MBS3211_Engineering Science for BS Electricity

CHAPTER 3 - ELECTRICITY
A. Basic Concepts of Electricity and Electrostatics

1) SI Units
a) Units
In science and engineering the International System of Units (SI units) form the basis of all
units used. There are six 'base' units from which all the other units are derived, called
'derived' units.

Quantity Unit Unit symbol

1. Electric current ampere A

2. Mass kilogram kg
3. Length metre m
4. Time second s
5. Temperature kelvin K
6. Luminous intensity candela cd

Table 1 The SI base units

Several examples of derived units commonly used in Electricity and Magnetism are shown in
Table 2.

Quantity Unit Unit symbol

1. Potential volts V
2. Power Watt W
3. Energy Joule or Watt hour J or Wh
4. Resistance Ohm Ω
5. Frequency Hertz Hz

Table 2 Some SI Electricity and Magnetism derived units

b) Common Prefixes

In the real world, we are required to work with extremely large and extremely small
quantities, a system of prefixed was used to handle the problem.
Table 3 shows the symbols (prefixes) used to represent the various power of 10. It should
be noted that these prefixes are arranged in multiples of 103.

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Multiplying factor Prefix name Symbol

1012 tera T
109 giga G
106 mega M
103 kilo k
10-3 milli m
10-6 micro μ
10-9 nano n
10-12 pico p

Table 3 Unit prefixes

c) Calculation

1 1 2 2 1
n G ex1.   0.2m
10k 10 k
G n
1 1 2  2 106
 M 
M  ex2.
10k 10 103
1 1  2 EXP  6  10EXP 3
m k  2 1010
k m
 0.2n
1 1
p T
T p

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2) Basic Electrical Concepts

a) Electrical Charge
All matter is made up of atoms. A common model called Bohr model is shown in Fig.1
describes the atom as consisting of a central nucleus containing minute particles called
protons and neutrons. Surrounding the nucleus are a number of electrons in various orbits.
Each atom has the same number of protons and electrons.

Nucleus with Protons

Electron Fig. 1

Due to this relatively large mass the proton, it does not play an active part in electrical current
flow. Electron, on the other hand, plays an important role in current flow. However,
protons and electrons do share one common property, they possess electric charge.

The unit of charge is called the coulomb (C). Charge is considered as the quantity of
electricity and it is given the symbol Q. An electron and proton have exactly the same
amount of charge. The electron has a negative charge, whereas the proton has a positive
charge. One coulomb of charge is equal to approximately 628 x 1016 electron charge or one
charge has 1.6x10-19C.

b) Electric forces and Electric Field

Electric forces are created between all electric charges.
Because there are two kinds of charge (positive and negative) the electrical force between
charges can attract or repel.

Fig. 2
The concept of a field is used to describe any quantity that has a value for all points in space.
You can think of the field as the way forces are transmitted between objects.
Charge creates an electric field that creates forces on other charges.

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Fig. 3

c) Charging in terms of Electron Transfer

If one or more of the orbiting electrons are released from the parent atom then this charge
balance in the atom is upset. In this case the atom acquires a net positive charge, and is
known as a positive ion. On the other hand, if the free 'extra' electrons can be made to orbit
the nucleus of an atom then the atom acquires a net negative charge. It then becomes a
negative ion. Electric charging occurs when the free electrons or negative charge/ion is
transferring in the circuit under the electric force of the electric field.

Free electrons

Fig. 4
When sufficient external energy is applied,
electrons are released from its parent nucleus.
They are referred as 'Free electrons'.

d) Conductors and Insulators

• Conductors:
1. Electrons are free to move from one atom to another.
2. When one part of a conductor loses electrons, it becomes positively charged.
3. Free electrons will move from other regions to that part. The flow of electrons causes a
redistribution of charges.

Fig. 5
• Insulators:
1. Electrons are firmly bound.
2. Electrons cannot move around in the object, they only rotate in the atom.

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3. Removal or addition of electrons at one end of an insulator does not cause a flow of
electrons.
e) Current
Electric current is the movement, or flow of electrons through a conductive material. It is
measured as the rate at which the charge is moved around a circuit. Since charge Q is
measured in coulombs and time in seconds then the unit for electric current would be the
coulomb/second. In fact, the amount of current flowing through a circuit may be calculated
by dividing the amount of charge passing a given point by the time taken. The unit however
is given a special name, the ampere.

