and equipment that connect directly to
the homes and businesses in your community.
 

 
 
What Are the Sources of Electricity?
 

Availability of Electricity

Some sources of power can be ramped up and down fairly easily, while others must run
continuously. Continuously operating plants are also called “base load resources” and
plants that are used only when energy use increases are called “intermediate” or “peaking”
resources. Renewable sources generate electricity only when there is sufficient energy, such
as from the wind or sun, and in the absence of associated storage capacity, are considered
“intermittent” or “variable” resources. 

Where Electricity Travels

The electric transmission network in the United States is organized into three
interconnections – large grids that operate in sync and are carefully coordinated to prevent
widespread blackouts. These interconnections effectively set boundaries for where
electricity flows across the U.S.
Buying and Selling Electricity

Power suppliers can sell the power they generate or transmit in wholesale power markets.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates this wholesale sale of electricity. In
an effort to increase transmission access to buyers and sellers, FERC encouraged
transmission infrastructure owners to hand over operations of transmission facilities to
regional transmission organizations, also called independent system operators. These
RTOs/ISOs provide interstate transmission services and operate wholesale power supply
markets. Not all regions of the country have an RTO or ISO, and there are variations in
regional power supply and transmission markets.
 Basic Electrical Properties

Let's continue with basic electrical properties and start with electric charge.
If an atom contains its usual number of electrons,
the atom or groups of similar atoms display no electrical properties.
Such an atom or atoms are called electrically neutral.
If electrons are lost or captured by the atoms,
they become electrically charged.
Positively or negatively charged atoms or combinations of atoms are called ions.
Charged objects are attracted or repelled by
forces that depend on the nature of the charges.
Objects with the same charge repel one another,
while objects with different charges attract each other.
The following animation illustrates the relationship.
Give the two balls various charges by dragging a charge
into either ball with a mouse and see what happens.
Let's talk about electric field.
The forces exerted on one another by electric charges
are related to an electric field that surrounds any charged body.
The magnitude of this field is given by the electric field strength,
E. If a charge, Q,
is present within an electric field resulting from another different charge,
it is subject to a force,
F. The relationship between the force and the field strength is
given by the following expression: E equals F divided by Q.
The force itself is determined from the following equation;
F equals E times Q.
The force on the charge in an electric field is therefore
stronger when the field is stronger and when the charge itself is greater.
Electric field is not solely defined by the magnitude of the force on the charge,
but by its direction as well.
Electric fields are thus portrayed in the form of
field line diagrams that indicate
the direction of the force as seen at the following images.
Note the direction of the force and how it depends on the polarity of the charge.
Let's talk about voltage.
In current sources, such as batteries or generators,
positive and negative charges that exist in
all materials are separated from one another by the effect of some energy.
One terminal of the source has an excess of electrons,
the negative pole, while the other displays a deficit or the positive pole.
An electric field exists between
these two charges and the system will try to even this imbalance,
so the charges flow from one terminal to the
other and generate a so-called electric current.
If both poles are connected via conductors,
the charges seek to even out by passing along
these conductors and giving rise to a current.
This involves the source,
such as a battery,
exerting an amount of work, W,
on the charge, Q,
that has been transported.
The voltage, V, of the source is now defined as the quotient of the work and the
charge.
So, V equals W divided by Q.
The unit of electrical voltage is called the volt,
or V for short.
A voltage can only exist between two points,
such as the poles of the electricity source.
The meaning of the concept of voltage can be
illustrated by an analogy from the world of physics.
The electricity source is equated with the water pump.
A pump is able to exert an amount of lifting
work on each gallon of water it raises up to a certain maximum height.
So, for each gallon of water,
it provides a certain amount of energy.
Let's take a look at the case sketched in the following graphic.
Pump P2 has to exert twice the amount of work on
each gallon as pump P1 since the height is twice as high.
The quotient of the work and the volume is thus twice as large.
The analogy with electricity would then suggest
that the right-hand pump has double the voltage.
That leads us to DC voltage sources.
If the polarity of an electrical energy source doesn't change over time,
it is called a direct current source.
If the magnitude of the voltage is invariable,
the source is termed as being fixed voltage source.
Let's take a look at the graphics that depicts
the circuit diagram symbol for such a source.
We all know about galvanic elements.
The principle of a galvanic element involves
using electrochemical processes to generate a voltage.
Such an element contains two materials of different conductivity,
such as zinc and carbon,
that are used as electrodes immersed in the so-called electrolyte.
Elements of this kind are called primary elements.
The magnitude of the voltage produced by
a galvanic element depends on the material used for the electrodes.
Among the examples of such galvanic elements are common household batteries.
These are available nowadays in a variety of shapes and forms.
A typical voltage output is one and a half volts or some multiple of this number,
three volts or nine volts.
Let's talk about power supplies.
A power supply provides power supplied from the AC network,
which has a specified voltage,
currently defined in North America is 120 volts.
This usually involves using a transformer to step
the voltage down to the required voltage for the appliance.
In a stabilized power supply,
a controller or voltage stabilizer will ensure that
the output voltage remains generally constant in spite of changing load or input.
Such power supplies are also available in many forms,
such as adjustable laboratory power supply shown
here or the fixed voltage supply that
is often used for toys or music and games equipment.
Other forms include plugin power supplies or the power supply in
the computer that provides various different but constant voltage outputs.
Now, let's talk about electric current.
As we discussed earlier,
conductors possess large number of free electrons
that are able to move between atoms in the atomic framework.
If there is no voltage across the conductor,
the movement of such electrons is purely arbitrary.
So, there is no overall direction of motion or
specific destination as shown in the following graphic.
If a DC voltage is applied to the conductor,
the electrons now flow in a specific direction through the conductor,
and electric current flows from one pole of the voltage source to the other.
We will start with direction of electron flow.
Electrons flow in a conductor in the circuit
outside of the voltage source from the negative of the source,
where electrons are in surplus,
to the positive pole,
where there is a relative deficit of electrons.
Inside the source, the electrons are forced away
from the positive pole towards the negative.
Take a look at the graphics.
The source ensures that there is always a potential difference between the two
poles.
The electrons are not actually created by the source.
The source merely sets existing free electrons in
the conductors of the circuit in motion.
Similarly, the electrical devices being powered,
that are generally called loads,
such as lamp in the circuit that you can see,
they do not actually use up electrons.
They just use some of the energy that the moving electrons carry.
That leads us to direction of conventional current.
Before the theory of electrons was developed,
even though the terminology positive and negative has been chosen,
it was assumed that any carrier of current was actually in excess as the positive
pole,
and in deficit at the negative,
so that current would flow from positive to negative.
Despite the more recent knowledge about electricity,
the assumptions about the direction of flow had been well-established and it was
not
practical to stick to the convention that current
flows from positive towards negative pole.
Thus, the direction of an electric current is by
convention in the opposite direction to the electron flow.
It is common to speak of conventional current as illustrated in the following figure.
To sum it up, electric current flows by convention from
positive pole to negative pole in any circuit external to a voltage source.
 Simple Circuits

