Circuit Principles 1

Introductory Topics (part 2)

 Syllabus

• System of units
• Voltage and current concept
• Conventional current flow and electron flow
• Circuit elements and symbols
• Basic circuit measurement
 Voltage
• Voltage is the difference in potential energy between
opposite charges because of the separation between
them
• Voltage is the force or pressure that ‘pushes’ current
around a circuit
• It is the work per unit charge
 The Voltage Source
• A voltage source provides electrical energy or
electromotive force (emf), known as voltage
• Voltage sources can be dc or ac.

• An ideal voltage source can provide a constant

voltage for any required current
 Ideal Voltage Source
• Here is a graph showing the voltage versus current
for an ideal dc source:
 Current
• Current is the flow of electrons in a conductor
• Voltage provides the energy to push electrons
around the circuit
• Free electrons are available in all conductive and
semiconductive materials
• They are loosely bound to their atoms and are free to
move
Radom motion of electrons
• If a voltage is placed across a conductive material
one end becomes positive and the other negative

• Like charges repel and opposites attract

• Free electrons (negative charges) move towards the
positive side
 Definition of current
• Electric current is the rate of flow of charge
• Current in a conductive material is determined by the
number of electrons (amount of charge) that flow
past a point per unit time
 Definition of current
• One ampere (1 A) is the amount of current that
exists when the number of electrons having a total
charge of one Coulomb (1 C) move through a given
cross section in one second (1 S)
 Ideal Current source
• The ideal current source can provide a constant
current under any loading
Real Voltage/Current
Sources
 Resistance
• Resistance is the opposition to current flow
• Resistance is caused by the collision of electrons with
atoms as they move through the material
• One ohm (1 Ω) of resistance exists if there is one
ampere (1 A) when one volt (1 V) is applied
 Resistors
• Resistors are used to:
 limit current in a circuit,
 to divide voltage
 and sometimes to generate heat
• They come in both fixed and variable values
 Fixed Resistors
• Available in a large selection of resistance values
• Constructed using various methods, materials and
packaging
• Carbon-composition resistors are one of the most
common types
Title
 High Power Resistors
• Wirewound resistors are used for applications where
higher power ratings (Watts) is involved
• Inductance is created and not suitable for high
frequency
 Variable Resistors
• Resistance values can be changed easily
• Two basics uses for variable resistors:
 Divide voltage (potentiometer)
 Control current (rheostat)
Potentiometers
 Variable Resistor Sensors
• Many sensors operate on the concept of a variable
resistance
• A physical quantity (e.g. pressure or temperature)
alters the resistance
• The change in resistance may be determined directly
or indirectly using the resistance change to alter
current or voltage
• Examples include thermistors that change resistance
as a function of temperature
• Photoconductive cells that change resistance as a
function of light
• Strain gauges are used in scales and applications
where mechanical motion needs to be sensed
 Basic Circuit
• A basic electric circuit consists of a source, a load and
a path
• In vehicles the negative battery terminal is typically
connected to the metal chassis
 Mechanical Switches
• Switches are commonly used for controlling the
opening or closing of circuits
• Several types of switches are available depening on
application
• The most simple if the basic single-pole-single-throw
(SPST)
• For a more complex circuit, a single-pole-double-
throw (SPDT) switch can be used
Switch Symbols
 Protection Devices
• Fuses and circuit breakers are used to create an
open circuit when the current exceeds a certain
threshold
• Prevents damage to a circuit such as overheating due
to excess current
• Two common types:
 Fast acting (F):
 Time delay (T): don’t want to blow up every time
Current draw of that device. Is the wire can stack to that
current
Stranded core cable: flexible
Solid core cable: Hard to shape
Multi core cable
Different size of cable
I=P/V
• Watch the follow video demonstration to see the
effects of too much current in a circuit:
Thermal effects of electricity
 Wires
• Most common form of conductive material used in
electrical applications
• They vary in diameter and are arranged according to
standard gauge numbers called AWG (American Wire
Gauge) size
• Large diameters wire means smaller wire gauge
• Wire size can also be specified according to cross-
sectional area
• A unit of CSA is the circular mil (CM)
• One CM is the area of a wire with a diameter of
0.001 inch (1 mil)
• You can find the CSA by expressing the diameter in
mils and squaring it
A = d2
• where A is the CSA in circular mils and d is the
diameter in mils
• The table on the next slide shows AWG sizes with
their corresponding CSA and resistance in ohms per
1000 ft at 20oC
Table used for practice 67
• Often the CSA is expressed in squared mm
• This is shown on the table in next slide
• Note 1000 mil = 25.4 mm
• Voltage
drop if too
much
resistance
 Example
• Convert the following wire gauges from CM to
squared mm
 36 AWG
 20 AWG
 10 AWG
 Method
• Step 1 – square root the area in CM to get d
• Step 2 – we know 1000 mil = 25.4 mm so 1 mm =
39.37 mil
 Use this to convert the diameter to mm
• Step 3 – convert d (mm) to A using πr2
 Wire Resistance
• Copper is an excellent electrical conductor but it
does have some resistance
• Wire resistance depends on:
 Type of material
 Length of wire
 Cross-sectional area
 Wire Resistance
• Materials have a characteristic called resistivity, ρ
• A (Area) = d2

• 1 Mile equals to 5280 feet

• Resistance …
 increases with increasing length
 decreases with increasing cross-sectional area
 Example

• Related Problem – Use the AWG size table to find the

resistance of 100 ft of copper wire with CSA of 810.1
CM. Compare with the calculated result.
 You should now be able to…

• Explain voltage and current concepts

• Describe conventional current flow and electron flow
• Recognise circuit elements and symbols
 Review Questions

• Textbook end of chapter 2

84-85

Circuit Principles 1