ENGINEERING UTILITIES 1

EU 1
INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICITY

• Electricity is a form of energy involving the flow of electrons

Wiliam Gilbert

Father of electricity
English physicist
Published:
Electric Attraction
Electric Force
Theory

• That, all matters made up of molecules

• That, molecules are made up of atoms
• That, atoms contains neutrons, electrons and protons
• That, neutron is neutral. It is neither positive or negatively
charged.
• That, the electrons of an atom of any substance could be
transformed into another atom.
Definition of Terms

• ION – A LOSS OR GAIN OF ONE OR MORE ELECTRONS

• VOLT OR VOLTAGE - THE ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE
• AMPHERE - THE STANDARD UNIT USED IN MEASURING THE
STRENGTH OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT
• WATT - IS THE RATE OR MEASURE OF POWER USED OR CONSUMED
• CIRCUIT - REFERS TO THE WIRE INSTALLATIONS THAT SUPPLY
CURRENT TO LIGHT AND CONVENIENT OUTLETS
Definition of Terms

• RESISTANCE - THE FRICTION OR OPPOSITION TO THE FLOW OF

CURRENT BY THE WIRES AND TRANSFORMERS
Factors that Influences Conductor Resistance

•Composition of the Conductor - This refers to a conductor

having free electrons that has low resistance.
•Cross Sectional Area of Wire - The bigger the cross-sectional
area of wire, the lower its resistance.
•Length of Wire - The longer the wire, the higher resistance.
•Temperature - Metal offers high resistance to high temperature
(heat).
Electric current

• Electric Current is the flow or rate of flow of electric force in a conductor. A

current will only flow if a circuit is formed comprising a complete loop and
contains all the following required components.
• 1. Source of voltage
• 2. A closed loop of wiring
• 3. An electric load
• 4. A means of opening and closing the circuit
ELECTRIC CURENT IS CLASIFFIED AS:

• Direct Current (DC) flows in one direction.The flow is said to be

from negative to positive.
• Alternating Current (AC) electricity constantly reverses its
direction of flow. It is generated by machine called generator.
DC ELECTRICITY

• OHM’S LAW - ( V = IR )
where:
I = current (amp or a)
V = voltage
R = resistance for DC electricity
AC Electricity,Ohms law

• V = IZ
where:
I = current (amp or a)
V = voltage
Z = impedance
Comparison of AC and DC electricity

• DC - Power is the product of voltage and current

• AC - the product of volts and amperes is equal to the quantity

called volt-ampere
OHM’S LAW

• George Simon Ohm (1926)

German scientist

• Law states that “The higher the voltage, the larger the current,
and the higher the resistance, the lower the current"
V = IR

• The relationship between the current, voltage and resistance is

presented in the following equations known as the Ohms Law.
Where:
I = Current flow (amperes)
V = Electromotive force (volts)
R = Resistance (Ohms
Example

• Example 1:
Determine the current flow in a circuit having a resistance of 5 ohm
on 120 volts and 240 volts current supply
Example

• Example 2:
A circuit has resistance of 20 Ohms and the current flows at 12
amperes. Determine the voltage