Boğaziçi University

Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department

Alternating Current and

Components
EE 101 Lecture 4
Fall 2019
 Outline
• AC Fundamentals
• Capacitors and Inductors
• RC Circuits
• Transformers

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 1

 Re: Direct and Alternative Current
DC: AC:
• Flow of electric charge that • Alternating currents flow
occurs in one direction
back and forth.
• Typically produced by batteries
and direct current generator • AC is preferred over DC due
• Not economically feasible to to their ease of generation
transmit because of high and distribution.
voltages needed for long-
distance transmission

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 2

 Alternating Currents
• DC

• AC

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 3

 AC Voltages
• If we pass an alternating current through a
resistor, we can observe across the resistor an
AC voltage whose instantaneous value obeys
Ohm’s law.
• This voltage can be written as
v( t ) = Vp sinwt

• Vp is the peak value, w is the angular

frequency (rad/s), and t is time.

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 4

 AC Voltages
• Note that w = 2pf
• f is the frequency in Hz.
• What about the power?

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 5

 AC Voltages
2.5

1.5

0.5
I
0 V
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
P
-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 6

 AC Voltages
• Let us solve for the power
V = V p sin wt
Vp
I= sin wt
R
V p2 2 V p2
P = VI =
R
sin wt =
2R
[1 - cos(2wt )]

V p2 Vrms 2
Pave = º
2R R
Vp
Vrms º
2
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 7
 Capacitors
• If we align two conductive plates parallel to
each other, separate them with an insulator,
we have formed a capacitor.
• Capacitors stored balanced charge.
• The variable C is used to denote capacitance
and the unit is Farads.

Q = CV
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 8
 Capacitors

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 9

 Capacitance
• Using the definition of current
dQ dV
I= =C
dt dt

• For a parallel plate capacitor,

e re 0 A
C=
d
• e0 is the dielectric constant of free air and is
8.85 X 10-12 F/m.

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 10

 Capacitance
6

I
0 V
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
P

-2

-4

-6

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 11

 Real Capacitors

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 12

 Capacitance
• er is the relative dielectric constant
Material Relative Dielectric Dielectric Strength
Constant (kV/cm)
Vacuum 1.00000 ∞
Air 1.00054 8
Paper 3.5 140
Polystyrene 2.6 250
Teflon 2.1 600
Titanium Dioxide 100 60

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 13

 Capacitance
• The overall power dissipation over time is
zero.
• Capacitors do not dissipate power, they store
energy when charging and return it to the
circuit when discharging.
• The energy stored in a capacitor is given by
1
U = CV 2

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 14

 Capacitor-Water Analogy
• “Charging a capacitor is analogous to filling up
a glass with water:”

A. Sheikholeslami, "A Capacitor Analogy, Part 1 [Circuit Intuitions]," in IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 7-91,
Summer 2016. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7559992&isnumber=7559939

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 15

 Capacitor-Water Analogy
• “The water dropped initially into the glass
wastes all of its potential energy. As the water
height increases, the newly added water
keeps more of its potential energy in the glass
and wastes less.”

A. Sheikholeslami, "A Capacitor Analogy, Part 1 [Circuit Intuitions]," in IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 7-91,
Summer 2016. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7559992&isnumber=7559939
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 16
 RC Circuits
• Imagine the circuit below with the capacitor
charged to V0.

C R

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 17

 RC Circuits
• How will the voltage across the capacitor look
like?
• It will start from V0.
• It will decrease until all the charge is
dissipated and will drop to 0V.
• As current is flowing, an opposite voltage will
appear across the resistor, slowing down the
discharge.

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 18

 RC Circuits
• We can write the following equations:
dV V
C =I=-
dt R
dV 1 1
=- V º- V
dt RC t
• The voltage is a function whose derivative is
similar to itself.
• What can this function be?
• An exponential!!!

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 19

 RC Circuits
• Thus, V(t) turns out to be
- tt
V (t) = V0e

• V0 is the initial voltage, whereas t is called the

time constant and is given by t=RC.
• C determines how much charge is stored, R
determines how fast it is dissipated.
• Their product determines the rate of decay.
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 20
 RC Circuits

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 21

 RC Circuits
• This function is called the exponential decay.
• It is very common in many natural processes:
– Radioactive decay
– Newton’s law of cooling
– Chemical reaction rates depending on
concentration of reactant.
–…

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 22

 RC Circuits
• Now, let us take the following circuit
R

V C
DC:5V +
-

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 23

 RC Circuits
• What does the voltage across the capacitor
look like?
• We expect the capacitor to charge to the value
of the voltage source.
• We expect that it charges fast in the
beginning, slowing down as the capacitor
voltage increases.

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 24

 RC Circuits
• We can write the following equations:

-VS + VR + VC = 0
-VS + IR + VC = 0
dVC
I =C
dt

(
VC ( t ) = VS 1 - e
- tt
)

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 25

 RC Circuits

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 26

 RC Circuits
• Universal voltage and current curves for RC
circuit

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 27

 RC Circuits
• What if the input were a pulse?
• The capacitor would repeatedly charge and
discharge.

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 28

 RC Circuits

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 29

 Inductance
• When an electric current passes through an
inductor, it creates a magnetic field.
• Energy is stored in space around the inductor
as magnetic field builds up.
• This opposes any change in current.
• It is like momentum or inertia.
• In our water model, it is like a heavy paddle
wheel placed in the current.
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 30
 Inductance
• We can write the following equation for
inductance: di
V =L
dt

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 31

 Inductance

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 32

 Transformers
• When two or more inductors share a common
magnetic core, the resulting device is a
transformer.
• When an AC voltage is applied to one of the
windings of the transformer, it will create a
magnetic field proportional to the number of
turns.
• This magnetic field will be coupled to the next
winding, creating an AC voltage depending on its
number of turns.
Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 33
 Transformers
• Therefore,
V1 N1
=
V2 N 2

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 34

 Transformers
• Since an ideal transformer cannot create or
dissipate power,
P = V1I1 = V2I2

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 35

 Transformers

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 36

 Electrical Quantities
Quantity Variable Unit Unit Typical Defining Important
Symbol Values Relations Equations
Charge Q Coulomb C 10-18 – 1 Mag of I = dq/dt
6.24X10-18
charges
Current I Ampere A 10-6 – 103 1A = 1C/s KCL
Voltage V Volt V 10-6 – 106 1V=1N-m/C KVL
Power P Watt W 10-6 – 106 1W = 1J/s P = IV
Energy U Joule J 10-15 – 1012 1J = 1N-m U = QV
Force F Newton N 1N=1kg-
m/s2
Time t Second s
Resistance R Ohm W 1 – 107 V = IR
Capacitance C Farad F 10-15 – 10 Q = CV
Boğaziçi University EE101
Inductance L Henry H Lecture 4 10-6 – 1 37
V = L di/dt
 Next Lecture
• Introduction to Semiconductors
• Rules and Regulations

Boğaziçi University EE101 Lecture 4 38