Blocks 4 & 5

IGCSE Physics Notes
By Mr./Abdallah Fikry
Cambridge 0625/0972 2021/2022 0561772364

The content of the Syllabus
1- Block 1: General physics (mechanics and materials).
2- Block 2: Thermal Physics
3- Block 3: Waves (light and sound).
4- Block 4: Electricity and magnetism
5- Block 5: Atomic Physics
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

IGCSE & AL Physics Teacher
0561772364
Abdallah.fikry@gmail.com
Physics notes 2 Mr Abdallah Fikry

Block 4: Electricity and Magnetism
Chapter 22: Static Electricity
Introduction:
Electricity is everywhere around us, almost all the appliances at your home are operated with
electricity e.g. TVs, Ovens, computers & even some of toys but not only this you can feel
electric sparks when you touch the doorknob in a dry day or even you can see lightning in
the sky in cloudy day. All these phenomena are related to electricity but it is not the same
type. In this section we are going to study much details about electricity and its nature.
22.1 Types of electricity:

1) Static Electricity: The study of the net stationary charges and their effects on each other.
2) Dynamic or current electricity: all phenomena related to the movement of charges.
We are going to start our study of electricity with Static Electricity and introducing the
concept of electric charge.
22.2 Electric Charge

• SI unit of electric charge is the coulomb (C) and it is a scalar quantity
• All substances are made up of atoms, which consist of a nucleus (containing protons and
neutrons) and orbiting electrons. Protons are positively charged, and electrons are
negatively charged while neutrons are neutral.
• In each atom of a material, the number of protons and electrons are equal. The positive
and negative charges cancel each other so atoms have no net electrical charge. As every
electron has a charge of -1.6 x 10-19 C, and every proton has a charge of +1.6 x 10-19 C
• Since protons are too large and too deep inside the atom for movement, electrons are
usually transferred during charging or discharging as electrons can be removed from
atoms or added to atoms so the material is left with a net charge and turn to ions.
Conservation of charges: Charges cannot be destroyed nor created but can be transferred
from one body to the other.
22.3 Electrical Conductors & Insulators:
Electrical conductors: they are materials that allow electric current or electrons to flow
through them easily.
In all metals, outermost electrons in each atom can move freely between atoms. These free
electrons make metals very good electrical & thermal conductors, therefore metals such as
copper or aluminum are used to make electric wires.
Also, non-metals, such as graphite and some solutions are also good conductors, even the
human body is conductor because of the blood & water in our tissues.
Insulator: they are the materials which do not allow electric

current or charges to pass through it.
Examples of insulators include rubber, glass, diamond, most
plastics (polymers), dry wood and dry air.
Electric wires are covered by plastic to prevent electric shocks
& or short circuiting if one wire touches the other directly.

22.4 Charging and discharging:
Charging refers to the process of changing the number of charge carriers and thus the net
charge on the object while discharging means the loss of the extra charges & be neutral again
A) Charging an insulator by rubbing or friction
This is a familiar electric phenomenon in which friction transfers charged particles from one
body to another.
In an insulator, the electrons are strongly bonded to their nucleus, we can only remove or add
electrons by rubbing (friction). The rubbing motion causes the surface electrons to be ripped
and transferred to another body.
If two objects are rubbed together, especially if the objects are insulators and surrounding air
is dry, the objects acquire equal and opposite charges The object that loses electrons
becomes positively charged, and the other that gains electrons becomes negatively charged.
The force is simply the attraction between charges of opposite sign.
Examples:
- When a piece of plastic, polythene, or hard rubber is rubbed
with fur or a duster, electrons are transferred from fur to the
other material. Fur or the duster acquires net positive charge
since it has fewer electrons than protons. Similarly, the
polythene, plastic, or hard rubber acquires a net negative
charge since they have excess electrons.
But in case if you rub some materials such as cellulose acetate
against duster, the acetate rod becomes positive & the duster
turn negative.
- Combing hair charges the comb in the same way as the comb turns negatively charged and the
hair becomes positively charged.
- Rubbing glass or Perspex with silk causes the glass to acquire a net positive charge
When the objects become charged an electric force

develops between them based on the type of charge.
Each type of charge attracts the opposite type but repels the
same type. This leads to the basic law of electrostatics:
Unlike charges attract, like charges repel.
B) Charging an insulator by induction

If you bring charged object close to uncharged object which has the positive and negative
charges randomly distributed with no net charge on either side, the charge on the charged
object will repel similar charges on the side close to it and induce opposite charge on the side
close to it (no direct contact).
Examples for charging by induction:
1- If you rub a balloon against your clothes,
it will gain positive charge, then if you bring
the balloon close to a wall, it will repel all
the positive charges to the other side of the
wall and hence the near side will be
negatively charged so it attracts the balloon.

2- If you rub a plastic ruler against your hair, it will gain negative charge, then if you bring
the ruler close to a piece of paper, it will repel all the negative charges to the other side of the
paper and induce positive charges on the near side so it attracts this piece of paper.
Note: the charge induced on insulators here is called surface charge that is produced because
of polarization or the realignments of the charge within the individual molecules, which
means no net charge on the whole body.
C) Charging conductors by conduction (contact),

Procedure:
• A metal sphere with an excess of negative charge
is brought near to a neutral object.
• Upon contact, electron move from the sphere to
the object and spread about uniformly.
• The metal sphere now has less excess negative
charge and the object now has a negative charge.
D) Charging conductors by induction

Induction: The process of charging a conductor by bringing it near another charged
object and earthing the conductor.
Charging conductors by induction produces net charge on the body.
Procedure:
1- When a negatively charged rod (ebonite rod) is
brought near to a neutral metal sphere, it induces
positive charges on the side nearest to the rod and
negative charges on the sphere’s far side.
2- The metal sphere is earthed. (by touching it with a
finger or connecting an earthing wire). Sufficient
electrons flow down to the ground through the earthing
wire from the metal sphere.
3- When the earthing wire and the rod are removed, only
induced positive charges remain evenly on the sphere.
Finally, the process can be repeated using glass rode (+ve) if
we would like to induce negative charge on the sphere as the
shown in the opposite figure but in this case after earthing,
electrons flow up from the ground to the sphere.
Earthing refers to the process of connecting the conductor to

earth by a conducting wire to provide a path for electrons to
flow to/from the Earth to discharge the object as the Earth is a huge neutral conductor.
Note: the connection to Earth must be disconnected before the rod is moved away from the
metal sphere otherwise electrons will run back to the metal sphere.
E) Conductors can be charged by rubbing but only if held in insulating handles to prevent
leaking of charges to your body or from your body.

Why repulsion only can confirm that the object is charged?
If a freely suspended & uncharged object was brought
near a charged object (no matter positive or negative),
it will induce an opposite charge in the near side to the
rode and then get attracted to it but in case if the
object was charged it will be repelled by the rod that
carries the same charge.
- A device called electroscope can be used to identify
whether the object is charged or not.
22.5 Electric Fields and electric charges
As mentioned earlier, the electric force is a field force which means it can act at a distance.
Electric field: is the space around the charge in which its
forces/effects appear (attraction or repulsion).
The electric field is mapped using electric field lines which are
imaginary lines that are directed outward from the positive charge
& inward into the negative charge.
An electric field line: It is the path or the direction a free positive
charge would follow if placed in the field.
22.6 Representing electric field:

There are 2 types of electric field which are:
1) Radial or non-uniform field such as that around
point charges or metal spheres, as shown where:
a) the electric field lines around +ve charge.
b) the electric field lines around -ve charge.
c) the electric field lines between +ve charge & -ve
charge attracting each other.
d) the electric field lines between +ve charge & +ve
charge repelling each other.
2) Uniform electric field such as that between 2

parallel & oppositely charged electric plates where the
lines are straight & parallel to one another (except the
edges) that has constant field strength
Note that:
- All field lines are continuous curves or lines without
breaks & never cross each other’s path.
- The closer the field lines, the stronger the electric field and
vice versa.
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

0561772364
Chapter 23: Electric Current & Electrical Quantities
In this chapter, we are going to study the 2nd type of electricity which is the dynamic or
current electricity and the quantities measuring it and even its types.
The electric charges in motion is called electric current and it forms the basis of current
electricity. Static electricity, or electrostatics, on the other hand involves charges at rest.
23.1 The electric current: it is the stream or the flow of charges in the conductor.
For the electric current to flow there are 2 conditions are needed:
i- The presence of a source e.g. cell or battery that provides the
e.m.f or the charges (electrons)
ii- closed path or complete circuit for the charges to flow
- In case if you have a battery connected to a lamp through metal
wires and the switch is closed, the electric current flows from
the positive terminal to the lamp and then to the negative
terminal and the lamp is lit now, but actually this direction is
known as the conventional direction of current for historical
reasons as the electrons move from the negative terminal to
the positive terminal through the external circuit.
The conventional direction of the current is from the
positive to the negative opposite to the actual direction of
flow of electrons from the –ve to the +ve terminals of the battery.
- If the direction of the current (charge flow) is fixed, it is known as a direct current (D.C).
but if it is periodically reversed; it is called an alternating current or A.C.
23.2 Electrical quantities:

1) Electric current intensity (I): it is the rate of flow of electric charges (Q).
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄) 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏

𝐼= = = 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 (𝐴)
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑡) 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
• SI unit: Ampere (A)

• It Can be measured by an ammeter which could be analogue or
digital, the ammeter must be connected in SERIES to the circuit as it
has very low or negligible internal resistance.
Ampere it is the electric current intensity when the rate of flow is one coulomb per second.
Analogy to river: To help you understand the concept of current better, you can think of a
river. Current in an electric circuit is like water flowing through the river.
To calculate the charge that is passing through a conductor we can use;

The charge (Q) = current (I) x time (t) = Amp.sec or coulomb (C)