Now let's talk about simple circuits. 

A simple circuit is a circuit that has one source, one load, and the conductor that connects
them. 
And this conductor displays a property of electrical resistance. 
So let's talk about electrical resistance. 
If electric current flows through a conductor, the free charge carriers, 
free electrons, move between the atoms of the atomic framework. 
In the process, collision frequently occur, 
deflecting the free electrons, and rerouting their motion. 
The conductor thus, exerts a resistance on the electric current that must 
be overcome by the voltage. 
Let's take a look at the illustration that demonstrates how the electrons move 
through the conductor. 
A conductor with a low resistance is better at conducting electric current, 
whereas a conductor with higher resistance is not so good at conducting current. 
The unit of electrical resistance is named after the German physicist, 
Georg Simon Ohm. 
The following statement hold true. 
The electrical resistance denoted by letter R, has the unit, 
ohm, which has the symbol Greek letter, Omega. 
The reciprocal of resistance is the so-called, conductance. 
Electrical conductance denoted by letter G, has the unit, Siemens, or S. 
Thus, the following is true. 
G equals 1, divided by R. 
The resistance of a conductor is also temperature dependent. 
Let's discuss components of an electric circuit. 
A simple electric circuit consists of the following components, 
as I mentioned before. 
The voltage source, such as a battery, or power supply. 
Consumer of load, such as an incandescent lamp. 
And connections between the voltage source and the load, such as cables and leads. 
A switch to open and close the circuit may be present, or may be omitted. 
If the load is connected to the voltage source, via leads, the circuit is closed, 
and current flows from the voltage source through the load. 
In electrical engineering, circuits are usually depicted in 
technical drawings known as circuit diagrams, whereby the individual 
components are represented by standardized circuit symbols. 
Here, additional pointer. 
Arrows have been included to show the directions of the source voltage, 
and the current being conducted. 
Let's talk about measuring voltage. 
Electrical voltage is measured with a voltmeter. 
The graphics illustrates the circuit symbol of a voltmeter, 
it's a circle with a letter V inside it. 
And you can also look at the pictures of the analog voltmeter, 
as found in a motor vehicle, where it is used to display the battery voltage. 
A conventional multimeter which may be used to measure voltage and 
other properties, and is normally provided with a variety of measurement ranges. 
To perform the measurement, 
the voltmeter has to be connected to the voltage to be measured. 
A voltage can only exist between two points, 
such as between the terminals of the voltage source, or load. 
To measure this, the voltmeter is connected in parallel to the component 
across which the voltage is to be determined.
 Ohm’s Law

Let's continue with Ohm's law and electric power. 

