Announcements

1. Information you’d like to get from this course. Think

of one or more things you’re curious about and would
like to learn about in this course. Put them on a blank
card I’ll supply. (For example, how does radio work?
What is a carbon nanotube and how might one use it?)
We’ll try to give you answers.
2. Since people in EE42 are supposed to take P/NP 1-
unit EE43 we will not include a lab grade in the EE42
scoring. The new weights for grading in EE42 will
be: MT1 22%; MT2 22%; HW 12%; Final 44%.
3. Homeworks – including the first one – will be due at
12:00 noon on Thursdays (not Wednesdays).
4. We’ll add some new lab sections; check the web site.

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 1

 Electric Charge
Definition: The quantity of electricity that flows in a
given time or is held in a component such as a
capacitor
Symbol: q
Unit: Coulomb (C)
Notes: Charges may be positive or negative
Like charges (e.g., + and +) repel each
other, unlike charges (+ and -) attract each
other
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 2
 Electric Current
Definition: rate of positive charge flow
Symbol: i
Units: Coulombs per second ≡ Amperes (A)
i = dq/dt
where q = charge (in Coulombs), t = time (in seconds)

Note: Current has polarity (flow direction).

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 3

 Electric Potential (Voltage)
• Definition: energy per unit charge expended in moving a
charge from one place to another
• Symbol: v
• Units: Joules/Coulomb ≡ Volts (V)
v = dw/dq
where w = energy (in Joules), q = charge (in Coulombs)

Note: Potential is always referenced to some point.

a Subscript convention:
vab means the potential at a
minus the potential at b.
b vab ≡ va - vb
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 4
 Electric Power
• Definition: amount of energy transferred per unit
time
• Symbol: p
• Units: Joules per second ≡ Watts (W)

p = dw/dt = (dw/dq)(dq/dt) = vi

• Concept:
As a positive charge q moves through a drop in voltage
of amount v, it loses energy
 energy change = qv
 rate is proportional to # charges/sec

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 5

 The Ideal Basic Circuit Element
i • Polarity reference for voltage can be
indicated by plus and minus signs
+ • Reference direction for the current
v is indicated by an arrow
_
• Examples: resistor, capacitor,
inductor, diode, …
Attributes:
• Two terminals (points of connection)
• Cannot be subdivided into other elements
• Mathematically described by its current-voltage
relationship
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 6
A Note about Reference Directions
A problem like “Find the current” or “Find the voltage”
is always accompanied by a definition of the direction:

i - v +

In this case, if the current turns out to be 1 mA flowing

to the left, we would say i = -1 mA. (See prefixes in
Hambley, p. 18.)
In order to perform circuit analysis to determine the
voltages and currents in an electric circuit, you need to
specify reference directions. There is no need to guess
the reference direction so that the answers come out
positive, however.
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 7
 Sign Convention Example
Suppose you have an unlabelled battery and you measure
its voltage with a digital voltmeter (DVM). It will tell you the
magnitude and sign of the voltage.

a With this circuit, you are

measuring vab.
1.401
The DVM indicates 1.401, so va
DVM
is lower than vb by 1.401 V.
b  Which is the positive battery
terminal?

Note that we have used the “ground” symbol ( ) for the reference
node on the DVM. Often it is labeled “C” for “common.”
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 8
 Sign Convention for Power
Passive sign convention

p = vi p = -vi
i i i i
_ _
+ +
v v v v
_ + _ +

• If p > 0, power is being delivered to the gray box.

