Current Electricity

01
 Today’s Goal

Electric Current

Drift Velocity

Electrical Resistance
Electric Current: Rate of flow of electric
charge
Average Current

Instantaneous Current
Direction of electric current is along the
direction of flow of positive charge
Electric current has direction but do not follow Vector
Law of Addition. Hence current is Scalar.

Unit & Dimension

Q) If 0.5 mol of electrons flows through a wire in 8 mins, Find
the magnitude of electric current. ( Take NA = 6 x 1023)

a) 40 A
b) 60 A
c) 80 A
d) 100 A
Q) If q = t2 + 2t Find i) Current i at t=2s
ii) Average current from 0-2s
Q) In a hydrogen atom, the electron makes about 0.6 x 1016
revolutions per second around the nucleus. Determine the
average current at any point on the orbit of the electron.

a) 0.36 mA
b) 0.96 mA
c) 0.60 mA
d) 0.24 mA
Drift Velocity
1. Metals have a large number of free electrons
(1028 free e- per m3 → free electron density)

2. In the absence of any Electric Field , the free electrons

move ‘Randomly’ due to their thermal energies.
4. Let 𝐔𝟏, 𝐔𝟐, 𝐔𝟑 … . . 𝐔𝐧 be the thermal velocities of
different electrons.

5. The average thermal velocity of all e- is ZERO since

different e- move in different direction.

6. Thus, there is no NET motion of e- in any particular

direction in absence of an Electric Field
7. On applying external Electric Field (by Connecting a
battery), each electron experiences electric force in
direction opposite to applied field.

8. The acceleration of electron is given by

9. Now, it seems like the free e- will move with constant
−𝐞𝐄
acceleration 𝐚 = and increasing velocities in a direction
𝐦
opposite to applied Electric Field. But that doesn’t happen.

10. As the electron accelerates, they frequently collide with the

positive metal ions or other electrons and stops momentarily on
each
11. The acceleration occurs only for a short interval of
time between two collisions and provides a small
velocity to e- in a direction opposite to 𝐄 filed.

This velocity is called drift velocity ( 𝐕𝐝)

( 𝐕𝐝)≈ 𝟏𝟎-4 m/s
Expression for Drift velocity
Relationship of ( 𝑽𝒅) with current (I)
Q) Drift speed of electrons , when 1.5 A of current flows in a
copper wire of cross section 5 mm2 is v. If the electron
density in copper is 9 x 1028 / m3, the value of v in mm/s is
close to ( Take, charge of electron to be = 1.6 x 10-19 C)

a) 0.02
b) 0.03
c) 2
d) 3
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