POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE, CURRENT,

RESISTANCE, AND OHM’S LAW

Prerequisites: Work and Energy

1 Electric Potential Energy

Electric Potential Energy is the counterpart of gravitational potential energy in mechanics. The
electric potential energy associated with a test charge q0 with respect to another charge is given by,
1 qq0
U= (1)
4π0 r
For several point charges, the potential energy associated with q0 is with respect to two or more point
charges is given by,
 
q0 q1 q 2 q3 q0 X qi
U= + + + ... = (2)
4π0 r1 r2 r3 4π0 i ri
Since electric potential energy is just like the gravitational potential energy, the force associated with
this, the electric force, is also conservative.

Suppose a test charge q0 moves from a to b in an electric field produced by a single point charge or
by a collection of point charges, the work done by the electric force on that test charge is given by,

Wa→b = −∆U = −(Ub − Ua ) = Ua − Ub (3)

~ , W , and U
Remarks about F

• If the test charge q0 moves in the direction opposite of the electric force F
~ , negative W is done
on q0 and U increases

• If the test charge q0 moves in the direction of the electric force F

~ , positive W is done on q0 and
U decreases

EXAMPLE:

A positron (the electron’s antiparticle) has mass 9.11×10−31 kg and charge q0 = +e = +1.60×10−19
C. Suppose a positron moves in the vicinity of an α particle, which has charge q = +2e = 3.20×10−19
C and mass 6.64 × 10−27 kg. The α particle’s mass is more than 7000 times that of the positron,
so we assume that the α particle remains at rest. When the positron is 1.00 × 10− 10 m from the α
particle, it is moving directly away from the α particle at 3.00 × 106 m/s. (a) What is the positron’s
speed when the particles are 2.00 × 10−10 m apart? (b) What is the positron’s speed when it is very
far from the α particle? (c) Suppose the initial conditions are the same but the moving particle is an
electron (with the same mass as the positron but charge q0 = −e). Describe the subsequent motion.

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2 Electric Potential
2.1 Potential and Potential Difference
Electric potential or potential, V is potential energy U per unit charge q0 given by:
U
V = (4)
q0
SI Unit: *volt (V); named after the Italian electrical experimenter Alessandro Volta
*1 volt = 1 joule/coulomb (1 J/C)

Considering a displacement from point a to point b, the Wa→b on a per unit charge basis will be given
by,
Wa→b
= Va − Vb = Vab (5)
q0
where Va = potential at point a
Vb = potential at point b
Vab = potential of a with respect to b (often called as the potential
difference (voltage) from a to b)
Equation 5 states that the potential Vab equals the work done by the electric force when a
unit charge (1 C) moves from a to b.

Voltmeter is an instrument that measures potential difference between two points.

From (4), electric potential due to a single point charge becomes,

1 q
V = (6)
4π0 r
For a collection of point charges,
1 X qi
V = (7)
4π0 i ri
For a continuous charge distribution,
Z
1 dq
V = (8)
4π0 r

2.2 Potential and Electric Field

The electric potential is closely related to the electric field due to a charge (single, collection, or
distribution). The relation is given by,
Z b Z b
Va − Vb = ~ ~
E · dl or Va − Vb = E cosφ dl (9)
a a

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 ~ and F
Remarks about V , E, ~:

~ means moving in the direction of decreasing V .

1. Moving with the direction of E
~ means moving in the direction of increasing V .
2. Moving against the direction of E
~ in the direction of E,
3. A positive charge experiences an electric force F ~ toward lower values of
V.
~ opposite of E,
4. A negative charge experiences an electric force F ~ toward higher values of V .

~
From equation 6, we can say that the unit volt/meter (V/m) is also a unit of the electric field E.

EXAMPLE:

An electric dipole is placed 20.0 cm apart. Compute the electric potentials at points a, b, and c.

3 Electron Volts
The magnitude e of the charge of an electron can be used to define a unit of energy given as the
product of the magnitude of the electron charge and a potential difference of 1 V. This quantity is
defined to be 1 electron volt (1 eV).

1 eV = 1.602 × 10−19 J

1 electron volt (eV) defines the energy associated of a charge q = e moving through a potential
difference Vab = 1 V.

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EXAMPLES: Conversion
Convert the following values.

1. 3.204 × 10−19 J to eV.

2. 3.204 × 10−16 J to keV.

3. 7.772 × 103 J to meV.

SW/HW:

1. An α particle (q = +2e) moves a distance of 3,700 cm from a to b in a linear accelerator. A

uniform electric field with a magnitude of E = 1.95 × 109 V/m in the direction of the particle’s
motion is present in the accelerator. (a) Determine the force on the α particle. (b) How much
work is done to it by the field? (c) Determine the potential difference Va − Vb .

2. A particle with charge q0 = 3.00 nC starts from rest and moves in a straight line from point a
to point b with a speed of 107 m/s. as shown below. What is the mass of the particle?

3. Show that equation 9 will result to equation 6.

4 Current
4.1 Current
Current - any motion of charge from one region to another

- the amount of charge flowing throug a specified area A per unit time
dQ
I= (10)
dt
SI Unit: ampere, A (named after the French scientist André Marie Ampere)

1 A = 1 C/s; 1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second

Drift velocity, v ~ d - a very slow net motion of the moving charged particles in the direction of the
electric force (opposite of E~ if the charge is negative, towards E
~ if the charge is positive)

Conventional current - convention for the direction of current flow to be in the direction of the
flow of positive charges (from a region of high potential to a lower potential)

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4.2 Current, Drift Velocity, and Current Density
Suppose an electric field is present in a cross-sectional area A of a conductor. In terms of drift
velocity, current I can be expressed as,
dQ
I= = n|q|vd A (11)
dt
where n is the concentration of particles measured in m−3 .

