ANALOG ELECTRONICS 1.

BASIC CONCEPTS

1. Systems of units
As electrical engineers, we deal with measurable quantities. Our measurement,
however, must be communicated in a standard language that virtually all professionals
can understand, irrespective of the country where the measurement is conducted. Such
an international measurement language is the international system of units (SI). In
this system there are seven (07) principal units from which the units of all other
physical quantities can be derived. Table 1.1 shows the seven units, their symbols, and
the physical quantities they represent.

Table 1.1 SI base units

Physical quantity Name of unit Symbol
length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd

Table 1.2 SI prefixes

Prefix Symbol Value Factor
pico p 0.000 000 000 001 10
nano n 0.000 000 001 10
micro 0.000 001 10
milli m 0.001 10
centi c 0.01 10
deci d 0.1 10
kilo k 1000 10
mega M 1 000 000 10
giga G 1 000 000 000 10
tera t 1 000 000 000 000 10

1.1. Base units

When writing the names or symbols of the units, notice that:
• If the name of a unit is the name of a person, for example ampere, the unit does not
have a capital letter but the unit symbol does have a capital letter.
• The same letter some times has more than one meaning; for example, K means
kelvin (the unit of temperature) but k is a prefix meaning ‘one thousand’. So take care
to write kg and not Kg.
• Symbols for unit never have plural form. We write 25 kg not 25 kgs.

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One great advantage of the SI unit is that it uses prefixes based on the power of
10 to relate larger and smaller units to the basic unit. Table 1.2 shows the SI prefixes
and their symbols. For example, the following are expressions of the same current in
amperes (A):
50 000 000 mA 50 000 A 50 kA

1.2. Derived units

Using the base units it is possible to devise a system of units to measure all other
quantities. Quantities formed from the base units are called derived quantities. Some
derived quantities have been given specific names such as newton, watt and joule.
Others are made up of combinations of the base units, such as metres per second and
cubic metres. Many quantities can be expressed in two or more equivalent units. For
example, one newton is equal to one kilogram – meter per second squared.
When writing derive units:
• There is no space between a prefix and its base unit, for example kg not k g;
• There is a space between each base unit in the derived unit, for example kg m s
not kgms ;
• The unit of derived quantities not given a specific name can always lead to a
formula for calculating them. For example, the unit of electric field strength is volts
per meter (V/m). Therefore, electric field strength is the ratio of voltage to distance.

2. Electric circuit
In electrical engineering we are often interested in communicating or
transferring energy from one point to another. To do this requires an interconnection of
electrical devices. Such interconnection is referred to as an electric circuit, and each
component of the circuit is known as an element. Thus an electric circuit can be defined
as the interconnection of electrical elements. A simple electric circuit is shown in fig. 1.1
below. It consists of three basic elements: a battery, a lamp, and connecting wires.

Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2

3. Charge and current

Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter consists.
It is measured in coulombs (C). The most basic quantity in an electric circuit is the
electric charge. The following points should be noted about electric charge:

a) The coulomb is a large unit for charges. In 1 C of charge, there are

1⁄1.602 × 10 = 6.24 × 10 electrons.
b) According to experimental observations, the only charges that occur in nature
are integral multiples of the electronic charge e = −1.602 × 10 C.
c) The law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be created nor
destroyed, only transferred. Thus the algebraic sum of the electric charge in a
system does not change.

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A unique feature of electric charge or electricity is the fact that it is mobile; that
is, it can be transferred from one place to another, where it can be converted to another
form of energy. When a conducting wire (consisting of several atoms) is connected to a
battery (a source of electromotive force), the charges are compelled to move; positive
charges move in one direction while negative charges move in the opposite direction.
This motion of charges creates electric current. It is conventional to take the current
flow as the movement of positive charges, that is, opposite to the flow of negative
charges, as fig. 1.2 illustrates.
!"
Electric current is the rate of change of charge. That is, = (for a varying
!#
%
current) or I = (for a constant current). It is measured in amperes (A). Where, q or Q
&
is the charge in coulombs (C) and t is the time in seconds (s). There are two types of
current; direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac). A direct current is a current
that remains constant with time whereas, an alternating current is a current that varies
sinusoidally with time. Figure 1.3 shows direct current and alternating current
respectively.

I i

0 t
0 t

(a) (b)

Figure 1.3 1 cycle

t(s)

Once we define current as the movement of charge, we expect current to have an

associated direction of flow. As mentioned earlier the direction of current flow is
conventionally taken as the direction of positive charge movement. Based on this
convention, a current of +5 A is the same as acurrent of −5 A flowing in the opposite
direction as shown in fig. 1.4.