Q
I amps, or Q  It Coulomb
t
f) Electromotive Force (emf)
The random movement of electrons within a material does not constitute an electrical current
because it does not result in drift in one particular direction. In order to cause the 'free'
electrons to drift in a given direction an electromotive force must be applied. Thus the emf
is the 'driving' force in an electrical circuit. The symbol for emf is E and the unit of
measurement is the volt (V). Typical sources of emf are cells, batteries and generators.
The circuit diagram symbols for a battery is shown in Fig. 6. The amount of current that
will flow through a circuit is related to the size of the emf applied to it.

Fig. 6 Battery symbol

g) Electric Potential or Voltage
• It represents the amount of electrical potential energy a unit charge possess at any point in
an electric field.
• At Anode, the electric potential(voltage) of an unit charge is the greatest. Almost = e.m.f
of the power supply.
• At Cathode, the potential(voltage) of an unit charge is the smallest or = 0V

electrical potential energy E

Potential = or V= ,
Charge Q

• Unit: volt, V and 1 V = 1 J C1 (Joule per Coulomb)

h) Potential Difference (p.d.)

Whenever current flows through a circuit element in a circuit such as resistor, there will be a
potential difference(p.d.) developed across it. The unit of p.d. is volts(V) and is measured as

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the difference in voltage levels between two points in a circuit. Although both p.d. and emf
are measured in volts they are not the same quantity. Essentially, emf (being the driving
force) causes current to flow; whilst a p.d. is the result of current flowing through a circuit
element. Thus emf is a cause and p.d. is an effect.

Consider the circuit shown in Fig.7, a battery with emf 1.5V and internal resistance Rint is
connected across a load resistor and cause current to flow. When current flow through the
load resistor, a potential difference will be developed across the terminal of the load.

Equivalent circuit of Voltage across the

a battery terminals A & B

V Internal drop
e.m.f.=
E.m.f.=1.5V, Rint. 1.5V

B I A
LOAD
I
P.D.=1.4 V

Fig.7 (a) Fig. 7(b)

When the load current, I, is zero, the p.d. across the LOAD, i.e. the terminals A & B, is 1.5
volts which is equal to the voltage of the e.m.f. of the battery.
3) Resistivity
a) Resistance (R)
Although the amount of electrical current that will flow through a circuit is related to the
applied emf, the other property of the circuit (or material) that determines the resulting
current is the 'opposition' to the current flow. The opposition is known as the electrical
resistance, which is measured in ohms (Ω), Conductors, which have many 'free' electrons
available for current carrying, have a low value of resistance. On the other hand, insulators
have very few 'free' charge carriers then insulators have a very high resistance while an open
switch presents an infinite resistance.

Substances, which offer certain amount of resistance to the flow of electrons, are called
resistors. The resistance of a resistor depends on the material used, the physical
construction of the resistor and the temperature. The resistance value can be determined by
l
R
A

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the equation

R is the resistance of a resistor in ohm()

l is the length of the resistor in meter(m).
A is cross-sectional area of the resistor in (m2).
 is the resistivity of the material in (-m), this is defined as the resistance that exists
between the opposite faces of a 1 m cube of that material, measured at defined temperature.

Typical values of resistivity are given in Table 4.

Material  (-m) at 0oC

Aluminium 2.7x10-8
Brass 7.2x10-8
Copper 1.59x10-8
Carbon 6500.0x10-8
Zinc 5.57x10-8

Table 4 Typical values of resistivity

b) Ohm's Law : V = I x R
Ohm's law states that the p.d. developed between the two ends of a resistor is directly
proportional to the value of current flowing through it, provided that all other factors (e.g.
temperature) remain constant. Writing this in mathematical form we have:
VI

The proportional constant is the value of resistance of the resistor.

R
V  IR I

V
R V
I
V
I
R V Slope = R

Fig. 8

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c) Resistors in Series
When resistors are connected 'end-to-end' so that the same current flows through them all
they are said to be connected in series. Such a circuit is shown in Fig. 9. Note that, for the
sake of simplicity, an ideal source of emf has been used (no internal resistance).
Fig. 9 Resistors in series