2) Potential difference (V) between two points is defined as the
energy transferred or the work done in moving a unit charge
between 2 points.
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝐸) 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒
𝑉= = = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡 (𝑣)
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄) 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏
• SI unit: Volt (V)
• Can be measured by a voltmeter which could be analogue or
digital also, it must be connected in PARALLEL to the circuit as
it has very high or an infinite internal resistance.
• If there is a p.d across a conductor, a current flows through it.
Note that; both ammeter & voltmeter must be connected as their
positive side (red) is connected to the positive terminal of the battery
& their negative side (black) is connected to the negative terminal of the battery, otherwise
the pointer will move in the wrong direction (negative reading is given).
Analogy to waterfalls: To help you understand the concept of potential difference better, you
can think of a waterfall. In the case of a waterfall, the water flows due to a height difference.
In electric circuits, current flows between two points due to the existence of potential
difference between the two points. No potential difference = no current.
3) Electromotive Force (e.m.f) (E) of a source is the work done by the source to move a
charge of one coulomb round a complete circuit
Or it is the potential difference p.d across the terminals of the battery when the circuit is
opened.
• SI unit of e.m.f is the volt (V) which is the same as that of p.d. (Both are measures of
electrical potential energy, e.m.f is gained electrical energy while potential difference is
lost electrical energy in the resistors or other components).
Volt: It’s the p.d when a work of1 joule is done to transfer a charge of 1 coulomb.
A source of e.m.f of 1 volt gives 1 joule of energy to each coulomb of charge it pushes
round a circuit.
IMPORTANT: There can be e.m.f without a closed circuit. BUT there cannot be a potential
difference without a closed circuit.
Combining e.m.fs: 1) Sources in Series
When two or more sources are arranged so that the positive
terminal of one is connected to the negative terminal of the next,
they are said to be in series and their e.m.fs are added up.
E = E1 + E2 + E3 …..
This arrangement gives increased e.m.f because, the charge
flowing round a circuit will pass through more than one source
and gains electrical potential energy from each of them.
If one cell is connected in a reverse so its emf is subtracted from the total.
Note: Cells can also be arranged in parallel. In this, all the positive terminals are connected
together, and all the negative terminals are connected together. The combined e.m.f in
parallel connection will not increase like in the series connection. But the battery will last
longer before going flat.
4) Resistance
Resistance (R) of a conductor is defined as the ratio of potential difference (V), across the
conductor to the current (I), flowing through it.
Or “It’s the opposition offered by the conductor to the current flowing through it.”
𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑉) 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡
𝑅= = = 𝑂ℎ𝑚 (Ω)
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝐼) 𝐴𝑚𝑝.
• SI unit of resistance is the ohm (Ω) & measured by an ohmmeter.
By increasing p.d. across the ends of a conductor, current flow can be increased. But the
increase in the amount of current flow depends on the conducting ability of the conductor.
Some conductors offer some resistance to current flow than others.
23.3 Ohm’s Law:
Ohm’s law states that, the current flowing in a metallic conductor is directly proportional
to the potential difference applied across its ends, provided that all other physical
conditions, such as temperature, are constant.
Vα I; thus, V=IR
Comparing with V=IR, thus, R must be constant for a metallic conductor under steady
physical conditions.
Verification of Ohm's law:
To verify Ohm’s law or to find the resistance of unknown

resistor, we must connect a circuit as shown.
Then change the value of the current using a variable
resistor or a rheostat and record it in a table as shown.
We can verify ohm’s law or find the resistance of

the conductor by drawing (V-I) characteristic
graph in which the resistance is the reciprocal of
the slope as shown below
∆𝐼 1 1
So, 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = = thus, 𝑅 =
∆𝑉 𝑅 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
- It is noted that if the voltage is doubled, current
also doubles in accordance with Ohm’s law.
- If (V) is plotted on Y-axis and (I) on X-axis, so
∆𝑉
the resistance (R) = slope ( )directly
∆𝐼

23.4 Factors affecting the resistance of a resistor:
Besides temperature, experimental results show that the resistance (R) of a given conductor
depends on the composition and size.
Resistance, R is found to be:
• directly proportional to its length, L i.e. longer wire, higher
resistance
• inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area (A) i.e
thicker wire, lower resistance
• dependent on the type of material or resistivity (Rα ρ) i.e. the
higher is the resistivity, the higher is the resistance
𝝆.𝑳
From experimental results, we can show that: 𝑹 = ,where
𝑨
R = resistance in ohm (Ω) A = cross-sectional area of conductor in metre2 (m2)
L = length of conductor in metre (m), ρ = resistivity of material in ohm-metre (Ω.m)
- For the similar lengths and material,
𝑅 𝐴
Thinner wires have higher resistance than thicker wires. For comparing 2 resistors 1 = 2
𝑅2 𝐴1
- For similar thickness and material,
𝑅 𝐿
Longer wires have higher resistance than shorter wires. For comparing 2 resistors 1 = 1
𝑅2 𝐿2
The temperature affects the resistance of a conductor as following:
- The resistance of a metallic conductor increases by increasing the temperature.
- The resistance of a non-metallic conductor decreases by increasing the temperature
23.5 Effective resistance of resistors

In many situations, several electrical devices are connected to the same power supply. There
are two basic methods of connecting resistors or other devices together. They are called
series and parallel connections.
A) Resistors in Series (all or nothing)

If individual resistors are connected from end to
end, the resistors are said to be connected in
series. The effective resistance, R, of three
resistors of resistances R1, R2; and R3 connected
in series is their sum (shown in the figure) is given by:
R=R1 +R2 +R3 ….+ Rn
Note: In a series connection, the effective resistance, R, is always larger than the largest of
the individual resistances.
- If one component gets broken, the rest will not function
- Series circuits have the same current through each circuit components BUT different
potential difference across each circuit components.
- Why Same Current?!!
Because in a series circuit, the flow of charges has only one path
to follow. The flow of charge passes through each component in
turn. Therefore, in a series circuit, the current at every point is the
same i.e. I = I1= I2= I3

- Adding a new component to the series circuit reduces the current flow throughout because
of the added resistance of the new component.
-The current is found by dividing the total p.d over total resistance as, I = V/R
But what about the potential difference?!!
- In a series circuit, the P.d is shared between all the
components where the highest potential difference occurs
across a component with the largest resistance. as V = IR
- In a series circuit, the sum of the potential differences

across all components is equal to the potential difference
across the source i.e. e.m.f of the battery.
VB = V1 + V2 + V3
- The potential difference between the ends of any of the pieces of connecting wire is
effectively zero because there is almost no loss of potential energy.
B) Resistors in Parallel (independence or isolation):

If similar ends of individual resistors are connected to one
another forming parallel branches or routes, the resistors are
said to be connected in parallel.
In general, if there are n resistors in parallel, the effective
resistance R is given by:
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
= + +. … … . + ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑅 = ( + +. … … . + )−1
𝑅 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑛 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅𝑛
After using the 1st equation, do NOT forget to flip the fraction to make the effective
resistance be the subject or use the calculator to get the effective resistance directly by
applying the 2nd equation.
Note: In a parallel connection, the effective resistance, R, is always smaller than the
smallest of the individual resistances.
If there are only 2 resistors in parallel, so the effective resistance

𝑅 𝑅
R = product/sum or 𝑅 = 1 2
𝑅1 + 𝑅2
- if one component gets broken, the rest will function normally (unaffected).
- Parallel circuits have different current through each branch (same current through the
circuit components within the branch) BUT same potential difference across each branch
(different potential difference across the circuit components within the branch.
Why Different currents?!!
- Instead of wiring components in series, they can be connected in parallel. Parallel
connection offers different paths for the flow of charges, but the
total flow of charges from the source remains unchanged.
Therefore, in a parallel circuit, the current from the source is the
sum of the currents in the separate branches.
I = I1+ I2+I3
- In the parallel circuit shown, if one lamp is removed, the
others still light up. Therefore, all household lighting circuits
are connected in parallel.
- In a parallel circuit, the current through each component depends on its resistance as
the largest current will pass through the branch with the smallest resistance & vice versa.
- At a junction in a circuit, the total current entering a junction is equal to the total current
leaving the junction. This is the conservation of charge.
And why Same potential difference?!!
In a parallel circuit, two or more components are connected

between two points of the circuit. The potential difference across a
component is the potential difference between the two points and is
equal to the potential difference of any other component connected
in between. Therefore, the potential difference across separate
branches of a parallel circuit is the same.
VB = V1 = V2 = V3
Which method is used in connecting houses and even the national grid? And why?!!
Ans.: Parallel is used in almost all the electrical networks even in your house, because.
1- The p.d across each component is the same and fully equal to that of the supply or mains.
2- Each component can be turned on & off independently and if one component gets broken,
the rest will function normally (unaffected).
3- The effective resistance of all the appliances in the house is much smaller.
Series connection has limited application such as in potential dividers, Christmas lights or
some toys
In parallel connection, whenever we add resistors, the total resistance decreases
23.6 Electrical power and energy
In order to calculate the electrical energy consumed by an appliance, we have to look to the
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑊)
equation of the p.d where; 𝑝. 𝑑 (𝑉) =
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄)
So the energy 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑊) = 𝑃. 𝑑 𝑥 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 = 𝑉 𝑥 𝑄 ..………. (1)
But in order to find expression for the charge we have to look to the equation of the current
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄)
intensity where; 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝐼) =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑡)
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒; 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄) = 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝐼 𝑥 𝑡 …………. (2)
Hence from equation 2 in eqn. 1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑊) = 𝑉 𝑥 𝐼 𝑥 𝑡 …………. (3)
Recall ohm’s law as V = IR & substitute we can get:
𝑉2
Therefore; 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑊) = 𝑉 𝑥 𝐼 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝐼 2 𝑅. 𝑡 = . 𝑡 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑃)𝑥 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑡)
𝑅
Electrical power: It is the rate of consuming energy or doing work.
Power (P) of electrical appliances is given by:

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑊) 𝑉𝑥𝐼𝑥𝑡
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑃) = = =𝑉𝑥𝐼
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑡) 𝑡
SI unit of power is watt (w) where 1 watt = 1 joule/second
Watt:
“It is the electrical power when energy of 1 joule is consumed in 1 second.”
1 W = 1 J/s => 1 kW = 1000 W = 1000 J s-1, Recall 1 MW = 106 W, 1 GW = 109 W
Recall ohm’s law as V = IR & substitute we can get;
𝑉2
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 (𝑃) = 𝑉 𝑥 𝐼 = 𝐼 2 𝑅 =
𝑅
Where;
V = voltage applied across appliance
I = current flowing through appliance
R = total resistance of appliance
Notes:
Many, if not all, electrical appliances are not 100% efficient. Some of the electrical energy is
converted to other forms of energy. e.g. light, sound and etc., which are useful forms, but
some energy is wasted to the surrounding as thermal energy.
𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
Remember that efficiency = 𝑥 100%
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
The rate of heating effect is usually measured is power units, i.e., the kilowatt (kW), while
the amount of energy converted is usually measured in energy unit, i.e., the kilowatt-hour
(kWh).
– The commercial unit for energy is the kilowatt-hour (kWh)

– 1 kWh = (1000 W) X (60 X 60 s) = 3 600 000J = 3600 kJ = 3.6 MJ
– Appliances with high power rating consume more electrical energy per unit time.
- Cost of electricity bill =Energy in k.w.h x time in hours x price of 1 k.w.h
Heating effect of electricity
• Current flowing through a large resistor, converts electrical energy into heat (thermal)
energy. This is the heating effect of electric current.
• This heating effect concept is used in all the heat-generating household appliances such as
electric kettle, ovens, heaters, iron, hair dryers, toasters and electric cookers etc.
• These electrical appliances have a heating element which is made of high resistance, such
as nichrome wire. The amount of heating effect is controlled by varying the amount of
current flowing through the heating element.
• Apart from heating effect, electric current also has magnetic effect to be discussed later.
• In S.H.C equation we expressed the heat Energy in the form of electrical energy as;
𝐶. 𝑚. (𝑇2 − 𝑇1 ) = 𝑃. 𝑡 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

0561772364

Chapter 24: Electric circuits
An electric circuit is a collection of electrical devices, called circuit elements connected by
conductors in a closed path (i.e. in a complete loop).
To understand an electric circuit, we must be aware of the components and their symbols.
Circuit elements include, source of electrical energy (e.g. battery), sink of electrical energy
(e.g. light bulb), and switch to complete or break the circuit. Conductors (e.g. copper wires)
are then used to connect them together.
24.1 Electrical Symbols

