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If it werent for electricity wed all be watching television by candlelight. George Global

After having studied this chapter you should:

know that the types electric charge are positive and negative know that electric charge is a conserved quantity know that like charges repel and unlike attract each other understand the Coulombs Law be able to describe electric elds using electric eld line representation be able to determine the electric eld strength due to one or more point charges be able to dene electric eld strength be able to draw the electric eld patterns for different charge congurations be able to solve problems involving electric charges, forces and elds

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The word electricity comes from the Greek electron, meaning amber, which is petried tree resin. Electricity covers a wide variety of physical topics, such as electric charge, static electricity, electromagnetism, electric current, electric potential difference, electric generators, electric circuits, and electromagnetic radiation. Electricity is an essential part of our lives. Just think about how many electrical devices you have around you: power sources, adaptors, watches, lamps, heaters, phones, remote controls, music players, televisions, monitors, and computers, to name just a few. The whole operation of the internet, and the way we use it, are based on electricity. Modern way of life would be impossible without it. Electricity is vital at more fundamental level as well. Chemical bonding, and thus all the properties of solids, liquids and gases, and the metabolic processes inside our bodies, can be understood in terms of structure of matter and electromagnetic forces. And all of the contact forces, such as normal force, spring force, and friction, stem from electric forces acting at atomic level. In this chapter we study the physical properties of charges at rest. We gain insight into how static charges interact with each other, and which kind of electric elds static charges create around themselves. The key terms include electric charge, electric conductors and insulators, electric eld, electric eld strength, electric force, and electric potential.

16.1 Electrication and Electric Interaction

Electric charge is a property of fundamental particles that gives rise to electric and magnetic interactions. There are only two types of electrically charged particle in ordinary matter: positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. In any process, electric charge is neither created or destroyed. Because the protons reside at atomic nuclei, which remain at xed positions in solids, the process of electrication of solids can be understood in terms of moving electrons between objects. When objects at rest become electried, they start to repel or attract each other. This is called electric interaction, and resulting forces are called electric forces.

Electrication by Contact
Already ancient Greeks realised around 600 BCE that rubbing amber by a cloth would attract tiny pieces of straw. As a result of rubbing, the amber and cloth become electried. The word electron comes from the Greek elektron, meaning amber. This thousands of years old phenomenon is nowadays known as electrication by contact or static electricity. It serves as a good starting point for our study of electricity.

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We can study electrication by contact by putting two light plastic balls connected by a rod on an easily moving stand, as Figure 16.1 illustrates. We study what happens when we place two kinds of electried rods, an ebony rod and a glass rod, near a plastic ball.

Figure 16.1: Light insulating balls on a stand. When a charged rod is brought near to a ball, the ball moves towards the rod, due to attractive electric interaction between the rod and the ball. Placing a neutral glass or ebony rod near a plastic ball does not seem to have any observable effect on the ball. However, when we rub the ebony rod by a piece of fur, and place the rod near a ball, we observe an attractive interaction between the rod and the ball. Likewise, if we rub the glass rod by a silk cloth, and place the rod near the ball, the rod and the ball attract each other. But if we place the ebony and glass rod side by side near the ball, the ball moves only slightly towards the sticks. The presence of two different rods makes the interaction weaker. This simple experiment shows that even though both rods attract the ball, they do it by different physical processes. The interaction takes place between electrically charged object (rod) and electrically neutral object (ball). Let us next place an electried ebony stick on a freely moving stand. If we place another electried ebony stick near the ebony stick on a stand, we observe that the rods repel each other. There is a repulsive interaction between the two rods. Two electried glass rods repel each other as well, but electried ebony and glass rods attract one another. There is an attractive interaction between electried ebony and glass rods. Because electric interaction results in either attractive of repulsive electric force on charged objects, it is very different from gravitational interaction, which can only be attractive. It is important to understand

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that electric interaction exists not only between electrically charged objects (for example, charged rods), but occasionally also between electrically charged and electrically neutral objects (rod and a ball).