• If p < 0, power is being extracted from the box.
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 9
 Power Calculation Example
Find the power absorbed by each element:

Conservation of energy
 total power delivered
equals
total power absorbed
Aside: For electronics these are un-
realistically large currents – mA is
more typical than A (1 mA = 0.001A)
vi (W) p (W)
918
- 810
- 12
- 400
- 224
1116

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 10

 Circuit Elements
• 5 ideal basic circuit elements:
– voltage source active elements, capable of
– current source generating electric energy

– resistor
passive elements, incapable of
– inductor generating electric energy
– capacitor

• Many practical systems can be modeled with just

sources and resistors
• The basic analytical techniques for solving
circuits with inductors and capacitors are the
same as those for resistive circuits
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 11
 Electrical Sources
• An electrical source is a device that is capable of
converting non-electric energy to electric energy and
vice versa.
Examples:
– battery: chemical electric
– dynamo (generator/motor): mechanical electric

 Electrical sources can either deliver or absorb power

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 12

 Ideal Independent and Dependent Voltage
Sources
• Circuit element that maintains a prescribed voltage
across its terminals, regardless of the current
flowing in those terminals.
– Voltage is known, but current is determined by the circuit
to which the source is connected.
• The voltage can be either independent of dependent
on a voltage or current elsewhere in the circuit, and
can be constant or time-varying.
Circuit symbols:

vs +_ vs=vx +_ vs=ix +_

independent
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 voltage-controlled
Week 1 current-controlled
13
Other Independent Voltage Source Symbols
Sinusoidal AC source

v(t) = Vpeaksin(t)
veffective  v peak / 2
(In US, veff = 120 V, so
Vpeak = 170 V)

Battery (realistic source)

+
VS

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 14

 Realistic Voltage Source
 A real-life voltage source, like a battery
or the function generator in lab, cannot
sustain a very high current. Either a
fuse blows to shut off the device, or
something melts…
 Additionally, the voltage output of a
realistic source is not constant. The
voltage decreases slightly as the
current increases. RS
 We usually model realistic sources 
considering the second of these two Vs

phenomena. A realistic source is
modeled by an ideal voltage source in
series with an “internal resistance”, RS.
Spring 2005 EE 42 Lecture 3 14
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 15
 I-V Plot for a Real Battery

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 16

 Ideal Independent and Dependent Current
Sources
• Circuit element that maintains a prescribed current
through its terminals, regardless of the voltage
across those terminals.
– Current is known, but voltage is determined by the circuit
to which the source is connected.
• The current can be either independent or dependent
on a voltage or current elsewhere in the circuit, and
can be constant or time-varying.
Circuit symbols:

is is=vx is=ix

independent
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 voltage-controlled
Week 1 current-controlled
17
 Electrical Resistance
• Resistance: Electric field is proportional to current
density, within a resistive material. Thus, voltage is
proportional to current. The circuit element used to
model this behavior is the resistor.
R
Circuit symbol:

Unit for R: Volts per Ampere ≡ ohms ()

• The current flowing in the resistor is proportional to the

voltage across the resistor:
v=iR (Ohm’s Law)
where v = voltage (V), i = current
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1
(A), and R = resistance () 18
 Water analogies for electrical elements

Since you can’t see electricity, it is useful to think of the flow of

water as being like that of electric charge. We’ll see water
analogies for a number of electrical devices – capacitors, diodes,
etc.

Water analogy for charge: a quantity of water (say, 1 gallon is

like 1 coulomb of charge)
Water analogy for current flow: flow rate of water (say, 1 gallon
per second is like 1 coulomb per second = 1 ampere)
Electric potential difference (voltage) is like the difference in
pressure in a hydraulic system
The model for a resistor (an increased resistance reduces the current
that flows for a given voltage) is like the effect of putting a
sponge in a water pipe or crimping it
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 19
 Water Models for Currents and Resistors

I I1
wire I3

I2 I4

pipe I1 I2 I3 I4  0

Figure 0.1 Wire carrying
current I (top) and its water Figure 0.2 A circuit node
model (bottom)

Sponge Constriction

Figure 0.3 Resistor (left), schematic symbol (left center), and two alternative water models (right)

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 20

 Resistance of an actual resistor

Material resistivity
= (-cm)
T

L
W

Resistance = resistivity x length/(cross-sectional area)

R = (L/WT)

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 21

 Electrical Conductance
• Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance.
Symbol: G

Units: siemens (S) or mhos ( )

Example:
Consider an 8  resistor. What is its conductance?