We just discussed the basic properties 
of electric circuits such as voltage, current, and resistance. 
To be able to make meaningful statements about these quantities in circuits, 
we need to be able to describe their quantities in 
the same way that we might quantify mass, 
temperature, volume, length, or any other kind of physical quantity. 
For mass, we might use the unit of kilogram or gram. 
For temperature, we might use degrees Fahrenheit or degrees Celsius. 
Here are the standard units of measurement for 
electrical current, voltage, and resistance. 
Each unit of measurement is named after a famous experimenter in the electricity. 
The Amp After Frenchmen Andrea Ampeer, 
the Volt after the Italian Alessandro Volta, 
and the Ohm after the German George Simon Ohm. 
The symbols E and V are interchangeable for the most part, 
although some texts reserve E to represent 
voltage across the source such as a battery or generator, 
and V to represent voltage across anything else. 
If you wish to determine mathematically what is happening in 
electrical terms in simple or even complex circuits, 
you have to know that the current I is dependent on the two factories, 
the voltage V and the resistance R. This dependency was described in 
Ohm's law named after the German physicist George Simon Ohm as we discussed before. 
Ohm's law is a very simple and useful tool for analyzing electric circuits. 
It is used so often in the study of electricity and electronics, 
that it needs to be committed to memory by the serious students. 
For those who are not yet comfortable with algebra, 
there was a trick to remembering how to solve for any quantity given the other two. 
First, arrange the letters E, I, 
and R in the triangle like this. 
If you know E and I, 
and wish to determine R, 
just eliminate R from the picture and see what is left. 
R equals E divided by I. 
If you know E and R, 
and wish to determine I, 
eliminate I and see what's left. 
I equals E divided by R. Lastly, 
if you know I and R, 
and wish to determine E, 
eliminate E and see what's left. 
E equals I times R. Let's talk about electrical power. 
The power generated by a turbine at a hydroelectric power plant, 
depends on the amount of energy stored per kilogram or gallon of falling water, 
such as height that the waterfalls, 
and the quantity of water flowing per second through the turbine. 
The energy stored in one kilogram of water is analogous in 
electrical consumer such as mortar M in the circuit diagram Illustrated. 
It's analogous to the energy stored per unit of charge, 
such as electrical potential. 
Thus, the current of water is analogous to an electric current. 
Electrical power, P is proportional to the values of the voltage and current, 
and is determined by the following equation, 
P equals V times I. 
The unit of electrical power is named Watt after the English inventor. 
One Watt is the power generated by one Amp at a DC voltage of one Volt. 
The power consumed by a device can be measured 
indirectly with a voltmeter and an ammeter. 
Power is measurable directly by means of a wattmeter, 
which possesses two terminals each for the voltage and current, 
or total of four terminals. 
The part of a wattmeter distribute the voltage to be measured is applied, 
is termed the voltage path. 
The path through which the current to be measured flows is termed the current path. 
Rated power or nominal power are frequently specified for electrical devices, 
such as incandescent lamps and mortars. 
This value indicates the power which 
the component can handle under regular operating conditions. 
Substituting the product I times R, 
for the voltage V according to Ohm's law in the power equations that we saw before, 
results in the following relationship. 
Substituting the quotient V over R for the current I, 
results in the following equation, 
P equals v square divided by R. Let's take a look at the following example. 
A heater consumes a current of ten amps at a voltage of 120 Volts. 
Its power consumption is P equals V times I, 
or 120 Volts times 10 Amps is 1200 Watts or 1.2 kiloWatts.
 Alternating Current

Now, let's move from DC to AC, 

and we will start with some basic definitions for AC. 
Systematic research in the field of electricity began in 
the 19th century with experiments purely on DC. 
Separation of charge caused by friction 
between two materials was one source of DC voltage. 
Early machines generating very low levels 
of electric power such as electrostatic machines, 
inductance machines, and belt generators, 
as well as batteries developed during this period produce DC voltages as well. 
Today, DC voltages are mainly used to supply electronic circuits such as radios, 
pocket calculators, and PCs. 
DC voltage and current are defined as follows. 
A DC voltage is a voltage of constant magnitude and direction. 
For loads of constant resistance, 
this type of voltage gives rise to direct current or DC. 
The following figure provides an example of direct current characteristic. 
Large amounts of electrical energy are commonly produced by converting 
mechanical energy into electrical energy by 
means of electromagnetic induction using generators. 
The same principle is employed on a smaller scale in the bicycle dynamo, for example. 
In this case, the generators of rotation produces an AC voltage. 
The magnitude and direction of which changes over time. 
Applying this voltage to a load like 
a bicycle lamp causes an alternating current to flow through the lamp. 
AC voltage and current are defined in general as follows. 
An electrical potential, the magnitude and direction of which change over time, 
is termed an AC voltage. 
The current produced by such a voltage in a load is called alternating current or AC. 
The unit of frequency is named Hertz abbreviated to Hz after the German physicist. 
One hertz corresponds to one oscillation per second.