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GOLLIS UNIVERSITY
ENGINEERING
PHYSICS
GROUP PRESENTATION
CHAPTER EIGHT: ELECTRICITY 2

 The flow or presence of charged particles (electrons) is known as electricity.

An electric current is the flow of electrons around a circuit (conductor).
 Current is a scalar quantity (as it follows algebraic summation); its direction is
the direction of positive charge to negative charge ( conventional current).
 Movement of current in a conductor (such as wire) creates circular magnetic
field around the wire.
 We can also define current (I) as the rate of flow of electrons.
I= as (Q) quantity of charged particles.
The SI unit of current is the ampere (A) where A= coulomb per second
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EXAMPLE
1. Find the size of the current flowing through a wire when 0.8 of charge passes a point in
the wire in 2 s.
2. The self-starter of a motor car uses a current of 20 A for 10 s. what quantity of electricity
flows through the wire.
3. How long does it take 40 coulomb of charge if it makes 10 A current.

Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law states that as long as temperature is constant, the current through a conductor
between two points is directly proportional to the voltage (potential difference) across the two
points.
Voltage (or PD) is defined as the work needed per unit of charge to move a charge between
two points.
using Ohm’s law, IαV
or V α I
or V = R I ( where R is the resistance of a conductor)
There are several materials which do not obey Ohm’s law. Conductors which do not accept
Ohm’s law, as their resistance increases when the current increases, are called non-ohmic
conductors.
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Transistors, crystal rectifiers etc. do not obey Ohm’s law.
The SI unit of voltage (V) is volt and that of resistance is Ohm (Ω).
EXAMPLES
1. What voltage will produce a 0.35 A current through a 750 Ω resistor?
2. A hair dryer draws 6.5 A when it is plugged into a 120 V outlet.
(a) What is the resistance of the hair dryer.
(b) How much charge passes through it in 5 minutes?
3. The heating element in an electric heater has a restance of 10.6 Ω. What will be the
current through the heating element when it is connected to a 240 V source?
Laws of Resistors in Series and in Parallel

A. Resistors connected in series

When resistors are connected in such a way that the same current passes through them,
then they are said to have been connected in series.
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In this circuit, V1 = IR1 ,V2= IR2 , and V3 = IR3
But V= V1 + V2 + V3
Therefore, substituting the above values,
IR = IR1 + IR2 + IR3
Dividing both sides of the equation by I
Therefore, R = R1 + R2 + R3

B. Resistors connected in parallel

When number of resistors are connected such that the total current from the supply source
divides into branches, then they are said to have been connected in parallel. However, the
voltage remains the same across each branch in this kind of combination of resistors.
I = I1 + I2 + I3 + I4
I1 = , I2 = , I3 = , I4 =
= + + + , multiplying to
both sides of the equation we get
= + + +
 EXAMPLES
1. Three resistors are connected in series as shown 6
in the figure across a 7 V supply.
calculate:
(i) the total resistance
(ii) the total current flowing
2. Three resistors are connected in parallel as shown
in the figure across a 1.5 V supply.
calculate:
(i) the total resistance
(ii) the total current

Resistivity
Experimental results show that the resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to the length of the
conductor and inversely proportional to the area of cross section of the conductor.
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This can be written as, R α L
Rα
i.e. R α
R = (ρ)
Therefore resistivity ρ =
Resistivity is the resistance offered by a conductor of unit length having unit area of
cross section. The unit of resistivity is ohm-meter ( ).

Example
1.Calculate the resistivity of a copper wire with resistance of 85 Ω, length of 1.0 km and
diameter of 0.50 mm.
2. Calculate the resistance of a wire of length 1.5 m and diameter 0.5 mm if the
resistivity of the material of the wire is 49 x Ω m.
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Conductivity
 The reciprocal resistivity of the material of a conductor is called as its conductivity. Its denoted
by σ
σ= , σ=
Example
1. What is the conductivity of a copper wire with resistance of 85 Ω, length of 1.0 km and
diameter of 0.50 mm.
2. Calculate the electrical conductivity of the material of a conductor of length 3 m, area of cross
section 0.02 mm2 having a resistance of 2 Ω.

Superconductivity
Superconductivity is the complete disappearance of electrical resistance in various solids when they
are cooled below a characteristic temperature. This temperature is called the transition temperature; it
varies for different materials but generally below 20 K (-253 degree celcius).
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