Circuit diagrams are essential part of the study of current electricity and are often drawn
symbolically. In circuit diagrams, various circuit elements are represented by standard
electric symbols in the following table:
24.2 Important Circuit components
1) Resistors: they are the elements of electrical resistance that can be

used to control the amount of current as they are made of metal
(mostly alloys) or from carbon (graphite).
There are some types of resistors which are;

a) Fixed resistors: they have constant value of resistance however it may
change a little with temperature.

b) Variable resistors or rheostat: they can be used to change or alter
the amount of current in the circuit. It has 3 terminals, one of them is
called the sliding contact when control is turned, the contact slides over
the resistive track. The current enters at one end and flows through
the track until it reaches the contact, where it leaves the resistor. The
amount of track (coiled nichrome wire) that it flows through depends
on the position of the contact.
For example, in the circuit shown here, moving the sliding contact to
the right will cause the resistance to increase so the current decreases
and the bulb gets dimmer.
Variable resistors like this are often used for the volume control of a
radio or stereo system and dimmer switches.
Note that Variable resistor can be used as a rheostat to control current
or as a potential divider to control voltages by connecting the 3
terminals.
c) Light dependent resistor (LDR):
The value of the resistance of an LDR depends on how much light is falling
on it. LDR’s resistance decreases as the light intensity increases (and vice
versa). In bright conditions, the LDR will have a lower resistance. LDRs are
made from semiconductor material, and light landing on the material can
release free electrons to increase conductivity & decrease resistance.
LDRs are often used in light - sensitive circuits in devices e.g. automatic lighting controls.
d) Thermistor
A thermistor is a resistor whose resistance is very sensitive to
temperature change.
They are 2 types of thermistors which are:
i) Negative temperature coefficient: it is made from semiconductor material whose
resistance falls sharply as its temperature rises. Thermistors are often used in temperature -
sensitive circuits in devices such as fire alarms and thermostats.
ii) Positive temperature coefficient: it is made from metal materials or alloys whose
resistance increase sharply as their temperature rise.
- The most common type of thermistors is the negative temperature coefficient
thermistor (thermally sensitive resistor) whose resistance decreases rapidly as its
surrounding temperature rises.
2) Source of emf: it can be one cell or battery (group of cells)
3) Conducting metal wires which are represented on the schematic
diagram by solid lines connection all the components of the circuit
4) Switch or key; is used to open or close the electrical circuit i.e. control the flow of current.
- Open the switch = NO current is

flowing through the circuit (OFF).
- Close the switch = Current can
flow through the circuit (ON).
5) Fuse: It is a short piece of thin wire usually made up of a tin-
coated copper wire.
If current exceeds its design rating value, the wire will overheat and melt, thus opening
(braking) the electrical circuit to prevent further damage to the appliance or user. It must be
connected in series with the source to protect devices in the circuit and once it melts, it
cannot be reused.
The fuse should be rated just above (little higher than) the rated normal operating current
to allow the device to function but not much higher than what the maximum current that
can flow safely in the live wire to prevent overheating and frying the insulators of the wire.
e.g. if the rated current was 3.7 A, we should use a fuse a 4 A fuse but not 10A.
6) Filament lamp, or bulb: It is used to convert the electric energy to

light energy and heat energy is dissipated to the surroundings.
7) Diode: They are made from semiconductors & are used to allow the
current to flow on one direction, thus we use them to convert the
alternating current to direct current in a process called rectification that to
be discussed later.
Diodes are also used to protect the circuit that would damage if the battery were connected
the wrong way like in case of calculators & remote controls.
There is a special type of diode that emits light when the electric
current passes through it & is called LED
A light emitting diode (LED) allows current to flow in only one
direction. When the current passes, it shines brightly with only a
small voltage across it. LED is used in many application
nowadays e.g. lighting keyboards of computers, lighting houses,
road signals and on/off indicator in many electronic devices such
as televisions, computers etc., as LED is more efficient than the
normal filament lamp or even the fluorescent lamps due to its extremely small heat
dissipation.
8) Ammeters & voltmeters:
• An ammeter is used to measure the current flowing in the circuit and must
be inserted in series with the circuit elements.
• An ideal ammeter has zero resistance so that when inserted into a circuit,
it does not reduce the current that was previously flowing.
• A voltmeter measures the potential difference or e.m.f between two points in a circuit and
must be connected in parallel to the circuit element.
• An ideal voltmeter has infinite resistance so that it takes no current. A finite resistance
causes it to take current from the circuit, and to lower the potential difference between the
points to which it is connected.
• The positive side (red) of each of the ammeter and & voltmeter must be connected to the
positive side of the battery & the negative side (black) is connected to the negative
terminal of the battery.

24.3 Circuit Diagrams:
- A simple circuit contains a cell or a battery and a resistor or bulb.
A circuit diagram shows the measurement of current in the circuit and potential difference
across a circuit element (e.g. the resistor).
- Always make sure that all the components of the circuit are
connected well, so that you can have accurate readings.
24.4 Current-voltage characteristic graphs
We can use the circuit shown here to study the behavior of
current and voltage across different elements of the circuit.
a) Metallic conductors at constant temperature
Metals and some alloys give I–V graphs that are a straight line
through the origin, as shown in the Figure, provided that their
temperature is constant. I is directly proportional to V, i.e. I ∝ V.
Doubling V doubles I, etc.
Such conductors obey Ohm’s law, which is stated as follows.
“The current in a metallic conductor is directly proportional to
the p.d across its ends if the temperature and other conditions are
constant.”
They are called ohmic or linear conductors and since I ∝ V, it
follows that V/I = a constant (obtained from the slope of the I–V
graph). The resistance of an ohmic conductor therefore does not
change when the p.d does (remember V=IR).
- If we reverse the connection of the terminals, we still be able to
see the linear relationship between (V) & (I) (in the 3rd quadrant), having resistance that is
independent of current where (R = 1/gradient)
b) Semiconductor diode
if we replace the resistor in the previous circuit with a diode. A
typical I–V graph in the figure shows that current passes when
the p.d is applied in one direction but is almost zero when it
acts in the opposite direction. A diode has a small resistance
when connected one way round which is said to be forward
biased, but a very large resistance when the p.d. is reverse
biased. It conducts in one direction only and is called a non-ohmic conductor.
This is the main principle of designing the logic gate and the binary system in general which
are the basis of digital technologies we are familiar with nowadays.
c) Filament lamp
A filament lamp is a non-ohmic conductor at high temperatures.
For a filament lamp the I–V graph bends over as V and I increase.
That is, the resistance increases as (I) increases and makes the
filament hotter.
• From the I/V graph, the ratio V/I increases as current increases.
• Resistance of the filament lamp increase with temperature.

Reason: As the potential difference across a filament lamp increases, the current increases
and the energy dissipated, as heat, increases, resulting in a higher temperature. As the
temperature increases, resistance of the filament increases. The collision between the free
electrons and the particles of the filament e.g. tungsten increases, so the opposition or the
resistance for the current to flow increases as well.
d) Thermistors:
Thermistor is another type of resistor whose resistance depends on its environment’s
temperature as mentioned earlier. The resistance changes by a large amount over a narrow
range of temperatures.
In general, an increase of temperature increases the resistance of metals, as for the filament
lamp (Positive temperature coefficient) and the curve will bend in a similar way to the
filament’s curve that is shown earlier. These are included in circuits where you want to
prevent overheating, if the current flowing is large, components may burn out. With a
thermistor in the circuit, the resistance increases as the temperature rises, and the high
current is reduced
But For some thermistors, the resistance decreases as they are
heated. Where temperature decreases the resistance of
semiconductors (negative temperature coefficient thermistors) whose
resistance falls sharply as its temperature rises and hence more
current will be allowed to flow.
- Perhaps from 2k at room temperature to 202 at 100°C. These
thermistors are thus useful for temperature probes.
- The 1st graph shows the (V-I) characteristics graph of the
semiconductor thermistors
- The 2nd graph shows the negative relation between the
temperature and resistance (inverse relation).
e) Light dependent resistors (LDRs):
LDRs are made from semiconductor material, and when light falls
on the material, it can release free electrons to increase conduction
& decrease resistance, so more current will pass in a similar manner
to that of the semiconductor thermistors.
- Even (V-I) characteristic graph of LDRs is like that type of

thermistors, as the curve bend up indicating more current is passing.
- The 2nd graph shows how the resistance of the LDR decreases
with increasing light intensity.
Example: In darkness, an LDR has a high resistance about 1000

ohms but in bright light its resistance becomes around 400 ohms
Thermistors & LDRs are called transducers which are to be
discussed together with potential dividers.

24.5 Types of electric currents:
1) Direct current (DC) is a flow of electric current or charges around a circuit in the same
direction all the time.
- It may vary in magnitude but must maintain one direction
Solar cells and batteries (group of cells) supply DC that
most appliances need DC to function.
2) Alternating current (AC): It is the electric current that

changes magnitude and direction every half cycle.
Or “it is a flow of charges around a circuit that reverses its
direction at regular intervals, usually many times a second.
• AC generator like a dynamo produces AC
• AC changes polarity every half cycle as it flows back & forth.
• The frequency of a.c supply is the no. of cycles it produces per second, measured in Hz
• The period of an a.c supply is the time of one complete cycle, measured in seconds.
• Household electrical power is supplied in the form of AC which usually needs to be
rectified to DC before use by using diodes.
Rectification: It is the process of converting A.C into D.C

Diodes that were mentioned earlier are used as rectifiers because they allow the current to
pass in one direction and block it from the other direction.
A diode has a small resistance when connected one way round which is said to be forward
biased, but a very large resistance when the p.d. is reverse biased
When connecting a diode with an a.c source, the diode will be forward biased for one half of
the cycle, so maximum current will flow but when the A.C
switches its polarity, the diode will be reverse biased and no
current will pass for the 2nd half of the cycle.
Note that forward biased: It is when the positive side of the
diode is connected to the positive terminal of the battery &
negative side of it with the negative of the battery
Reverse biased: It is when the positive side of the diode is
connected to the negative terminal of the battery & negative
side of it with the positive of the battery
24.6 Electricity at home:

As mentioned earlier the mains electricity that supplied to your house from the local station
is an AC of frequency about 50-60 Hz that reaches us through 2 cables which are:
A- Live wire (L): high voltage (240 V) wire or main wire that
carries current into the house circuit. (colored BROWN)
B- Neutral wire (N): Zero voltage wire or main wire that carries
current out of the house circuit to complete the circuit. (colored
BLUE)
The neutral wire creates the p.d needed for the AC current to flow.
Some countries use earth wire as 3rd one & also might use different
colours for the wires.
Choosing a wire is based on the purpose of using it, for lighting; we are supposed to use thin
wires but for heavy loads we use thicker wires.
The wires are insulated from one another with more insulating cover outside.
24.7 Dangers of electricity:

1- Touching the live wire will give you an electric shock but touching the neutral wire
should be safe, but do not touch any wires that are connected to the /mains, live or neutral. If
there is a wiring fault, the supposedly “safe” neutral wire will give you an electric shock.
2- Damaged or frayed cables & damaged plugs especially those placed near water can cause
fatal electric shocks.
3- If a fuse or circuit breaker was rated very high, they will allow much current pass through
the wires that might cause fires & emit toxic fumes especially if there is faulty wiring.
4- Fires also can be caused if the current flows directly between the 2 bare wires which is
known as short circuiting.
24.8 Safety precautions to deal safely with electricity:

a- use a Fuse which is a short piece of thin wire that overheats and
melts to break the circuit if current of more than its rated value flows
through it. A fuse is connected in series to protect devices in the
circuit and the user.
b- use of circuit breaker such as trip switches which replaces fuse
and unlike fuse, it can be reused as they do not melt in case if too
much current passes instead the switch off the circuit.
c- Use of residual-current devices (RCD) which protects the user
rather than the cable or appliance in case if the user touches with
bare parts of his body uncovered wire, it will switch off the circuit.
d- Do not touch any electrical appliance with wet hands.
e- All the switches, circuit breakers & fuses should be connected to the LIVE wire and not the
neutral or earthing wire to prevent the AC from reaching power sockets or appliances when they
are not in use or if the circuit braker or the fuse are broken.
f- Earthing is the act of connecting the metal casing of the

appliance to earth via a wired connection to the bare ground.
Earthing of appliances with metal casing is a must to avoid the
danger of electric shocks. Earthing wires usually have green and
yellow bands around them. As in case of faulty cables or
connection inside an appliance, the earthing wire will divert the
current into the earth by providing an alternate path to the large
current flow via the earth wire, rather than through the user’s body
because the earthing wire has very low resistance.