Figure 16.2: Static electricity is present all the time. The childs hair is attracted by the tube that has become electried ( Magnus Manske). Besides electrication by contact, the other ways of electrifying objects include heating, radiating, and using electric batteries and generators. It is important to understand, however, that in any process, electric charge can neither by created nor destroyed. The force associated with electric charge is called the electric force. Whether the force is repulsive or attractive depends on the charges involved, as we are about to study. Conservation of Charge

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16.2 Electric charge

Figure 16.3: Charge differences tend to balance. In a lightning strike the excess charge in a cloud is balanced as the electric charge ows from the cloud to the Earth via an ionized air channel we see as a lightning strike. The electrication by contact experiment illustrates that there are two kinds of electried states: one glasslike and one ebonylike (amberlike). We call these states positive and negative, respectively. The naming comes from American statesman, philosopher and scientist Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). When objects become electried, they start to attract or repel neighbouring objects. The cause for the interaction is electric charge, which is a fundamental property of matter. Denition of Electric charge Q Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes electromagnetic interaction.

Figure 16.4: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) studied electric charge and suggested naming positive and negative for two types of electric charge.

The SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb (C), according to French physicist Charles Coulomb (1736-1806). Electric charge can be negative or positive. Negative charge is indicated by minus sign (), and positive by plus sign (+).

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185

Elementary Charge e
Ordinary matter consists of positively charged protons, electrically neutral neutrons, and negatively charged electrons. Elementary charge e Elementary charge is a natural constant whose value is e = 1.60 1019 C. (16.1)

The electric charge of a proton is Q p = e , and the charge of an electron is Q e = e . Since protons and electrons carry equal and opposite charges, all charges in nature occur only as integer multiples of the elementary charge. Electric charge Q of a particle is always a multiple of elementary charge e : Q = Ne (16.2) where N = 0, 1, 2, 3..., and e = 1.60 1019 C is the elementary charge. Because electric charge can only have certain values, it is not a continuous, but discrete quantity. Such quantities are called quantized from Latin quantus for how much. Because elementary charge is such a small quantity, we do not normally notice the discreteness of electric charge. Charge appears continuous, despite not being it at a fundamental level. Figure 16.5: A simplied model of a helium atom.

Electric Charges in Atoms, Ions and Molecules

An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus and negatively charged electrons. A nucleus consists of protons and neutrons. Neutrons are electrically neutral particles. As a result, the total charge of a nucleus is Q = ZQ p = Z e , where Z is the number of protons in the nucleus (proton number). The number of protons equals the number of electrons. The total charge of the electron cloud is thus Q = ZQ e = Z (e ) = Z e . The total charge of any atom is thus Q t = Z E + ( Z e ) = 0 C. As a result, atoms are electrically neutral objects. And because molecules, such as a water molecule H2 O, consist of atoms, they are also electrically neutral. Ion An ion is an atom or molecule that has lost or gained electrons. .

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Figure 16.6: A water molecule is polar. Oxygen ion carries a partial negative charge and hydrogen ions positive partial charge + .

When an atom or molecule loses electrons, it becomes a positively charged ion. For example, an alpha particle He2+ is a helium atom which has lost two electrons. When an atom or molecule receives electrons, it becomes a negatively charged ion. Cl is a chlorine atom that has received an electron. Despite being electrically neutral, atoms make electromagnetic bonds with each other. Different atoms have a unique capacity to attract electrons. Electronegativity is a property of atoms that describes the tendency of an atom to attract electrons. The greater the electronegativity, the greater the tendency to form negative ions. That is why in a water molecule hydrogen atoms acquire a partial positive charge, and oxygen atom acquires a partial negative charge.

