EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC CURRENT

The useful form of energy into which a device converts elec-

trical energy, is considered as the effect of electric current on
that device. Electric current can produce heating effect, light-
ing effect, Mechanical effect, Magnetic effect, Chemical ef-
fect etc.
Heating effect of electric curent

Nichrome wire

When current is passed through a short nichrome wire using

a 6V battery it gets heated and becomes red.

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We can measure the voltage between the ends of the resistor
R (nichrome wire) using a voltmeter V and the current through
it, using an ammeter A.
If the ammeter shows a current I ampere on applying a po-
tential difference V across the resistor of resistance R W ,
Q
Current I  t
The potential difference between two points will be one volt
if one joule of work is done in moving one coulomb of
charge from one point to the other.
One joule of work is required to move one coulomb of charge
under one volt potential difference. Hence the work W to
be done to move one coulomb of charge under a potential
difference V will be, W = V joule.
Process by which heat is developed in a circuit on passing
current through it is known as the Joule Heating or Ohmic
Heating.
Joule's Law
The heat generated (H) in a current carrying conductor is
directly proportional to the product of the square of the cur-

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rent (I) in the conductor, the resistance of the conductor (R)
and the time (t) of flow of current.
H  I2Rt
 H = I2Rt joule
I is the current in ampere, R is the resistance in ohm and t is
the time in second.
Factors influences heat
Resistance of the conductor
Electric Current
;Time of electricity flows ..........etc
Heating coils are made of nichrome. Nichrome is an
alloy of nickel, chromium, iron and manganese.
Arrangement of Resistors in Circuits
1. Series Connection
When a circuit is completed by connecting the resistors one
after the other, it is called series connection. When resistors
are connected like this, the effective resistance increases.

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When resistors are connected in series, the potential dif-
ference gets divided.
V = V 1 + V2
The current through each resistor will be the same. Hence
V1 = IR1, V2 = I R2
In a series circuit the voltage across the higher resistance
will be greater.
V = IR
I R = IR1 + I R2
IR = I (R1 + R2)
R = R1 + R2
Effective resistance is the sum of the resistance of all the
resistors when they are connected in series. If the resistors
are of the same value, then the effective resistance can be
obtained by multiplying the resistance of a resistor with the
number of resistors.
Parallel Connection
The current completes the circuit by getting divided into
each branch since the resistors are connected in parallel.

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The total current in the circuit is the sum of the current
through all the branch circuits.

I = I 1 + I2
Since R is the effective resistance, By Ohm’s law

V V V
 
R R1 R2

1  1 1 
V      V
 R   R1 R2 

1 1 1
 
R R1 R2

R1R2
R
R1  R2

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Electric Heating Appliances
Electric heating appliances are instruments that make use of
the heating effect of electricity. Electrical energy is convert-
ed into heat energy in them.
Safety fuse
Safety fuse is a device used to protect the circuit using the
heating effect of electric current. It is a device which protects
us and the appliances from danger when an excess current
flows through the circuit.

 Main part of safety fuse.

Fuse wire  Alloy of suitable metals.

 Has a low melting point

Precautions to be taken when fuse wire is used in

a circuit
 The fuse wire should not project out of the
carrier base.
 The ends of the fuse wire must be con-
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 nected firmly at appropriate points.
 Use fuse wire of proper Amperage
Why fuse wire melts
During the entire time of the passing of curre-nt through a
circuit, a small amount of heat is generated in the fuse wire.
But this heat will be transmitted to the surroundings. When
the current that flows into the circuit exceeds the ermissible
limit, the heat generated becomes excessive. Since more heat
is generated in unit time than the heat transmitted, the fuse
wire, melts.
Short circuit
If the positive and the negative terminals of a battery or the
two wires from the mains come into contact without the
presence of a resistance in between, they are said to be short
- circuited.
Overloading
A circuit is said to be overloaded if the total power of all the
appliances connected to it is more than what the circuit can
withstand.

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Amperage (A)
It is the ratio of the power of an equipment to the voltage
applied. Amperage increases with the thickness of the con-
ductor.
Gauge
Gauge is the reciprocal of the diameter of a conductor. As
the gauge increases, the thickness of the conductor decreas-
es and hence the amperage also decreases.
Electric power (P)
The work done per unit time is called Power. The amount of
current used by an appliance in unit time is the power con-
sumed by that. It is measured by
w
P=
t
The unit of power is Watt
Lighting Effect of Electric Current
Incandescent lamps
Incandescent lamp is an electric light source. They produce
light from red hot filaments. The meaning of incandescent is
“glowing with heat”. Tungsten is used as filament in incandes-
cent lamps.
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  Thin tungsten filament


Parts: Glass bulb
Gas filled at low pressure
 inside the bulb
Conducting wires which sup-
 ports filament

 High melting point

Advantages
  High resitivity
of using
tungsten as  High ductility
filament Ability to emit white light in

white hot condition
Discharge lamps

Electrodes

Gas

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Working :
 When a discharge lamp is connected to a source of elec-
tricity, the gas in between the electrodes gets ionised due
to the applied po-tential difference.
 Ionised atoms move at high speed and collide with
unionised atoms among them and excite them to higher
energy states.
 Excited atoms come back to their original states for attain-
ing stability.
 During this process the energy stored in them will be radi-
ated as light.
Gas Colour
Hydrogen Blue
Sodium vapour Yellow
Neon Orange red
Chlorine Green
Nitrogen Red
Light Emitting Diode Lamp
L.E.D lamps are electronic devices which converts electrical

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energy into light consuming a very low power.

As there is no filament, there is no loss of

 energy in the form of heat.

Advantages of  Since there is no mercury in it, it is not

using harmful to environment.
LED
 It requires only a small quantity of power.

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