Ch. 25: Modern Electric circuits:
25.1 Potential divider circuit:
“It is the circuit that is used for changing the P.d”
It makes use of the series connection of resistors as any fraction

of the total potential difference can be obtained.
As when the resistance of one element decreases, the voltage
across this element decreases but the p.d across the other
element increases and vice versa. So, by changing the resistance
of one element, the p.d across it and the other element connected
in series with it will change.
As when the resistance of the variable resistor increases, the p.d across it (Vout) increases
(takes bigger portion of the e.m.f of the source) but (V1) decreases and vice versa according
to the potential division rule:
𝑅2
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉
(𝑅1 +𝑅2 ) 𝑖𝑛
5.2 Transducers and sensing circuits
Transducers: are devices whose electrical properties change when certain changes in the
environment occur. e.g. LDRs & thermistors
An input transducer responds to a change in the environment (for example, a change in light
(LDR) or temperature (thermistor)) and produces a voltage. The electrical circuit to which
the input transducer is connected then provides the voltage needed to operate the output
transducer.
For example, in some alarm circuits that are used to trigger
the alarm if the temperature increases, thermistors are inserted
in potential divider circuit as shown where when the
temperature increases, the resistance of the thermistor
decreases (-ve type) and p.d across it decreases as well but at
the same time, the p.d across (R2) increases. if a bell or a
buzzer is connected in parallel with R2 , it will sound.
Also, in some industries that are using giant ovens or even normal households, a thermistor
can be used as an input transducer, so if the temperature exceeds a certain level, the
resistance of the thermistor will drop significantly and high current will pass through it to
activate the alarm or warning lights (output transducers).
We can use the other type of thermistors whose resistance increases with temperature (+ve
type) in the circuits where we want to prevent overheating or
burning out of device by reducing the flowing current.
Another example, LDRs are used in security lights that switch on
automatically at night. These types of circuits are sometimes called
sensor or sensing circuits as the LDR is inserted to a potential
divider circuit, so at night (darkness) the resistance of the LDR
increases and hence the p.d across it increases to the limit that is
sufficient to operate the lamps connected in parallel with the LDR
Some sensing circuits make use of magnetic relays that will be explained in the next chapter.
25.3 Electronic circuits:
They use other components to control the flow of current in the circuit and convert the
processed information into electrical signal which can be analogue or digital signals.
A) Analogue circuits:
Using dimmer switches (variable resistor) to change the brightness of a lamp is an example
of analogue devices where the analogue signal is characterized by the continuous as there are
many values of voltages can be achieved in between even positive or negative.
Speedometer in cars, thermometer, voltmeter, ammeters
& clocks are all examples of analogue devices.
B) Digital circuits:
But electronic or digital circuits are different, where the
digital signal has only 2 possibilities either they give
high output voltage (around 6 V) and said to be ON (1)
or they give low or no output voltage and said to be
OFF (0), as there are no state or values in between
Digital electronic systems are very useful for processing, storing, and transferring
information. Computers, mobile phones and mp3 players all work digitally where
information such as sound speech or picture is converted into electrical signal before it is
transmitted, then sent long distances down cables like telephone calls or Internet or carried
by electromagnetic waves like radio or TV, sometimes the digital signal can be carried by
optical fibers by converting the information (data) into visible light or infrared signals.
25.4 Advantages of digital circuits over analogue:
Despite the high cost of digital systems but it has many advantages over systems in data
transmission such as:
1- Higher accuracy or higher transmission quality i.e. resolution (unlike analogue, they are
not affected by temperature so there is less noise in the carried message signal)
2- Ease of designing and building as they do not require special mathematical models.
3- Flexibility and functionality as digital signals can carry more information and transmit
them much faster than analog signals
4- Programmable and consume less power
25.5 Logic gates:

“They are devices that receive one or more electrical input signal and produces an output
signal that depends on those signals
In digital systems, each piece of information (such as a number or a letter) is represented in

binary form as a sequence of 1s (ones) and 0s (zeros). In a circuit, l corresponds to a high
voltage (perhaps 6 V) & 0 corresponds to a low voltage (close to 0 V).
There are 5 main logic gates that are made of transistors & other components and can
combine in many ways to construct highly sophisticated and complicated circuits.

To represent all the output possibilities for all possible inputs we use the Truth Tables
A truth table:
“It is a simple way to describe any possible combinations of inputs and outputs of a single
logic gate or group of them combined when they are connected to power supply.
The 5 logic gates are NOT, AND, OR and 2 more which are NAND & NOR.
A) AND gate
It has 2 inputs and 1 output where the output is ON if

input 1 AND input 2 are ON and off otherwise.
Trick: AND’s table can be filled by multiplying as;

input 1 x input 2 = output
B) OR gate
It has 2 inputs and 1 output where the output is ON if

input 1 OR input 2 OR both are ON and off if both are
off.
Trick: OR’s table can be filled by adding as; input 1 +

input 2 = output. But do not write output = 2 when both
inputs are ON
C) NOT gate.
It has 1 input and 1 output where the output is ON if input 1 is NOT ON.
The output is always the opposite of the input i.e. inverter.
These are 3 basic logic gates that could combine with others to
form a code or process information collected by certain sensors or
other external inputs. For example, Computer chips
(microprocessors) are made up of millions of logic gates. They
combine to produce outputs that depend on many different inputs
In the next part we will see, samples of combined logic

gates that could be 2 or more
D) NAND = AND + NOT gates
Its truth table is the opposite of AND’s table where the

output is ON if input 1 AND input 2 are NOT both ON

E) NOR = OR + NOT
Its truth table is the opposite of OR’s table where the

output is ON if neither input 1 NOR input 2 is ON
Logic gates can be used in complicated circuits such as the

motherboard or a processor of a computer or even in
simpler circuits such as those used in fire alarm systems or
even central air conditioners.
As by combining the same gates in different orders, we can

achieve different effects or possibilities as in the opposite
figure that shows a combination of three OR gates that
might have 16 input possibilities. The following example
explains how a fire alarm system would work in a building.
A building has smoke detectors in four different places.

Their outputs are connected via this combination of OR
gates to a single alarm siren. If any detector gives an ON
signal, the siren will be switched on. This saves the expense
of a separate siren for each detector
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

0561772364

Ch. 26: Magnetism & Electromagnetism
Introduction:
Magnetism is one of the fundamental properties of matter that is related to
electricity. In fact, the fundamental cause of all magnetism effects is due
to the movements of electric charges. Materials can be classified based
on their magnetic behavior into magnetic & non-magnetic materials.
26.1 Types of materials:

1) Non-magnetic materials are matter that is not attracted by magnets & cannot be made
into magnets.
e.g. Wood, glass, plastics, and metals such as copper and brass.
1) Magnetic or ferrous materials are those that can be attracted by magnets and can be
made into magnets.
e.g. Iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, neodymium & many alloys based on these metals.
Even the Magnetic or ferrous materials can be subdivided into hard & soft
Magnetic materials Example Description Uses

Hard Steel Difficult to magnetize but Permanent magnets –
retains magnetism well. loudspeakers, compass
Soft Iron Easy to magnetize & Cores of electromagnets,
demagnetize (it loses transformers & motors
magnetism readily)
Types of magnets:
a) Permanent magnet b) electromagnets
Examples of permanent magnet:
Bar magnets – magnetic needle – U-shaped magnets – Round magnets
26.2 Properties permanent magnet:

• The magnet has 2 poles (2 ends) called the north (N) pole & the
south (s) pole at which most of the magnetic materials are attracted.
• The magnetic strength is the strongest at the poles of the magnet.
• The poles are always in pairs which is known as magnetic dipole.
• When you freely suspend a bar magnet in a horizontal position, the
magnetic field of the bar magnet will interact with the magnetic
field of the Earth. This will cause the bar magnet to come to rest in
a north-south direction, where the north pole of the magnet points
to the north pole of the Earth.
• Like poles repel and unlike poles attract.
• The stronger a magnet, the larger will be the attractive or repulsive
force between other magnets.
• The closer together the two magnets are, the greater is the magnetic
force between them.
• Magnets attract magnetic materials such as iron, steel & nickel.