Electrically Charged Objects

When an object acquires electric charge, it carries an excess or decit of electrons. It may do so by directly gaining or losing electrons such as in electrication by contact, or by receiving or donating ions. When objects are electried in electrication by contact, charges of objects are typically around a microcoulomb (1 C) or less. Negatively charged objects have an excess of electrons, and positively charged have a decit of electrons. In electrication by contact, the objects acquire electric charge, because electrons move form one object into another. Which object becomes positive, and which negative, depends on how easily electrons can leave the material. The material in which electrons are more tightly bound acquire a negative charge, and material with less tightly bound electrons acquire positive charge in electrication by contact. The glass rod acquired a positive charge, because when it was rubbed with a piece of silk, some electrons from the glass moved to the silk, leaving the glass stick positively charged. When the ebony stick was rubbed with a piece of fur, some electrons from the fur moved to the ebony stick, and the ebony stick acquired a negative charge. Besides electrication by contact, the ways of electrifying objects include heating, radiating, and using electric batteries and generators. It is important to understand, however, that in any process, electric charge can neither by created nor destroyed. Electric charge is a conserved quantity. Denition of The Law of Conservation of Electric Charge: The total electric charge of an isolated system remains constant. According to current understanding, the amount of positive charge equals the amount of negative charge in the universe. In any process, the total amount of electric charge remains constant. If an object ac-

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quires a negative charge, there must be an equal positive charge in the environment of the object. When objects become electried, they start to attract or repel neighbouring objects. For example, when you comb your hair with a plastic comb, you see that your hair and the comb attract each other.

16.3 Electric Conductors and Insulators

Metallic materials, such as copper, aluminium, and steel, are electrical conductors. Electrical conductivity can be understood in terms of free electrons in a metallic substance. In a metal, metal atoms form a metallic lattice, which is a regular repeated three-dimensional arrangement of atoms.

Figure 16.7: Atoms in a metal form an array of positive ions in a sea of free electrons. In metallic bonding, the outer electrons of atoms form a sea of free electrons, which are free to move inside the lattice, but cannot escape from it. On average, there is approximately one free electron per atom. In the absence of external electric eld, free electrons move randomly in the metal. When a metallic object is exposed to an external electric eld, the eld excerts an electric force on the electrons. As a result, free electrons start moving in the opposite direction to the eld, and electric current ows in the the metal. Non-metallic materials, such as most plastics, rubber and wood, are electric insulators, which do not conduct electricity. There are virtually no free electrons in non-metallic materials. Suppose we have two identical metallic spheres so that the other sphere is negatively charged and the other is uncharged. If we connect the balls with a wire, the electrons ow from the charged sphere though the wire until both spheres have an equal charge. We say that charges are

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balanced. But if we connect the spheres by a wooden stick, no charges will ow.

Figure 16.8: IPad mini is powered by A5 processor. Microprocessor technology is based on silicon, which is semiconducting material. Some materials, such as silicon, carry both the properties of electrical conductors and electrical insulators. Such materials are called semiconductors. They are very important in electronics, because some electrecila components such as microprocessors are based on such materials.

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16.4 Electric Force

Electric charges at rest are called static charges. Static charges interact via electric interaction that results in an attractive or repulsive electric force between the charged objects. In 1785 French physicist Charles Coulomb (1736-1806) devised the experimental law governing the electric force between two point charges. He realised that the force between two point charges is directly proportional to the charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Coulombs Force The electric force between two point charges q 1 and q 2 is called the Coulombs force. It is expressed as F =k q1 q2 r2 (16.3)

where k = 8.999 1 109 N m2 C2 is the electric constant in vacuum, and r is the distance between the charges. Point charges are objects that are very small compared with their distance. Naturally, protons and electrons are point charges at atomic level. At macroscopic level two charged spheres separated by a relatively large distance are an important example of point charges. The electric force between the spheres can be calculated from the Coulombs Law, provided that r is the distance between the centres of the spheres. This is similar to the universal law of gravitation, where the gravitational force between the Sun and a planet is calculated using the centre of mass distance of the objects.