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 22

 Short Circuit and Open Circuit
Wire (“short circuit”):
• R = 0  no voltage difference exists
(all points on the wire are at the same potential)
• Current can flow, as determined by the circuit

Air (“open circuit”):

• R =   no current flows
• Voltage difference can exist, as determined by the circuit

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 23

 Circuit Nodes and Loops
• A node is a point where two or more circuit elements
are connected.
• A loop is formed by tracing a closed path in a circuit
through selected basic circuit elements without
passing through any intermediate node more than
once

Example:

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 24

 Kirchhoff’s Laws
• Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL):
– The algebraic sum of all the currents entering any node in a
circuit equals zero. (An expression of the conservation of
charge.)

• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL):

– The algebraic sum of all the voltages around any loop in a
circuit equals zero. (As a result of conservation of energy.)

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 25

 Example: Power Absorbed by a
Resistor
p = vi = ( iR )i = i2R
p = vi = v ( v/R ) = v2/R
Note that p > 0 always, for a resistor.
Example:
a) Calculate the voltage vg and current ia.
b) Determine the power dissipated in the 80 resistor.

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 26

 “Lumped Element” Circuit
Modeling
(Model = representation of a real system which simplifies analysis)
• In circuit analysis, important characteristics are grouped
together in “lumps” (separate circuit elements) connected by
perfect conductors (“wires”)
• An electrical system can be modeled by an electric circuit
(combination of paths, each containing 1 or more circuit
elements) if the dimensions of the circuit are small
compared with the wavelength of any electromagnetic
waves in the vicinity (i.e., wavelength  = c/f >> physical
dimensions of system, where c = velocity of EM waves and
f = frequency of wave). For example, at 60 Hz, the powerline
frequency in the U. S.,  = 3 x 108 (m/s)/60 (1/s) = 5 x 106 m ~ 3000 miles! so
we can do lumped element circuit modeling of ordinary circuits at 60 Hz.
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 27
 Construction of a Circuit Model
• The electrical behavior of each physical
component is of primary interest.

• We need to account for undesired as well as

desired electrical effects.

• Simplifying assumptions should be made

wherever reasonable.

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 28

Terminology: Nodes and Branches
Node: A point where two or more circuit elements
are connected

Branch: A path that connects two nodes

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 29

 Notation: Node and Branch
•
Voltages
Use one node as the reference (the “common” or
“ground” node) – label it with a symbol
• The voltage drop from node x to the reference node
is called the node voltage vx.
• The voltage across a circuit element is defined as the
difference between the node voltages at its terminals
Example: – v1 +
a R1 b
+ +
va +_ vs R2 v b
_ _
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005
c Week 1  REFERENCE NODE30
 Using Kirchhoff’s Current Law
(KCL)
Consider a node connecting several branches:

i2
i3
i1

i4

• Use reference directions to determine whether

currents are “entering” or “leaving” the node – with no
concern about actual current directions
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 31
 Alternative Formulations of Kirchhoff’s
Current Law
(Charge stored in node is zero.)
Formulation 1:
Sum of currents entering node
= sum of currents leaving node
Formulation 2:
Algebraic sum of currents entering node = 0
• Currents leaving are included with a minus sign.
Formulation 3:
Algebraic sum of currents leaving node = 0
• Currents entering are included with a minus sign.

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 32

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 33
 A Major Implication of KCL
• KCL tells us that all of the elements in a single
branch carry the same current.
• We say these elements are connected in series.

Current entering node = Current leaving node

i1 = i2
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 34
 KCL Example
Currents entering the node:
-10 mA
i
5 mA Currents leaving the node:

15 mA

3 formulations of KCL:
1.
2.
3.
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 35
 Generalization of KCL
• The sum of currents entering/leaving a closed
surface is zero. Circuit branches can be inside this
surface, i.e. the surface can enclose more than one
node!
i2
i3

This could be a big

chunk of a circuit, i4
e.g., a “black box” i1

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 36

 Generalized KCL Examples
50 mA

5A

2A i

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 37

 Using Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
(KVL)
Consider a branch which forms part of a loop:

+ –
loop v1 voltage loop v2 voltage
“drop” “rise”
_ (negative drop)
+

• Use reference polarities to determine whether a

voltage is dropped – with no concern about actual
voltage polarities
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 38
Formulations of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
(Conservation of energy)
Formulation 1:
Sum of voltage drops around loop
= sum of voltage rises around loop

Formulation 2:
Algebraic sum of voltage drops around loop = 0
• Voltage rises are included with a minus sign.
(Handy trick: Look at the first sign you encounter on each element when tracing the loop.)