- The Earth is like a giant bar magnet with its N-pole lies under the
geographical South pole of the Earth and its S-pole lies under the
geographical north pole of the Earth (Arctic ice).
- The magnetic needle in the compass is like a bar magnet when it
comes to rest in a north-south direction, this means that the north pole
of the needle is attracted toward the Earth’s south pole which lies under
the geographical north pole of the Earth.
- All magnets have a north and south pole – 2 poles. Cutting a bar magnet in half simply
produces two smaller magnets, each with its own north and south poles i.e. no N-pole
without S-pole or no magnetic monopole).
26.3 Making Magnets (magnetization): 3 methods

1- By stroking: a piece of iron can be made magnet by stroking
consistently it with a magnet in one direction from end to end.
2- By electrical method of Magnetization:
Place the material in a strong magnetic field, produced by an
electromagnet. An electromagnet a coil of wire and, for this
purpose, it is connected to a battery or power supply so that a
steady direct current (D.C) flows through it. This produces a
magnetic field inside the coil, and this field magnetizes the
material & the polarities of the magnet depend on the direction of
current flow.
Magnetization by electric current method creates more powerful
magnets than other magnetization methods such as stroking.
3- Induced Magnetism
Magnetic Induction is one of the ways making magnetic materials
like steel and iron into magnets. In other words, magnetic induction
is a process of inducing magnetism in an ordinary piece of magnetic
material.
- This method involves simply placing the magnetic material (soft or
hard iron) close to a strong magnet (magnetized) without touching.
- The iron bar becomes an induced magnet with the end nearer the
magnet having opposite polarity to that of the magnet.
- Hence, the soft or hard iron bar gets attracted to the permanent
magnet. Magnetic induction process explains how magnetic materials can be attracted to
magnets.
- Magnetism induced in soft iron is temporary but strong while
magnetism induced in hard steel is permanent but weaker.
Extra: In magnetic materials such as iron, the molecules can be visualized as
molecular magnets called magnetic domains that are randomly arranged in
normal conditions so as not to produce net magnetism. The idea of
magnetization is to rearrange these molecular magnets so all the molecular N-
poles are directed to one side (which is the N-pole of the new magnet) & so all
the molecular S-poles are directed to the other side (which is the new S-pole)

26.4 Demagnetization:
a) By heating; if a magnet’s temperature goes above certain temp., it will lose magnetism.
b) By hammering or dropping from height.
c) By using alternating current; as if you place a magnet inside a coil connected to AC
supply and slowly pull it from the coil, the magnet will lose magnetism. As the magnetic
field produced by the AC varies back and forth and this is the most effective method.
26.5 Magnetic field:
Magnetic Field is the region around a magnet where its magnetic a
force appears & is experienced other magnetic materials.
A magnetic field can be graphically represented by magnetic field
lines which indicate its strength and direction.
Note: Magnetic field is a vector quantity as it has both magnitude &
direction.
- The magnetic field lines extend outward from the N-pole and
directed inward into the S-Pole showing the shape of the field.
- Arrows in the field lines outside the magnets show the direction
in which a free north pole would move (from N-pole to S-pole)
- When the field lines are close together at a point, the point is said
to have a strong magnetic field therefore the magnetic field is the
strongest at the poles.
- Magnetic field lines never cross each other.
- In case of attraction; the field lines extend from the N-pole of the
1st magnet and into the S-pole of the 2nd magnet while in case of
repulsion the field line go far away from each other, either both
were N-poles or S-poles as show in the figure.
- In case of repulsion, there is a region in between the 2 magnets called the neutral point
where there is no single line passing through it.
26.6 Plotting of magnetic field lines:
The magnetic field can be investigated by 2 methods:
a) With a compass:
A compass is used to find the direction and pattern of magnetic field. It has a permanent
magnet needle which is free to rotate in a horizontal plane. The north pole of compass
magnet (arrowhead) will align and point along the magnetic field line direction.
Apparatus Needed: Bar magnet, plotting paper and plotting compass.
Procedure:
1- Place the bar magnet at the center of the piece of paper so that its
north pole is aligned as shown.
2- Place the compass near one pole of the magnet and mark the
positions of the ends N and S, of the compass needle by pencil dots.
Then, move the compass until the rear end of the compass is over the
second dot, and mark the new position of the other end with a third dot.
3- Repeat the above until reaching the other pole. Join the series of dots
and this will give a field line of the magnetic field. Use this method to
plot other field lines on both sides of this magnet
b) With iron fillings:
1. Place a sheet of paper over the top of a bar magnet
2. Using a pepper pot, sprinkle iron filings evenly on the sheet
and gently tap the sheet with a pencil.
Tapping the sheet allows the fillings to move and turn so that
they align themselves in the shape of the magnetic field. This
method is quick, gives a good idea about the shape of the field
but does not give the direction of the field.
Notes:
- It is seen that the field are concentrated (closest) at the poles; this because the field is the
strongest at the poles and they never intersect or cross each other.
- Permanent magnets are used in compasses, magnetic door catches, moving coil galvanometers,
DC motors, AC generators, loudspeakers, and for many other purposes.
26.7 The magnetic effect of current (electromagnet):

When an electric current pass through a wire, it produces magnetic field around the wire, the
shape of which relies on the shape of the wire whether it is straight conductor or a coil of
wire i.e. solenoid.
i) The magnetic field around a straight conductor carrying current.

The magnetic field lines produced by a current in a straight wire are
in the form of concentric circles with the wire as its center.
Right-hand Grip rule can be used to find the direction of the
magnetic field produced due to current flow.
Right-hand grip rule: Grasp the wire with right hand so that the
thumb points in the direction of the conventional current, then the
wrapped fingers will encircle the wire in the direction of the
magnetic field.
Activity:
The shape of the magnetic field around a straight conductor
carrying current can be investigated by making a copper wire pass
through the center of a paper card and sprinkle some iron fillings on
the card as shown. Then allow the current to pass in the wire.
Hence the iron fillings will get aligned in the form of concentric
circles around the wire where the wire is the center.
We can use a compass to indicate the direction of the field from all
sides which is found to be consistent with the Right-hand grip rule.
Notes:
- The magnetic field is strong in the region around the wire and
weakens with increasing distance, i.e., the field lines near the wire
are drawn closer to another. With increasing distances, concentric
circles are further apart.
- The larger the current, the stronger is the magnetic field.
- If the direction of the current is reversed, the direction of the field
is reversed as well however the pattern of the field stays the same.

ii) The magnetic field around a solenoid carrying current (electromagnet).
The solenoid consists of a long coil of insulated wire
coiled into a cylindrical shape and has large number of
turns, connected to a DC source, so it become
magnetized when the current flows through it and
become demagnetized as soon as the current stops.
Notes about the magnetic effect of the solenoid:
- The magnetic field lines outside the solenoid are like
that of a bar magnet, and it behaves in a similar way – as
if it had a north pole at one end (the end through which the current leaves) and south pole at
the other end (the end through which the current enters).
- Current in solenoid produces a stronger magnetic field inside the solenoid than outside. The
field lines inside the solenoid are parallel and closely spaced showing the field is highly
uniform in strength and direction.
- The strength of the field diminishes with increasing the distance from the solenoid.
- The larger the current, the stronger is the magnetic field.
- Reversing the direction of the current reverses the direction of the magnetic field.
- The coil is typically made from copper wire as it has low resistance.
- The magnetic effect of the solenoid can make it be used as an electromagnet which is a
temporary magnet that gets magnetized when the current is ON & demagnetized when the
current is OFF.
Strength of the magnetic field of the electromagnet can be increased by:
1. increasing the current in the coil.
2. increasing the number of turns in the coil of the solenoid
3. using a soft iron core within the solenoid to concentrate the field.
Hard iron such as steel can not be used in the core as it retains magnetism once it is
magnetized but soft iron gains and losses magnetism easily
Right-hand grip rule can be used to find the direction of the
magnetic field. In this case, point the wrapped fingers (along the
coil) in the direction of the conventional current. Then, the thumb
will point to the direction of magnetic field within the solenoid or
the North pole of the solenoid.
26.8 Applications of electromagnetic:
Electromagnets can be used in cranes or winches for such tasks as
moving cars or sorting metals from other landfill materials. Other
applications are in circuit breakers, relays & electric bells.
a) Electric bell:
The structure is as shown in the figure where the hammer is
attached to a springy metal strip (make- and break device) & it is
not in contact with the gong normally. The series of events are:
- When the ‘push’ switch is pressed, the circuit is closed. Current
passes through the electromagnet windings and the core becomes
magnetized.
- The magnetized core attracts the iron armature which makes the
striker (the hammer) hits the gong producing the first sound.
- However, the movement of the armature opens the ‘make and break’ switch which switches
the electromagnet off.
- The iron armature spring flies back to its original position, closing the ‘make and break’ switch
and start the cycle again.
- The process repeats itself as long as the push switch is pressed.
Notes:
- Soft iron is used to make electromagnets as it gains and loses magnetism quickly
- Depending on existence of magnetic fields. The armature is also made of soft iron which can
induce magnetism rapidly.
- No matter what direction is the current flow, the bell rings continuously as long as the ‘push’
switch is closed because any pole induces the armature.
b) Magnetic relay:
A relay switch is an application of electromagnet that is used to make a small current switch
a larger current on & off.
Operation:
When the switch of the relay is closed, the current flows in
the coil of the electromagnet of the first circuit so it
becomes magnetized.
The electromagnet attracts the soft iron armature, so the
other end which rotate around the pivot pushing the
moveable contacts together completing the second circuit (if
it was normally opened type).
There are 2 types of magnetic relays:

1) Normally open relays which explained above
2) Normally closed relays, which mean that the second circuit is closed in normal conditions
but when the relay is ON, it switches it off (the relay open the contact).
Magnetic relays are used in ignition circuits of cars and to control large currents or voltages
which would be dangerous for an operator to switch or even by normal electronic circuit.
The symbol of the relay is shown here.
The relay can be considered as a digital circuit because it is either ON or

OFF without in between state.
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

0561772364

Ch. 27: Electromagnetic Effects
In this lesson we are going to study two main effects of the Electromagnetic forces or
interaction between electric & magnetic fields which are
a) The Electromagnetic forces (motor effect).
b) The electromagnetic induction (dynamo effect)
27.1 The motor effect:
i- Force on a current-carrying conductor (wire) in magnetic field.

When current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it will
experience a mechanical force i.e. it will move, when the magnetic
field direction is not parallel to the current direction.
The force that is experienced by the wire is because of the interaction
between the magnetic field of the permanent magnet & the magnetic
field of the current flowing in the conductor, which is known as the
motor effect.
- Factors that affect the strength of the force:
• Magnetic field strength (Stronger magnetic field → stronger force)
• Amount of current in conductor (Higher current → stronger force)
• Length of conductor within the magnetic field (Longer conductor → stronger force)
• Angle between the magnetic field and current directions (More about this below)
- If the current direction is PARALLEL to the magnetic field, there will NO force on the
conductor by the magnetic field. The magnitude of the force is MAXIMUM when the angle
between the magnetic field and current direction is 90oand the magnitude of it decreases
when the angle between the magnetic field and current directions is smaller than 90o
- The direction of this force is always right angles to the plane containing both the conductor
and the magnetic field and is predicted by Fleming’s Left-Hand
Rule.
Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule
“If the first 3 fingers of the left hand are mutually at right angles to
each other, where the forefinger points in the direction of the
magnetic field and the middle finger points in the direction of the
current so the thumb will point in the direction of the force”
As shown in the opposite figure where (F) is the force, (B) is the
magnetic field (from N to S) and (I) is the electric current.
E.g. If current flowing towards to right and the magnetic field is pointing into the paper, the
direction of the force is predicted by the Fleming’s left-hand rule to be upwards.
- If the direction of either the current or the field is reversed then the wire would move in
the opposite direction instead. But if both were reversed so the direction of the motion of
the wire remains the same.

ii- MOTION of a current carrying loop or coil (solenoid) in a magnetic field .
When current flows round the loop as shown, one side of the coil
experiences a force acting upwards. While the other side
experiences an equal force acting downwards.
These two equal but opposite forces separated by distance (d),
constitute a couple whose moment or the torque produces a
turning effect tending to rotate the coil about the axes of the coil.
This torque causes the coil to rotate in an anticlockwise direction
for example but if the direction of either the current or the
magnetic field is reversed, the coil will rotate in a clockwise
direction, (in accordance with Flemings left hand rule)
27.2 Applications of the motor effect.

a) The DC motor:
“It is a device used for converting the electric energy into mechanical energy”.
Its main idea is to produce a turning effect in a current-
carrying coil to make an electric motor.
Structure:
i- A rectangular coil of insulated wire (coiled around soft
iron armature)’
ii- A powerful magnet provided by curved poles
produces a powerful magnetic field
iii-Two commutators consisting of a split copper ring (2
halves insulated from each other)
iv- Two carbon brushes made to press lightly against
each commutator
Working principle:
- Suppose that the coil is in a horizontal position and the
current flows in a clockwise direction.
Under this condition an upward force acts on the arm
(AB) of the coil and a downward force act on the arm
(CD). Hence the coil rotates in a clockwise direction until
it reaches the vertical position where the brushes in line
with the gaps in the commutators and the current stops.
But the coil overshoots the vertical position because of
inertia and the commutator halves are connected to
opposite poles of the battery.
So, the current passing through the coil is reversed and the direction of forces as the side
(AB) moves downward and the side (CD) moves upward and the coil keeps turning round in
a clockwise direction.
Note: The wire segments (CB & AD) connecting the two side of the coil do not experience
any force as the current and magnetic field are in the same direction Hence, according to
Fleming’s left-hand rule, this will generate no force as they are parallel to the field lines.