Point charge

q1 = 1 C

q2 = 2 C

F 12

F 21

distance between the charges is r Figure 16.9: Coulombs Law describes the electric force between two charges at rest. Notice that by Newtons Third Law of Motion the forces are equal and opposite. Figure 16.9 illustrates the Coulomb force between two positive charges # q 1 = 1 C and q 2 = 2 C. Vector F 12 represents the electric force charge 2 # exerts on charge 1, and vector F 21 represents the force charge 1 exerts

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on charge 2. The forces act along the line joining the charged objects. By Newtons Third Law of Motion, the charges exert equal and opposite electric forces on one another no matter the values of the charges. Because like charges repel each other, the force vectors point at opposite directions. If the circles are thought of representing charged metallic spheres then r stands for the centre of mass distance between the objects. The electric force is either either repulsive or attractive, depending on the charges q 1 and q 2 . In the following gures black circles stand for a negative point charge and red for a positive point charge.

Figure 16.10: Like charges repel each other.

Figure 16.11: Unlike charges attract each other. Notice that the electric force charge 1 exerts on charge 2 is equal and opposite to the force charge 2 exerts on charge 1, in accord with Newtons third law. Note! When we calculate the electric force between charged objects, we ignore the signs of the charges, and determine the direction of the force separately.

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Example 15. I n an atomic nucleus, protons are very near each other. A) By estimating the size of a helium nucleus, calculate the electric force on two protons in the nucleus. B) If the electric force were the only force acting on a proton, calculate the acceleration of the proton. C) Explain briey, why the protons do not y apart from the nucleus. Answer. A) We estimate the distance between the protons to be r = 1.0 1015 m, because that is the order of magnitude of a typical atomic nucleus. Since the charge of a proton is q p = 1.60 1019 C, the electric force between the protons is qpqp r2 1.60 1019 C 1.60 1019 C (1.0 1015 m)2

F =k

= 8.99 109 N m2 C2 230 N

B) The mass of a proton is m p = 1.673 1027 kg. The acceleration is a= 230.14 N F 1.4 1029 m s2 . = m p 1.673 1027 kg

C) The protons do not y apart, because the strong nuclear force prevents them from doing so.

If two point-like objects are situated 1 m apart from each other, and if both carry the electric charge of 1 C, the electric force between the objects is F = 8.99 109 N. The force is equivalent to the weight of a million tons. From that example it is easy to understand that the electric charges we encounter are usually much less than a coulomb. When two charged objects move with respect to each other a magnetic interaction is created between the objects. We study magnetism in the next chapter.

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16.5 Electric Field

Just as mass of an object creates a gravitational eld around the object, electric charge creates an electric eld around a charged object. The simplest type of a charged object is a point charge, which is a point-like electrically charged object. Next we study the electric elds created by point charges so that we would be able to draw and interpret the most important types of electric eld (Topic 6.2.7). The following gure illustrates the electric eld created by a positive point charge.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Figure 16.12: A positive point charge creates an outward radial electric eld. The electric eld is represented by electric eld lines, just as gravitational elds are represented by gravitational eld lines. The arrow heads represent the direction of the electric eld, and the density of the lines per unit area represent the strength of electric eld. By denition, the direction of electric eld lines is away from the positive charge, as Figure 16.12 illustrates. The eld lines start from the positive charge and extend to innity. In principle an electric eld permeates the whole space. The electric eld of a point charge depends on the charge creating the eld, and on the distance to the charge. From Figure 16.12 we see that the electric eld weakens in the radial direction away from the point charge. Such an electric eld is called a radial electric eld.

Topic 6.2.7: Radial eld

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Before we study electric elds in more detail, let us study a couple of more examples of different electric elds. The following gure represents the electric eld of a negative point charge.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Figure 16.13: A negative point charge creates an inward radial electric eld.

The eld lines of the negative point charge start from innity, end at the negative charge, and are directed towards it. When several charges are present, the total electric eld depends on the charges involved, and their relative positions. Figure 16.14 represents the electric eld of two equal positive point charges.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Figure 16.14: The electric eld of two equal positive point charges.