Formulation 3:
Algebraic sum of voltage rises around loop = 0
• Voltage drops are included
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1with a minus sign. 39
 A Major Implication of KVL
• KVL tells us that any set of elements that are
connected at both ends carry the same voltage.
• We say these elements are connected in parallel.

+ +
va vb
_ _

Applying KVL in the clockwise direction,

starting at the top:
vb – va = 0  vb = va
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 40
 KVL Example
Three closed paths:
+ v2  b v3
 +
a c

1 2
+ + +
va vb vc
 - 

3
Path 1:

Path 2:

Path 3:
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 41
 An Underlying Assumption of
KVL
• No time-varying magnetic flux through the loop
Otherwise, there would be an induced voltage (Faraday’s Law)

• Note: Antennas are designed to “pick up”

electromagnetic waves; “regular circuits” 
B( t )
often do so undesirably.

Avoid these loops! + 

v( t )

How do we deal with antennas (EECS 117A)?

Include a voltage source as the circuit representation
of the induced voltage or “noise”.
(Use a lumped circuit model rather than a distributed (wave)
model.)
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 42
 Resistors in Series
Consider a circuit with multiple resistors connected in series.
Find their “equivalent resistance”.

I
• KCL tells us that the same
current (I) flows through
R1
every resistor
R2
+ • KVL tells us
VSS
 R3

R4

Equivalent resistance of resistors in series is the sum

of the individual resistances
EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 43
 Voltage Divider
I I = VSS / (R1 + R2 + R3 + R4)
+
R1
– V1
R2
VSS +
+
 R3
– V3
R4

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 44

 When can the Voltage Divider Formula
be Used?
I I
R1 R1

R2
+ R2
+
+ – V2 VSS + – V2
VSS
 R3  R3

R4 R4 R5

R R
V  2 V V ≠ 2 V
2 SS 2 SS
R R R R R R R R
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Correct, if nothing else because R5 removes condition
isEEconnected to nodes
42 and 100, Fall 2005 of1 resistors in series
Week 45
 Resistors in Parallel
Consider a circuit with two resistors connected in parallel.
Find their “equivalent resistance”.
x
• KVL tells us that the
I1 I2 same voltage is dropped
across each resistor
ISS R1 R2
Vx = I1 R1 = I2 R2
• KCL tells us

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 46

 General Formula for Parallel
Resistors
What single resistance R is equivalent to three resistors in parallel?
eq

I I
+ +
eq
V R1 R2 R3  V Req
 

Equivalent conductance ofWeek

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005
resistors
1
in parallel is the sum
47
 a b c

Potential

d e

Figure 0.1 Resistor/battery circuits

(These illustrations were kindly given to one of the authors by Jim Hauser of San Luis Obispo, CA.)

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 48

 Current Divider
x

I1 I2

ISS R1 R2 Vx = I1 R1 = ISS Req

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 49

 Generalized Current Divider
Formula
Consider a current divider circuit with >2 resistors in parallel:

+ I
I1 I2 I3 V V
I R1 R2 R3  1   1   1 
     
  R1   R 2   R 3 

V  1/R 3 
I3   I 
R3 1/R
 1  1/R 2  1/R 3

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 50

 Checklist of Terms Introduced

Charge, current, voltage, resistance, conductance, energy, power

Coulomb (C), ampere (A), volt (V), ohm (), siemens (S) (mho), joule (J), watt (W)
Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL), Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL), Ohm’s Law
Series connection, parallel conncection
DC (steady), AC (time-varying)
Independent and dependent ideal voltage and current sources

EE 42 and 100, Fall 2005 Week 1 51