The function of the commutators and the carbon brushes is to carry the current into the coil
and prevent twisting of the wires.
Reversing the commutators with the carbon brushes after half cycle enables the coil to keep
rotating in one direction
How cloud you improve the efficiency of an electric motor?
1- Increase the current flowing through the coil.
2- Increase the number of turns of the rectangular coil
3- Wind the coil on soft iron armature to increase the magnetic strength.
Why does the efficiency of the electric motor dose not achieve 100%? Due to
(a) the work down against friction in the bearing and commutators
(b) Eddy currents formed in soft iron cylinder commutators
(c) The heat lost in the windings (I2R)
The practical direct current motors have
1- Strong magnetic field produced by electromagnetic
2- Increase the no. of turns in the coil wound in the slots of a laminated soft iron cylinder.
3- High current. All these to produce a powerful rotation.
B) Moving in a circle
If a charged particle enters a magnetic field, it will feel a force.
If we use the left-hand rule in the diagram shown here, we can
see that the force is always at right angles to the velocity.
First finger points into the page, middle finger points along the
line where the positive charge is moving (tangent), so our
thumb points upwards. While the particle is in the magnetic
field it will move in a circle (circulate upward).
In case if we have negative charge moving under the same field, it will circulate downwards.
This is the principle of deflection of electrons in cathode ray tube and charged particles in
general in particles accelerators.
27.3 Electromagnetic Induction

Michael Faraday made the great discovery in 1831 that an electric current could be produced
in conductor under the influence of a varying magnetic field.
ACTIVITY1:
1- Produce a solenoid by winding several coils of insulated copper wire around a cardboard
cylinder.
2- Connect the solenoid to a center-zero galvanometer
3- Move the N- pole of a bar magnet horizontal towards the end of the coil and note the
direction of the deflection of the galvanometer.
4- Move the magnet from the coil and note the new direction of deflection of the handle of
the galvanometer.

5- Keep the magnet stationary (fixed) near the coil.
6- Repeat the last steps but using the S –pole and note the direction of movement of the
galvanometer.
7- Keep the magnet stationary and move coil towards the magnet
8- Repeat the lost step but increase the speed of the movement and the note the effect on the
galvanometer deflection.
CONCLUSION:
i) The current will flow in the galvanometer whenever there is relative motion between the
coil and the magnet with either the magnet moves towards the coil or away from it and even
when the magnet is stationary but the coil is moved.
Simply e.m.f is induced in the terminals of the conductor whenever this conductor is
moved across the magnetic field i.e. there is a change in the magnetic flux (cutting of
magnetic field lines). This phenomenon is known as electromagnetic induction
Electromagnetic induction:
“It is the production of alternating electric current or voltage (e.m.f) in a conductor
whenever there is a change in the magnetic flux (cutting of magnetic field lines) around
the conductor”.
ii) The induced e.m.f or current depends on
a- The speed of motion of the magnet or the coil (higher speed produces higher e.m.f)
b- The number of turns of the coil (a coil of big no. of turns produces higher induced e.m.f)
c- The presence of a soft iron core inside the coil or using strong magnet as this increases the
magnetic field strength.
(iii) The direction of the induced current reverses when the direction of the motion of the
magnet or the coil is reversed
Note: There is no induced e.m.f if the wire is held still, nor if it is moved parallel to the field
27.4 Principles of Electromagnetic Induction

1st- Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic induction:
“Whenever there is a change in the magnetic lines of force (magnetic flux), e.m.f is induced,
the strength of which is proportional to the rate of change of the flux linked with the circuit.”
Faraday’s law gives the magnitude of the induced e.m.f
The induced e.m.f is produced in a straight conductor when the conductor moves across the
line of force of a uniform magnetic field and its direction is given
by Fleming’s right hand rule.
Fleming’s right hand rule:

“ if the thumb, fore finger and the middle finger are mutually at
right angles to each other, with the forefinger or 1st finger pointing
direction of the magnetic field and the thumb points in the direction
of the motion, then the middle or 2nd finger points in the direction of
the induced e.m.f or current (I)”
Using Fleming’s right hand rule, you can predict the direction of
the induced current by knowing the direction of magnetic field and the motion (force).
Thus.
- The induced e.m.f is max when the conductor is perpendicular to the line of magnetic field
- The induced e.m.f is zero when the conductor moves parallel to the lines of magnetic field
- The faster the speed of the conductor, the greater the induced e.m.f
2nd - Lenz’s law:
“The e.m.f or current is induced in such a direction so as to oppose the motion or change
producing it”
The direction of the induced current or the induced e.m.f can be given using Lenz’s law, to
explain this consider a N-pole of a magnet moving towards the face of a coil whose ends are
joined to a galvanometer
Lenz put his law based on the conservation of energy principle as the mechanical energy
(from pushing/pulling of the magnet) is converted into electrical energy. This is how cycling
a bike with a dynamo converts your mechanical energy into electrical energy.
By referring to the shown figure that explains the process of inducing e.m.f in a solenoid,
so according to Lenz’s law:
- No. 1: The north pole of a magnet is moved towards
the coil. By Lenz’ law, the coil will generate an e.m.f
such that a north pole is induced on the right side of
the coil to oppose the change. (Why North polarity?
To “repel” away the incoming north pole and or to
oppose the movement of the magnet by repulsion of
like poles). From the right-hand grip rule, the current
flows counterclockwise as shown in the diagram.
- No. 2: The North Pole is moved away from the coil.
By Lenz’ law, the coil will generate an e.m.f such that
a south pole is induced on the right side of the coil to
oppose the change, (Why South polarity? to oppose
this motion by the attraction of unlike poles so the
current in the coil will flow in a clockwise direction.
- Images No. 3 & 4 describe how the e.m.f is induced in case if the south pole is moved
away from the coil and in case if the south pole is moved towards the coil respectively
27.5 Applications of electromagnetic induction

A) A.C. Generator
“It is an electromagnetic device which transforms
mechanical energy (K.E) into electrical energy”.
I) Structure: It consists of a rectangular coil of wire which
can be rotated about an axis by external driving forces e.g.
turbines. The coil is located between the poles of two
permanent magnets. As the coil rotates, the magnetic field
through the coil changes, which induces an electromotive
force (e.m.f) between the ends of the coil.
Note: The induced current does not flow UNLESS the generator is electrically connected to
an external closed circuit with an electrical load, such as a light bulb.
Purpose of the 2 separate slip rings and carbon brushes:
They allow the transfer of alternating e.m.f induced in the rotating coil to the external circuit.
Each ring is connected to one end of the coil wire and is electrically connected to the
external circuit via the conductive carbon brushes therefore the coil can rotate indefinitely.
Note the difference between A.C. generator and D.C. motor. D.C. motor uses split-ring
commutator, which reverses the current direction in the coil every half a turn and allows
the coil to always turn in the clockwise direction.
The direction of the induced current reverses every half cycle because the direction of
motion of each side of the coil get reversed (Positive in one half & negative in the other) but
the magnitude varies because the rate of cutting the flux by the sides of the coil is changing.
The electric current induced in the coil of the generator is an alternating current which
vary sinusoidally with time. To investigate the workings of an AC generator, we are going
to rely on the image shown here.
Note that the coil is being turned clockwise and the
magnetic field is pointing towards the right.
ii) Steps of operation:

- The coil starts in reference position 0o: The plane of
the coil is perpendicular to the magnetic field lines.
This means that the sides of the coil are moving
parallel to the magnetic field lines and not “cutting”
through any magnetic field lines. Hence, no e.m.f is
induced.
- Coil gets turned to reference position 90o: The plane of the coil is parallel to the magnetic
field lines. The sides of the coil are moving perpendicularly to the magnetic field lines and
will be “cutting” through the magnetic field lines at the greatest rate. Hence, the induced
e.m.f is the maximum at this position. Using Fleming’s right hand rule, the direction of force
at A is upwards (due to clockwise motion), while the magnetic field lines are pointing
rightwards. This will give an induced current pointing into the paper. You can do the same
analysis for B, which will be carrying an induced current pointing out of the paper.
- Coil gets turned to reference position 180o and 360o, same analysis as in position 0o.
- Coil gets turned to reference position 270∘: Same analysis as in reference position 90∘ BUT
the e.m.f is in the opposite direction. This is due to the position of A and B switching places
and by the Fleming’s right hand rule, the inwards current will be carried by B and outwards
current will be carried by A.
The frequency of rotation is related to the period T by f =1/T
iii) Ways to increase emf in an AC generator:

1. Increase number of turns in the coil. (Double no. of turns = double max e.m.f.)
2. Use a coil of a bigger area.
3. Use a stronger magnet.
4. Increase the speed of rotation around the axis
Note: a diode can be used to convert (rectify) the AC into DC which is necessary in case if
we want to charge a battery through AC by an A.C generator as if it was connected
directly without diode, it will charge in the first half cycle and discharge in the next half.
B) The Transformer:
It is a device for changing the size of a.c voltage by increasing or decreasing the e.m.f
(voltage) of the A.C.
i) Structure and Symbol:

It consists of 2 separate sets of coils; the primary coil and the
secondary coil which are wound round a soft-iron core to increase
and concentrate the magnetic flux within the core.
Note:
- The primary coil is the input windings of voltage (Vp) &
the secondary coil is the output windings of voltage (Vs).
-The soft iron core is laminated i.e divided into sheets of
soft-iron insulated from each other instead of a solid block
to reduce the loss of energy due to eddy current induced in
the coil.
- There is no electrical connection between the 2 coils.
- Transformers do not covert the AC into DC, it just
increases or decreases the size of the AC voltage.
ii) Principle of Operation:

When the A.C voltage (Vp) is applied at the terminals of the primary coil (p), an alternating
magnetic field or flux is produced in the iron core which passes on this changing magnetic
field to the secondary coil (s).
Now the secondary coil is a conductor in a changing magnetic field, so the secondary coil
induces an e.m.f or voltage (Vs) of the same frequency as that of (Vp) across its terminals by
electromagnetic induction.
If the terminals of the secondary coil were connected to a closed circuit e.g. bulb, an
alternating current would pass in the external circuit.
Transformers can NOT be operated by a DC, but why?