In the middle of the line connecting the two charges, the electric eld of two equal point charges is zero. From the gure we see how the electric eld lines curve, because the two charges repel one another. The electric eld created by two equal negative charges is identical to Figure 16.14, but the directions of the eld lines are reversed.

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2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Figure 16.15: The electric eld of two equal negative point charges. Once again we see that there is no eld in the midpoint between two charges. The eld lines come from innity and end at the negative charges. The next gure illustrates the electric eld of two opposite charges.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

Figure 16.16: The electric eld of two opposite point charges. From the gure we see that the electric eld between two opposite charges is strongest in between the charges. The eld lines start from the positive charge and end at the negative charge. And nally, a eld between opposite and non-equal charges.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

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Figure 16.17: The electric eld of two opposite non-equal point charges. Homogeneous eld When two long metallic plates are placed near each other, and charged with opposite charges, a constant electric eld is created between the plates.

Figure 16.18: Long, oppositely charged metallic plates produce a constant electric eld between them. Notice that the eld is not constant near the edges. As can be seen from the gure, the electric eld is not constant near the right and left edges. This is known as the edge-effect. A constant electric eld is called a homogeneous electric eld. Homogeneous electric elds are important in physics, because they can be used to explain various physical phenomena such as electric currents in metallic wires. They are also used to accelerate charged particles in many devices, such as in mass-spectrometers and particle accelerators. According to the physics syllabus, you should be able to illustrate the electric elds of a point charge, a charged sphere, two point charges, and oppositely charged parallel plates, where the latter includes the edge effect. We have covered everything else but the charged spheres here, which will be covered in the next section. Topic 6.2.7 Edge effect

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16.6 Electric Field Strength

When we place a small positive test charge q at any point in an electric eld, the eld exerts an electric force in the direction of the eld on the charge. The electric eld strength is a quantity that gives the magnitude and direction of the electric eld at a certain point in the eld.

Denition of Electric eld strength E . The electric eld strength is the electric force per small positive unit charge.

Electric Field Strength The electric eld strength is

# #

#
F q (16.4)

E=

where F is the electric force on a small positive test charge q at a point in the electric eld. The SI derived unit of the electric eld strength is N C1 (newton per coulomb)(or V m1 (volt per metre) as we study later). Electric eld strength is a vector quantity. The magnitude of the electric eld strength at a point is the magnitude of the electric force per unit charge on a small positive test charge at that point. The direction of the electric eld at a point is the direction of the electric force on a small positive test charge at that point. Charge q should be as small as possible, so that it exerts essentially no force on the charges which created the eld. That way the test charge does not change the original charge distribution that created the eld.

Radial Electric Field

A static point charge creates a radial electric eld around it. If we place a small test charge q in the electric eld created by a point charge Q , the Coulomb force between the charges is F =k Qq . r2

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197

The magnitude of the electric eld strength of a point charge at distance r from the charge is F k 2 Q E = = r =k 2. q q r
Qq

(16.5)

Since the strength of the electric eld is a function of distance r only, the eld is called a radial electric eld as we have already discussed.

Denition of Electric Field of a Point Charge A point charge Q creates a radial electric eld around it such that # the magnitude of the electric eld strength E at distance r from the charge is 1 Q Q (16.6) E =k 2 = r 4 0 r 2 where k is the electric constant in vacuum. When several point charges are present, the total electric eld is the vector sum of the electric elds created by individual charges. When a metallic sphere acquires negative electric charge, the extra electrons accumulate on the surface. The electrons move until they are evenly distributed on the surface of the sphere so that the charge density on the surface becomes constant. As a result, there is no electric eld Inside the sphere. Outside the sphere, the electric eld is identical to the eld of a point charge located at the centre of the sphere.

2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

# # E=0

Figure 16.19: Electrons are distributed evenly on the surface of the charged sphere. There is no electric eld inside the sphere, but outside the sphere the eld is radial.

A positively charged sphere creates a similar electric eld around it. Also here extra electric charge is on the surface of the sphere.