Current density, J - the current per unit cross-sectional area A

I
J= = n|q|vd (12)
A
Current density can be expressed as a vector defined by the direction of the drift velocity vector given
by,

J~ = nq~
vd (13)
~ if q
~ d is in the direction of E;
There is no absolute value for q in equation 4 because if q is positive, v
~
~ d is opposite to E.
is negative, v

NOTE: J~ is a vector quantity, but I is not. The current density J~ describes how charges flow at a
certain point, and the direction of the vector denotes the direction of the flow at that point. Current
I on the other hand describes the flow of charge through an extended object (wire). J~ varies along
a circuit, I does not.

EXAMPLES:

1. A silver wire 2.6 mm in diameter transfers a charge of 420 C in 80 min. Silver contains 5.8×1028
free electrons per cubic meter. (a) What is the current in the wire? (b) What is the magnitude
of the drift velocity of the electrons in the wire?

2. A 5.00-A current runs through a 12-gauge copper wire (diameter 2.05 mm) and through a
light bulb. Copper has 8.5 × 1028 free electrons per cubic meter. (a) How many electrons pass
through the light bulb each second? (b) What is the current density in the wire? (c) At what
speed does a typical electron pass by any given point in the wire?

5 Resistance and Ohm’s Law

5.1 Resistivity and Ohm’s Law
From subsections 1.1 and 1.2, we can say that the electric field E~ causes the current density J~,
therefore, the current density in a conductor depends on the electric field. In some materials at a
given temperature, J~ is nearly directly proportional to E,
~ and the ratio of the magnitudes E and
J is constant. This relationship between J and E is called Ohm’s law discovered by the German
physicist Georg Simon Ohm. Such materials that obey Ohm’s law are said to be ohmic materials.

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Resistivity, ρ - the ratio of the magnitude of electric field E and the magnitude of current density
J given by,
E
ρ= (14)
J
where ρ is the resistivity of a material, E is the magnitude of electric field in the material, and J is
the magnitude of the current density produced by the electric field.

NOTE: The greater the resistivity, the greater the field needed to cause a given current density, or
the smaller the current density caused by a given field. Also, a good conductor has small resistivity
while a good insulator has large resistivity.

From equation 5, the units of ρ are V·m/A. Later on, we will show that 1 V/A is equal to 1 Ω (ohm)
so the SI units for ρ is,

1 V·m/A = 1 Ω·m

Conductivity, σ - the reciprocal of resistivity

SI Units: S/m (Siemens per meter); Other Units: (Ω·m)−1

Table 1: Resistivities at room temperature (20◦ C)

Material ρ(Ω·m) Material ρ(Ω·m)
Silver 1.47 × 10−8 Amber 5 × 1014
Gold 2.44 × 10−8 Glass 1010 - 1014
Conductors Copper 1.72 × 10−8 Lucite > 1013
Aluminum 2.75 × 10−8 Mica 1011 - 1015
Insulators
Lead 22 × 10−8 Quartz (fused) 75 × 1016
Pure carbon 3.5 × 10−5 Sulfur 1015
Semiconductors Pure germanium 0.60 Teflon > 1013
Pure silicon 2300 Wood 108 - 1011

5.2 Resistivity and Temperature

For a conductor, especially metal, the greater the temperature, the greater the resistivity. The
dependence is given by,

ρ(T ) = ρ0 [1 + α(T − T0 )] (15)

where ρ(T ) is the resistivity at temperature T , ρ0 is the resistivity at reference temperature T0 often
taken as 0◦ C or 20◦ C, and the factor α is called the temperature coefficient of resistivity.
Superconductivity - as the temperature decreases, the resistivity at first decreases smoothly, like
that of any metal, but then at a certain critical temperature Tc , a phase transition occurs and the
resistivity suddenly drops to zero

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 Table 2: Temperature coefficients of resistivity of some materials
Material α[(◦ C)−1 ]
Aluminum 0.0039
Carbon (graphite) -0.0005
Copper 0.00393
Iron 0.0050
Lead 0.0043
Silver 0.0038

5.3 Resistance
The ratio of potential difference (voltage) V to current I is called the resistance R, mathematically
given by,
V
R= (16)
I
SI unit: 1 ohm = 1 volt per ampere; 1 Ω = 1 V/A

The reciprocal of resistance is conductance G. SI unit is siemens (S) and other unit is mho (f) (ohm
spelled backwards).

Also, resistance can also be expressed as,

ρL
R= (17)
A
where ρ is the resistivity of conductor material, L is the length of conductor, and A is the cross-
sectional area of conductor.

We can write equation 7 as,

V = IR (18)
Equation 9 is often called also as Ohm’s law.

Since resistivity varies with temperature, the same goes with resistance. Equation 6 can also be
written in terms of resistance R given by,

R(T ) = R0 [1 + α(T − T0 )] (19)

where R(T ) is the resistance at temperature T and R0 is the resistance at temperatire T0 .

NOTE: Resistance R is an extrinsic property of an object and is dependent on its geometry and the
material it is composed while resistivity ρ is an intrinsic property of a conductor (due to the electric
field and current density) and is proportional to resistance R.

EXAMPLES:
1. An 18-gauge copper wire has a cross-sectional area of 8.20 × 10−7 m2 . It carries a current of
1.67 A. Find (a) the electric-field magnitude in the wire; (b) the potential difference between
two points in the wire 50.0 m apart; (c) the resistance of a 50.0-m length of this wire.

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2. Suppose the resistance of a copper wire is 1.05 Ω at 20◦ C. Find the resistance at 0◦ C and 100◦ C.