If direct current is connected to a transformer, there is no output voltage. This is because the
magnetic field produced by the primary coil is unchanging (steady). With an unchanging
field passing through the secondary coil, no voltage induced in it (only a momentary).
As the same no. of field lines, link each turn of the primary (NP) & secondary coils (Ns), so
we can write the transformer law as;
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑉𝑝 𝑁𝑝

= 𝑜𝑟 =
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑉𝑠 𝑁𝑠
In an ideal transformer (with 100% efficiency, the power developed in the secondary coil is
developed in the primary coil, according to the law of conservation of energy).
i.e. input power = output power 𝑉𝑝 𝑥 𝐼𝑝 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑥 𝐼𝑠
Where (Ip) & (Is) are the currents in the primary & secondary, respectively.
𝑉𝑝 𝐼𝑠 𝑁𝑝
𝑆𝑜; = =
𝑉𝑠 𝐼𝑝 𝑁𝑠
Hence; the currents in the two coils are inversely proportional to the no. of turns in the coils
but the voltages are directly proportional to the number of turns in the coils i.e if the voltage
is stepped up then the current must be stepped down by the same ratio & vice versa.
iii) Types of Transformers:

It is seen that the size of the induced AC voltage in the secondary coil depends on the
number of turns in each coil, thus we have 2 types of transformers:
1) Step-Up Transformers:- It is used to increase the

applied voltage (𝑉𝑠 > 𝑉𝑝 ) as the no. of turns in the
secondary coil (𝑁𝑠 ) must be greater than the no. of
turns in the primary coil (𝑁𝑝 ).
Then (𝐼𝑠 < 𝐼𝑝 ) and 𝑁𝑠 /𝑁𝑝 >1.
Simply they increase the voltage but decease the current
2) Step-Down Transformers: It is used to decrease the

applied voltage (𝑉𝑝 >𝑉𝑠 ) as the no. of turns in the
secondary coil (𝑁𝑠 ) must be less than the no. of turns in
the primary coil (𝑁𝑝 ).
Simply they increase the current but decease the voltage.
Then (𝐼𝑠 > 𝐼𝑝 ), here; 𝑁𝑠 /𝑁𝑝 < 1.
(𝑵𝒔 /𝑵𝒑 ) is called the turns ratio of the transformer.
In the power stations, step up transformers are used but
all the transformers near your house are step down ones.
Transformers are used to transfer electric energy from the generating power station to be
distributed across very long distances through wires with no considerable loss in energy.
27.6 The efficiency of a transformer is defined by:

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑉𝑠 𝑥 𝐼𝑠 )
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝜂) = 𝑋100% = 𝑋100%
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑉𝑝 𝑥 𝐼𝑝 )
The efficiency of the practical transformer does not reach 100%, but why?!
1- The heat loss (I2R) because the primary & the secondary coils have resistance and it can
be reduced by using thick copper wires or low resistance coils.
2- Current induced in core can circle around forming what is known as Eddy current,
causing some energy to be lost as heat & it can be reduced by laminating the core (thin
laminated sheets), as currents cannot pass between the gaps in the laminated sheets.
3- Leakage of magnetic flux as not all the lines of induction due to the A.C current in the
primary coil pass entirely through the iron core of the secondary coil & it can be reduced by
special forms of coil windings or by efficient soft iron core design.
4- Hysteresis loss, which is wasted energy due to reversing the magnetization of the core & it
can be reduced by the use of special alloys or soft iron in the core of the primary coil.

27.7 Power Transmission:
Power (P = I.V) generated at power stations can be transmitted to long distances at low
current & high voltage NOT high current & low voltage Which is Known as high tension
power transmission.
But why it is preferred to have a high voltage & low current instead of a high current for
long distance transmission
1- Because the metal wires (cables) through which power is transmitted have a certain
resistance, so transmitting power at high current will lead to loss of power in the form of heat
in the cables (I2R). Therefore, it is preferred to transmit power at high voltage & low current
to decrease the loss of power or energy in the form of (I2R).
2- Low currents require thinner cables & this reduces the cost of the cables that transmit the
power.
Notes:
- Step-up transformers are used at the
beginning of the transmission process to
increases the voltages may be 500 KV
and reduce the current through big
pylons with big insulators. While step-
down transformers are used in the
destination to reduce the high
transmitted voltages to lower voltages
(220V) and higher currents to be
distributed among the parallel homes or networks in the grid with small loss in the power.
- The current flowing in the cables is a flow of coulombs of charge. At high voltage, we have
fewer coulombs flowing, but each coulomb carries more energy with it.
- Because the power loss is related to the current by (I2R), so doubling the current, increases
the loss by 4 times and if it increases 20 times, the loss increases by 400 times.
Advantages of A.C over D.C in power transmission.

1- A.C can be transformed to high voltages with low energy loss.
2- A.C voltage can be stepped up or down by transformer while D.C cannot
3- Transformers can’t be operated with a D.C because of the steady value of current in the
primary coil; there will be no change in the magnetic flux in the core and therefore no
induced e.m.f in the secondary coil.
4- D.C would require the use of motors and dynamos to produce a voltage change & this
causes a great loss of energy than when A.C is used.
→ Transformers can be modified to step up a D.C voltage by connecting make-and-break
device at the primary coil.
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

0561772364

Block 5: Atomic Physics
Ch. 28: The Nuclear atom
Introduction:
Matter is composed of tiny particles, called molecules, which are continuously in motion.
These molecules themselves comprise of groups of atoms and both are too small to be seen
by naked eye or even under microscopes.
28.1 History of the discovery of the atomic structure:
1- Dalton suggested the presence of a hard and solid sphere called atom that constructs
everything.
2- Thomson discovered the electrons & produced “Plum pudding model” which visualized
the atom to be made of nebulous positively charged with electrons scattered randomly
through it where he discovered that the electrons can be removed from the atoms leaving a
positively charged core behind .
3- Rutherford’s Nuclear Model: He visualized the atom to be made of tiny positive &
massive nucleus surrounded by electrons.
4- Bohr’s Planetary Model: He visualized the electrons to be located around the nucleus in
fixed orbits and can jump from one orbit to another if they gain quantized energy.
28.2 Rutherford’s Nuclear Model of the atom

i) Alpha particle scattering experiment:
The experiment was conducted by Geiger & Marsden which
was introduced to be an evidence for the nuclear model of the
atom where α-particles (positively charged particles) were
fired through thin sheet of gold foil.
Observations:
1- Most of the alpha particles went straight through the gold
foil with little or no deflection.
Reason: they did not pass close enough to the nucleus.
2- Some of the alpha particles deflected through larger angles
(from 10o to 90o).
Reason: they passed close to the nucleus and the closer they are,
the more they got deflected.
3- Very few alpha particles rebounded backwards towards the
source.
Reason: they passed so close and collided with it
Conclusions: Rutherford explained the nuclear model as:

Based on 1- Atom is mostly empty spaced and the size of the
nucleus is extremely small compared to the atom (about1/100000).
Based on 2- The nucleus is positively charged.
Based on 3- All the mass is concentrated densely in a tiny, very dense and charged nucleus.
Note: this experiment must be carried out in vacuum chamber to prevent alpha particles
from being absorbed or stopped by the air particles
ii) The Atom:
Most of the atom is empty space. At its centre, it has a small, dense, and positively charged
nucleus of squashed protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged
electrons. Atom is the smallest unit of matter that has the characteristic properties of a
chemical element.
1) Nucleus
A nucleus is the core of an atom. It consists of particles called
protons and neutrons. These particles are known as nucleons as
they are found in the nucleus and each has almost the same mass.
As atoms are mostly empty spaced, so the nucleus contains
99.95% of the atom’s mass. Practically all the mass of an atom is
the mass of its nucleus.
a- The proton, is a constituent of every atomic nucleus, is a stable sub-atomic particle that
has a unit-positive electric charge (+1).
b- The neutron, is a constituent of every nucleus except ordinary hydrogen, is a stable sub-
atomic particle that has no electric charge or neutral.
2) Electrons
An electron is not part of the atomic nucleus, but it orbits the nucleus. It carries a unit-
negative electric charge (-1). An electron is nearly mass-less. The rest mass of an electron is
1/1836 times the rest mass of a proton.
- In a neutral atom, the number of electrons equals the number of protons.
- Atoms of different chemical elements have a different number of protons in their nuclei,
and therefore different numbers of electrons in the orbit.
28.3 Atomic notation:
Chemical elements are characterized and identified by 2 numbers which are the atomic
numbers and the nucleon number which identify the chemical properties of the element.
i) The atomic (proton) number (z): is the no. of protons present in the nucleus of the atom.
- As the atom is electrically neutral, hence, the no. of protons = no. of electrons.
- The number or protons in the nucleus of an atom determines what chemical element it is.
ii) The mass (or nucleon) number (A): is the number of nucleons (sum of protons and
neutrons) present in the nucleus of the atom.
The atom of an element or any nuclide of symbol (X) is characterized by the mass number
𝐴
(A) and the atomic number (Z) and is represented a notation which is 𝑍𝑋
Examples: 2311𝑁𝑎 Sodium (Na) atom has 11 P and 11 e but 12 n
+ - 0
- The number of neutrons present in the nucleus of the atom (the neutron number, N) may be
deduced by subtracting the proton number (Z) from its nucleon number (A).
Neutron number (N) = nucleon number (A) - proton number (Z)
- Since the mass of an atom is concentrated at its nucleus, the nucleon (or mass) number is
thus an approximate measure of the mass of the atom.
- Chemical reactions only involve electrons. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus take no
part in chemical reactions.

Ch. 29: Radioactivity
29.1 Isotopes:
“They are atoms of the same element which have the same number of protons, but a
different mass no. or different number of neutrons.”
Notes:
• Mass of the isotopes of an element differs as the number of neutrons varies.
• Every chemical element has one or more isotopes. An atom is first identified and labeled
according to the number of protons in the nucleus.
• All atoms with the same electron arrangement, hence, same proton number, have nearly,
identical chemical properties, but with different nuclear and physical properties.
Ex.: Hydrogen ( 11𝐻) has 2 isotopes (deuterium 21𝐻 & tritium 31𝐻)
29.2 Radioactivity or Radioactive decay:

Some elements have atoms with unstable nuclei, also isotopes of
an atom can be stable or unstable (radioisotopes). A nucleus is
unstable if it contains too many neutrons and/or protons.
The unstable nuclei will try to become more stable by ejecting high-energy particles. The
process of ejecting the particles is called radioactivity.
- The balance of neutrons and protons in a nucleus is crucial to the stability of the atom. An
unstable nucleus may emit an α-particle (equivalent to a helium nucleus) or a (β-particle (a
fast electron from the nucleus).
- Radioactive emission of particles from the nucleus of mass is in the form of alpha particles
or beta particles, sometimes accompanied by the emission of energy in form of gamma rays.
Radioactivity:
“It is a random and spontaneous process in which an unstable nucleus will disintegrate into
a more stable nucleus by the emission of alpha-particles beta-particles and/or gamma rays.”
The word spontaneous means that the decay goes unaffected by external factors such as the
pressure, temperature, and behavior of neighboring nuclei. Also, it is unpredictable or
random process in which we cannot expect which nucleus decays next.
The 3 type of radiation can knock electron of other elements causing ionization. thus, they
are called ionizing radiation.
29.3 The ionizing radiation:

1) α-particles consist of two protons and two neutrons; hence it is equivalent to a helium
nucleus. It has a mass of 4 atomic mass units (4×the mass of a proton) and a charge of +2.
α-particles travel up to about one-tenth of the speed of light colliding with particles in their
path causing ionization (highest ionizing ability).
2) β-particles are fast moving electrons emitted from the nucleus with varying speeds which
is produced when a neutron decay into a proton & beta particle. Like electrons, they carry
negative charge of (-1) and much lighter than α-particles so they are weakly ionizing.
3) γ-rays are electromagnetic waves of very short wavelength. They are often emitted at the
same time as α- or β- particles. γ-rays are massless.