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2 1 0 -1 -2 -3

+ + + + # # E=0 + + + + +

Figure 16.20: Also positively charged metallic sphere creates a radial eld around it equivalent to a positive point charge. The two gures illustrate why two metallic spheres interact as if they were point charges separated by distance r .

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16.7 Electric Potential and Electric Potential Energy

When a lamp is connected to a battery by metallic wires, an electric current starts owing through the lamp, wires and battery. This is understood in terms of electric potential difference across the positive and negative terminal of the battery. When the wires are connected to the battery, as a result of the potential difference across the terminals of the battery, an electric eld is formed in the wires, and free electrons start moving through the circuit, and the lament in the lamp starts glowing. In this section we study electric potential, which is probably the most important quantity in electricity. It is a scalar quantity, and a property of an electric eld. All electrical devices are based on controlling potential differences across electrical components.

16.7.1 Electric Potential Difference

Consider a proton in a homogeneous electric eld as illustrated below.

F =

Figure 16.21: Initially, a proton is near the positive plate in a homogeneous electric eld.

The electric eld exerts a constant electric force F = q p E on the proton. If we let the proton go down to the negative plate, the electric eld does work on it. The work done by the electric eld on the test charge is W = F s = qE s which equals the negative of the change in electrical potential energy E pot of the charge. Next we dene the electric potential difference V .

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Denition of Electric potential difference Electric potential difference is the work done per unit charge in moving a small positive test charge from innity to a point in an electric eld. By denition, the work done by the electric eld on the charge W equals the negative of the change in electrical potential energy E pot. As an equation this is written as W = E pot . (16.7)

Just as with gravitational potential energy, we are free to choose the zero level of electrical potential energy. We choose the zero level to be at the negative plate.

Work Done by the Electric Field on a Charge

Let us start with considering the work done by a radial electric eld on an electric charge, as the charge moves from innity to distance r from a point charge. First we imagine a small positive test charge q innitely far away from point charge Q . As the test charge approaches the point charge, the electric eld does work on it. Since the electric force is inversely proportional to the distance squared (F r 2 ), it is not a constant force, but a function of distance. The work done on the moving charge can be calculated using calculus, but it is beyond the scope of our course. Here we just state the result. When a point charge q moves from innity to distance r from a point charge Q , the work done by the electric eld on the test charge is W = k Qq r (16.8)

Note! It should be noted that the work done depends only on the charges and distance r from the point charge. It does not depend on the path along which the test charge moves from innity to a point in the eld. This can be understood, if we divide the path into segments that are at right angles to the radial lines, and to the segments that are in radial direction. In moving along perpendicular segments no work is done, because the electric force and displacement are at right angles to each other. The electric force does work on the charge only along radial segments.

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Denition of Electric Potential Electric potential is the work done per unit charge moving a small positive test charge from innity to a point in an electric eld. As an equation the electric potential is dened as V= W q (16.9)

where W is the work done by the electric eld on the positive test charge q as the charge moves from innity to a point in an electric eld. Electric potential is a scalar quantity. The unit of electric potential is 1 V (volt) according to Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), who invented the battery in 1800. Denition of Electric Potential V of a point charge Q . The electric potential at distance r from a point charge Q is V =k Q r (16.10)

where k is the electric constant at vacuum. The work done by the eld on the charge equals the negative of the change in electrical potential energy. Electric Potential of a point charge Electric Potential V of a point charge Q is W = k Qq initial nal = E pot = E pot E pot . r (16.11)

initial If we let the electric potential energy at innity E pot be zero, we have a denition for the electric potential energy.