+5 −5

Figure 1. 4

4. Voltage
As explained briefly in the previous section to move the electron in a conductor
in a particular direction requires some work or energy transfer. This work is performed
by an external electromotive force (e.m.f), typically represented by the battery in
fig. 1.2. This e.m.f is also known as voltage or potential difference. Voltage (or
potential difference) can be defined as the energy (or work) required to move a unit
charge through an element.

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!* ,
That is, ) = (for a varying voltage) or V = (for a constant voltage). It is
!" %
measured in volts (V).

Where, w or W is the energy in joules (J) and q or Q is the charge in coulombs (C).

Figure 1.5 shows the voltage across an element (represented by a rectangular

block) connected to points A and B. The following facts are known.

a) If the potential at A is more than that at B (-. > -0 ), then the potential difference
between terminals A and B is given by: -.0 = -. − -0 > 0. The tip of the arrow is at
A while the tail is at B (fig. 1.5a).
b) If the potential at A is less than that at B (-. < -0 ), then the potential difference
between terminals A and B is given by: -0. = -0 − -. = -0. > 0. The tip of the
arrow is at B while the tail is at A (fig. 1.5b).
c) If the potential at A is equal to that at B (-. = -0 ), then the potential difference
between terminals A and B is given by: -.0 = 0. In this case the element between
terminals A and B can be replaced by a straight wire (or short circuit), fig. 1.5c.
d) -.0 = -. − -0 = −2-0 − -. 3 = −-0. or -0. = −-.0 .

A A A

-.0 -0. -.0

B B B

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.5

Remarks

R1) Voltage is always relative i.e. between a point with respect to another.
R2) Current is always through an element while voltage is always across the element.

5. Work, energy and Power

Although current and voltage are the two basic variables in an electric circuit,
they are not sufficient by themselves. For practical purposes, we need to know how
much power an electric device can handle. We all know from experience that 100 W
bulb gives more light than a 60 W. We also know that when we pay our bills to the
electric utility companies, we are paying for the electric energy consumed over a certain
period of time. Thus power and energy are important in circuit analysis.

Work is the application of a force through a distance. Work is said to be done on

an object when a force cause the object to move in the direction of the force. It is
measured in joules (J).

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4 = 56

Energy is the capacity or ability to do work. It is measured in joules (J). Power is

the rate of doing work. It is the amount of energy consumed per unit time. That is,
!* !* !"
7= = × = ) (for a varying power) or P = VI (for a constant power). It is
!# !" !#

measured in watts (W). Where, v or V is the voltage in volts (V) and i or I is the current in
amperes (A).

5.1. Load (or receptor) and power supply (or generator)

Consider the two conventional diagrams below (fig. 6). In fig. 1.6a the element is
absorbing power since the current through the element and the voltage across it are in
opposite direction. The element in fig. 1.6a is said to be a load (or receptor). However,
in fig. 1.6b the element is supplying power since the current through the element and
the voltage across it are in the same direction. The element in fig. 1.6b is said to be a
power supply or (generator).

I I

V V

(a) (b)
Figure 1.6

6. Circuit elements
As we discussed in section 2, an element is the basic building block of a circuit.
An electric circuit is simply the interconnection of the elements. Circuit analysis is the
process of determining voltages across (or the currents through) the elements of the
circuit. There are two types of elements found in electric circuits: passive elements and
active elements. An active element is capable of generating energy while a passive
element is not. Examples of passive elements are resistors, capacitors and inductors.
Typical active elements include generators, batteries and operational amplifiers.
The most important active elements are voltage and current sources that
generally deliver power to the circuit connected to them. There are two kinds of
sources: independent and dependent sources.

1.1. Independent sources

An ideal independent source is an active element that provides a specified voltage
or current that is completely independent of other circuit elements.

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Symbols (fig. 1.7)

I V V V

(a) Independent current sources (b) Independent voltage sources

Figure1. 7

1.2. Dependent sources

An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active element in which the source
quantity is controlled by another voltage or current. Since the control of the dependent
source is achieved by a voltage or current of some other element in the circuit, and the
source can be voltage or current, it follows that there are four possible types of
dependent sources, namely:

a) A voltage - controlled voltage source.

b) A current - controlled voltage source.
c) A voltage - controlled current source.
d) A current - controlled current source.

Dependent sources are useful in modelling elements such as transistors, operational

amplifiers and integrated circuits.

Symbols (fig. 1.8)

I V

(a) Dependent current source (b) Dependent voltage source

Figure 1.8

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