V1 V2 V3

I R1 R2 R3

E
By Ohm's law
V1 = IR1 volts; V2 = IR2 volts; and V3 = IR3 volts;
The sum of potential difference V1, V2 and V3 is equal to the value of applied emf E.
Hence E = V1 + V2 + V3 ;
E = IR1 + IR2 + IR3 and
E = I (R1 + R2 + R3)
The sum of R1, R2 and R3 is referred as the total resistance or equivalent resistance of the
circuit. So we can write
E = I x Req
and Req = R1 + R2 + R3 ohm
where Req is the total circuit resistance. From this result it may be seen that when resistors
are connected in series the total resistance is found simply by adding together the resistor
values.

d) Voltage dividing rule for N resistors connected in Series

If N resistors connected in series, the voltage across each resistor is directly proportional to
its resistance value.
Since V1 = IR1
V2 = IR2 V1 V2

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But V2 = E – V1,

We can find out the voltage across each resistors, if we know their resistance and the supply
voltage E.

e) Resistors in Parallel
When resistors are joined 'side-by-side' so that their corresponding ends are connected
together they are said to be connected in parallel. Using this form of connection means that
there will be a number of paths through which the current can flow.
I1 R1

Fig. 10 Resistors in parallel R2

I2

Consider the circuit shown in Fig.10, all I3 R3 three resistors are

connected directly across the battery terminals then they
I
all have the same voltage developed across them. Now
each resistor will allow a certain value of current to flow
through it, depending upon resistance value. By Ohm's law
E
The total current of the circuit I is the sum of I1, I2 and I3 , thus

I = I1 + I2 +I3
The total resistance or the equivalent resistance(Req) of the circuit is defined to be

E
I 
Req

By substituting the above expression for the currents, we have

E E E E 1 1 1
 I  ( I1  I 2  I 3 )  (   )  E(   )
Req R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3

 
 
1
Req   
 1 1 1 
R R R 
 1 2 3 
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1 1 1 1
and finally (   )Total resistance:
Req R1 R2 R3

f) Current Dividing rule for 2 resistors connected in parallel

The current passing through each resistor is inversely proportional to its
resistance value.
Since Vab = E = I1R1
Vab = E = I2R2

But I2 = I – I1,

We can find out the current flow through the two resistors, if we know their
resistance and the main current.
4) Voltage, Current & Power dissipation in simple d.c. circuits
a) Power in a resistive circuit
It is often necessary to calculate the amount of power that dissipated in a circuit or
component so to keep from destroying the circuit components. Also, if you are supplying
the power to a circuit, you need to know the amount of power to supply. The following
three equations are used for power calculations:
P = IE
Power is equal to the current multiplied by the voltage, unit of power is watt (W).
By Ohm's law E=IR, the above equation can be modify to be: P = I2R
Power is equal to the current squared, multiplied by the resistance.

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Using Ohm's law again, where I =E/R, the following equation is found.

E2
P
R
Power is equal to the voltage squared, divided by the resistance.

Example 1
VAB VBC VCD
A B C D Fig. 11
RAB RBC RCD
I   

E=10V

Consider the circuit shown in Fig.11, the potential difference of the circuit
VAB + VBC + VCD is exactly equal to the emf=10V.

The total resistance of the circuit is 2+5+2=10.

By Ohm's law V=IR, the current I should be equal to 1A. Then

VAB = I RAB = 1 x 2 = 2V.
VBC = I RBC = 1 x 5 = 5V.
VCD = I RCD = 1 x 3 = 3V.

Power dissipation in RAB = I2RAB = 12 x 2 = 2W.

Power dissipation in RBC = I2RBC = 12 x 5 = 5W.
Power dissipation in RCD = I2RCD = 12 x 3 = 3W.

The total power dissipated by the circuit or the total power supplied by the battery is equal to
2+5+3 =10W.

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Example 2

I1 R1 

Fig. 12
I2 R2 

I3 R3 

E=6V

Consider the circuit shown in Fig.12, the potential difference across each of the three resistors
is equal to the battery emf 6V. Apply Ohm's Law;

E=I1 R1 ; I1=E/R1 = 6/2 = 3A.

E=I2 R2 ; I2=E/R2 = 6/3 = 2A.
E=I3 R3 ; I3=E/R3 = 6/6 = 1A.

The total current I is equal to the sum of currents I1+I2+I3 = 3+2+1 =6A.

Power dissipation in R1 = I12R1 = 32 x 2 = 18W.

Power dissipation in R2 = I22R2 = 22 x 3 = 12W.
Power dissipation in R3 = I32R3 = 12 x 6 = 6W.

The total power dissipated by the circuit or the total power supplied by the battery is equal to
18+12+6 =36W.

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