Denition of Electric Potential V of a point charge Q The electric potential energy of charge q at distance r from a point charge Q is Qq (16.12) E pot = k r where k is the electric constant in vacuum. The electric potential energy is energy associated to the electric eld of the charges Q and q . That is, it is a property of the system consisting

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of charges Q and q . Next we introduce the electric potential V , which is a property of the electric eld, and does not depend on the value of the test charge. Let us assume that an electric charge moves from point A to point B in an electric eld. As the charges moves in the eld, the electric eld does work on the charge. It can be shown that the work done depends only on points A and B, not on the path along which the charge moves from point A to point B. Denition of Change in electric potential V The electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit charge. As an equation the electric potential at point A in the electric eld is E pot V= (16.13) q where E pot is the electric potential energy of the charge q at point A. The SI unit of electric potential is [V ] = [E ] J = = JC1 = 1 V volt [q ] C

according to Italian scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827).

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16.8 Electric Current

Electric current is the time rate of change of electric charge owing through a cross-sectional area in a conductor. For a steady current, the electric current is

I=

Q t

(16.14)

where Q is the electric charge that ows trough a cross-sectional area in time t . The unit of electric current in SI system is [I ] = [Q ] C = = C s1 = 1 A (ampere). [t ] s (16.15)

Ampere is a fundamental unit in the SI system. It is dened as the constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of innite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed one metre apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 107 N m1 . In a metallic wire, the electric current is carried by moving free electrons in the wire. If a current of 1 A ows in a wire, 1 C of electric charge ows across any cross-sectional area in the wire in one second. A device that measures electric current is called an ammeter.

Example 16. [ 1] A student used an ammeter to measure the electric current of 178 mA in a metallic wire. How many electrons passes through a cross sectional area in the wire each second? Answer. The electric current in the wire is I= Q t

from where it follows that the electric charge going through a cross sectional area in the wire in time t is Q = I t . Since the charge of an electron is the negative elementary charge Q e = 1.602 1019 C, the number of electrons passing through a cross

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sectional area in a wire each second is N= Q I t 178 103 A 1 s = = 1.11 1018 . 19 Qe Qe 1.602 10 C

16.9 Resistance
The resistance of an electrical component is V (16.16) I where V is the potential difference across the component and I the electric current owing through it. The unit of electrical resistance is R= R= [V ] V = = VA = 1 (ohm) [I ] A (16.17)

according to German physicist Georg Simon Ohm (1789 1854).

16.10 Resistivity
It is found experimentally that at xed temperature the resistance of a metallic wire R is proportional to the length of the wire l and inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area A of it l (16.18) A where the constant of proportionality is called the resistivity of the material. The unit of resistivity is R = = [R ][ A ] = m [l ] (16.19)

16.11 Kirchhoffs First Rule

In the mid-nineteenth century German physicist G.R. Kirchhoff (18241887) devised two important laws concerning electric circuits. Kirchhoffs First Law At any junction point, the sum of the currents entering the junction equals the sum of the currents leaving the junction. The Kirchhoffs First Law is based on the conservation law of electric charge.

16.12. Kirchhoffs Second Rule

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16.12 Kirchhoffs Second Rule

Kirchhoffs Second Law The sum of the changes in potential around any closed loop of a circuit is zero. Kirchhoffs Second Law is sensible, as when you travel around a loop in a circuit, you arrive at the same position in the circuit where you started from. That is, you start and end at the same potential, and the change in the potential is zero. Strictly speaking, the Kirchhoffs Laws are not a part of the IB syllabus. However, they are very useful in circuit analysis, and you should study them carefully. The following derivations of the resistors in series and resistors in parallel make use of the Kirchhoffs Laws.

16.13 Sources of Potential Difference

Before an electric current can ow in a conductor, there has to be a potential difference across the ends of the conductor. A device that acts as a source of a potential difference is called a voltage source. Batteries, generators, solar cells and thermocouples and examples of voltage sources. A DC voltage source has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. Usually, the positive terminal is painted red and the negative terminal is painted black. Positive terminal is at the higher potential than the negative one. When a circuit is connected to the voltage source, the electric current ows from the higher potential terminal through the circuit, and to the lower potential terminal. The equal current ows inside the voltage source as well.

16.14 Power Dissipation in a Component

Let us consider a resistive component, such as a resistor, in a DC circuit. When charge Q moves across a potential difference V in a DC circuit, the work done by the electric eld on the charge carriers in the conductor is W = QV . Because the electric current is constant, the resistive forces in the conductor do an equal and opposite work on the charge carriers. The resistive forces result from the interaction of free electrons with the the lattice. The electric power of an electrical component is P =V I where V is the potential difference across the component and I the current owing through it. The electric power gives the amount of energy

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consumed by the component in the circuit in one second. Using the denition of the resistance R = V / I gives us the instantaneous electric power V2 = RI2 P= R where R is the resistance of the component.

16.14.1 Metallic Conductors

If you look inside an operating toaster, you see how the heating elements of the toaster glow, because they are so hot. This is due to a large electric current owing through the element, heating it up and making it glow. Materials that conduct electric current are called conductors, and the ones that do not, insulators. Some materials carry both the properties of conductors and insulators, and they are called semiconductors. They are very important in electronics, because digital circuits are based on semiconductor technology. Almost all of the mass of an atom is in the nucleus. In solids, atomic nuclei have xed locations. Metals are electric conductors. Metal atoms are regularly arranged in in a grid like form called lattice. Metals are electrical conductors. This can be understood in terms of free electrons in the metal. In metallic solids metal atoms share their outer electrons such that some electrons are almost free to move among the metal atoms in the metallic lattice. We call them free electrons. The metallic atoms that have lost their outer electrons act as positive ions in the lattice. A lattice is a regular repeated three dimensional arrangement of metallic atoms. It is further assumed that the free electrons do not interact with each other remarkably. Thus, free electrons move very easily in the lattice of positive ions, resulting in good electrical conductivity. This surprisingly simple model explains a wide variety of other physical properties as well, such as the good thermal conductivity of metals.

16.15 Electric Current

When we place a metallic conductor in an electric eld, the eld exerts an electric force on the electrons in the metal. The free electrons move inside the conductor until the reorganized charges create an electric eld that cancels the external electric eld. As a result, the electric eld inside a conductor is always zero. The situation is, however, different when charges move inside a conductor, such as a metallic wire. When electric current ows in a metallic wire, this is because an electric eld exerts a force on the electrons, as we about to study. Metal atoms have relatively loosely bound outer electrons. When metal atoms join to form a In metals, atoms join to each other byMetal

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atoms have relatively loose outer electrons. and free electrons. metallic bond, the outer electrons of the metal atoms form a gas of nearly free electrons, moving as an electron gas in a background of positive charge formed by the ion cores. Good mathematical predictions for electrical conductivity, as well as the electrons contribution to the heat capacity and heat conductivity of metals can be calculated from the free electron model, which does not take the detailed structure of the ion lattice into account. When considering the exact band structure and binding energy of a metal, it is necessary to take into account the positive potential caused by the specic arrangement of the ion cores - which is periodic in crystals. The most important consequence of the periodic potential is the formation of a small band gap at the boundary of the Brillouin zone. Mathematically, the potential of the ion cores can be treated by various models, the simplest being the nearly free electron model. When we place a conductor V

Figure 16.22: Two equivalent circuit diagrams for the study of ( I , V ) properties of a lamp.

R V A V V

R A

Figure 16.23: Two equivalent circuit diagrams for the study of ( I , V ) properties of a resistor.

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We begin our study of electric circuits by constructing a simple direct current circuit (DC circuit). When a lamp is connected to a battery by two wires, an electric current starts owing in the circuit and the lamp lights up. To model an electric circuit we use electrical circuit symbols. When we connect the terminals of a voltage source to an electrical circuit, a constant electric current starts owing in the circuit. This is because there is an electric potential difference across the terminals of the voltage source that results in an electric eld inside the wire. The eld exerts an electric force on the electrons and the electric current starts owing. In metallic wires, the electric current is the ow of electrons inside the wires. The motion of the electrons can be understood in terms of the potential difference across the terminals of the voltage source and resulting electric eld inside the wires.