This table shows the properties of the 3 type of radiations.
Property α- particles β-particle γ-rays
4 o + 0
1- Nature 2𝐻𝑒 (2n +2P ) −1𝑒, electron (high High energy
helium nucleus energy ones) e.m.w radiation
2- Charge +2 -1 0
3-Mass 4 a.m.u Mass of electron massless
4- Penetrating power Low Medium High
5- Absorption & range Paper or 5 cm in air 2mm Al or 5m in air 6 cm lead
6- Ionization High Medium Low
7
7- velocity Of the order of 10 Up to 108m/s but variable 3x108 m/s
8- spread of velocities 1 or 2 velocities Widespread One velocity
241 80 60
8- examples of sources 95𝐴𝑚, Americium 39𝑆𝑟, strontium 27𝐶𝑜 , cobalt 60
9- Deflection by electric Slightly deflected Strongly deflected, Not deflected
&magnetic field opposite to alpha
29.4 Characteristics of three types of ionizing radiation:

a) Ionization:
Ion is a charged atom, formed by losing or gaining electrons. All three kinds of emissions
can create ions.
- α-particles knock electrons out of nearby atoms, thus ionizing the atoms. The α-particles
are much heavier than the electrons and can simply remove electrons them from the atoms,
thus they have the most powerful ionization ability.
- β-particles are less strongly ionizing than α-particles, but more than γ-rays. It is less likely
for a lighter β-particles to dislodge an electron.
γ-rays are the least ionizing of the nuclear radiation as it is uncharged.
b) Penetrating power
- α-particles are the least penetrating of the nuclear
radiations and can be stopped by a sheet of paper. They
can only pass through a few cm of air.
- β-particles are more penetrating and are stopped by a
thin (1 mm) sheet of aluminum. The fastest β-particles
have a range of a meter or so in air.
- γ-rays are the most penetrating nuclear radiation. Intensity of
gamma radiation can be reduced to half by 1 or 2 cm thick lead & its range is few km in air.
c) Deflection of radioactive particles in an electric field

In the diagram shown, a radioactive source is placed at one
end of an electric field. The behaviour of the three types of
emission in an electric field is:
- The α-particles which are positively charged particles,
deflected towards negative plate in a parabolic path.
- The β-particles which are negatively charged particles,
deflected towards positively charged plate. β-particles show
much greater deflections than α-particles because of their lower mass.
- γ-rays show no deflection in the electric field as they have no charge.
d) Deflection of radioactive particles in a magnetic field
The figure shown illustrates the behaviour of the three types
of emission in a magnetic field. (The magnetic field is
coming into the page as denoted by the crosses.)
- The α-particles and β- particles are deflected in directions
given by Fleming’s left-hand rule.
- α-particles are positively charged. The direction of
movement of α-particles can be considered as in the direction
of conventional current flow. Therefore, the force on them
must be towards the left.
- β-particles are negatively charged. The conventional current
flow is in the opposite direction to the movement of β-
particles. Therefore, the force on them must be towards the right.
γ-rays are not affected by the magnetic field and they travel in a straight line.
29.5 Radiation Detectors

Radioactive emissions can be detected using the following common detectors:
1- Photographic detectors
When a radioactive substance is placed near a photographic film coated with silver halide,
the latter will produce a similar effect as seen with exposure to visible light. After the
exposure is completed, this latent record of the accumulated exposure can be made visible
through a chemical development process.
This is the method by which Henri Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity in
1896 when he noted while performing some experiments that Uranium gave out some rays
of high penetrating power
2- Geiger-Muller Tube (GM-tube)

A GM-tube is the most useful radiation detector used
for determining the intensity of a beam of radiation or
for counting individual charge particles.
When ionizing radiation (alpha-particles beta-particles
and/or gamma rays) enters the tube through the thin
mica window, it collides with the large argon atoms and
ionized them.
These free electrons will then accelerate towards the

fine wire anode placed along the axis of the cylindrical
cathode. These accelerated electrons will cause further
ionization of the argon atoms by colliding with them,
thus producing an ‘avalanche’ of electrons which are
collected almost at once by the anode.
The positively charged ions will be attracted towards the cathode. The collection of the
electrons and the argon ions at the electrodes produces a current pulse. This current pulse is
then amplified and fed to a ratemeter that might have a loudspeaker that produces click
sounds when scintillation gets recorded.
29.6 Transformation of elements:
I) Natural radioactivity or radioactive decay:

“It is the spontaneous decay of the nucleus of an atom during which α-particle or β-
particle or γ- rays or a combination of them and energy are released”
The unstable nuclei (which contains too many neutrons or protons) of an element undergo
radioactive decay to form a more stable nuclei of another element.
- The decaying nucleus is called the ‘parent’ nucleus; the resulting nucleus is called the
‘daughter’ nucleus.
- Decay processes are written in the form of an equation. In the following equations, parent
nuclide ‘X’ (unstable) changes into a daughter nuclide ‘Y’ (more stable) with the emission
of α-particles or β-particles or γ-rays.
A- Alpha Decay
𝟒
• When a nucleus decays by alpha ( 𝟐𝑯𝒆)emission, proton number or atomic number ‘Z’
decreases by 2 and its mass number or nucleon number ‘A’ decreases by 4.
Alpha (α) decay can be represented by:
𝐴 4 𝐴−4
𝑍𝑋 → 2𝐻𝑒 + 𝑍−2𝑌
Ex) Radium-226 decays by emitting α- particle & turns into radon
226 4 222
88𝑅𝑎 → 2𝐻𝑒 + 86𝑅𝑛 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
2- Beta Decay
• In beta decay, the nucleon number ‘A’ of the nucleus remains unchanged, but the
atomic number ‘Z’ increases by one.
• During this process, a neutron splits into a proton, a beta particle which is a very
energetic electron). Hence, the proton number (Z) now increases by 1.
• The new electron is expelled as β-particles.
Beta (β) decay can be represented by:
𝐴 0 𝐴
𝑍𝑋 → −1𝑒 + 𝑍+1𝑌
Ex) Carbon-14 decays by emitting β-particles ( −10𝑒) & turns into nitrogen
14 0 14
6𝐶 → −1𝑒 + 7𝑁 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
Ex) in some cases a mixture of particles can be produced as when Uranium-238 decays by
emitting 2 α-particles ( 42𝐻𝑒) & 2 β-particles ( −10𝑒) & changes into thorium-230,
238 4 0 230
92𝑈 → 2 2𝐻𝑒 + 2 −1𝑒 + 90𝑇ℎ + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
3- Gamma Emission
• The emission of gamma rays has no effect on nucleon number or proton number of the
nucleus.
• γ-rays are usually emitted at the same time as α-particles and β-particles. With some
nuclides, the emission of α-particles and β-particles from a nucleus leaves the protons and
neutrons in an excited arrangement with more energy than normal.
• These protons and neutrons rearrange themselves to become more stable and release the
excess energy as a photon of gamma radiation.

II) Nuclear Energy:
The protons and neutrons (nucleons) are bound together in the nucleus by very strong force,
so the nucleus is considered a store of a huge energy called Nuclear P.E which can be
released in 2 ways:
1st) Nuclear Fission:
“It’s the splitting up (breaking up) of a heavy nucleus of a heavy element into 2 or more
smaller nuclei with the release of huge amount of energy and neutrons”
- The process is spontaneous if it occurs on its own or can be induced by making a neutron
enter the nucleus, causing it to become very unstable.
The larger the nucleus, the more unstable the nuclei will be.
Ex) It was shown in 1934 by Enrico Fermi, the heavy nucleus of Uranium-235 can be split
into two other elements, Krypton and Barium, by bombarding it with slow or thermal
neutron.
1 235 236 141 92
0𝑛 + 92𝑈 → 92𝑈 → 56𝐵𝑎 + 36 𝐾𝑟 + 3 10𝑛 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
The total no. of nucleons must be conserved in both sides of the nuclear equation.
→ It was found that the total mass of the component products is less than the mass of the
original Uranium, as there’s mass defect. According to Albert Einstein, the energy mass
equivalence where; E = ∆m.C2
- The neutron is preferred in fission because of its high penetrating power.
→ This is the principle of the atomic and nuclear fission bombs; also nuclear fission is used
in nuclear power stations.
2nd) Nuclear fusion:
“It’s a nuclear process in which two or more light nuclei combine or fuse to form a heavier
nucleus with the release of large amount of energy”
Ex1) Fusion of 2 hydrogen isotopes (deuterium & tritium) to form helium

2 3 4 1
1𝐻 + 1𝐻 → 2𝐻𝑒 + 0𝑛 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
deuterium tritium Helium neutron
- The Sun and the stars produce an enormous output of energy through nuclear fusion due to
the very high temperature and very high density & pressure in the core which are needed
conditions for nuclear fusion to take place.
29.7 Background Radiation:
Naturally occurring radioactivity is called background radiation. Usually the G-M tube and
the counter detect 20 to 60 counts per minute without a radioactive source. This is slow
count rate is due to background radiation.
Before conducting any experiment with the G-M tube, we have to turn on the GM tube in the
absence of the radioactive source for around 30 minutes then record the count rate and
repeat this step 2 more times. Finally, we can take the average of the 3 count rates to be the
mean background radiation.
When I start the experiment with the source in place, I must subtract the background count
rate from the count rate recorded by the GM tube to get the actual rate of the source only.
Sources of background radiations: it can be natural or due to man-made activities

1- Rocks and buildings: background radiation is produced by tiny fragments of radioactive
elements present in all rocks and soil and even present in food and drinks due to presence of
carbon-14.
2- Radon and thoron gases in the atmosphere and even in living material itself.
3- Cosmic rays as the earth is continuously bombarded by high-speed particles from the
outer space and from the sun.
4- Some man-made activities such as radiotherapy in hospitals which include radioisotopes.
5- Emissions from nuclear power stations or even some tests done on nuclear weapons.
Significance: Natural radioactive elements produce radioactive gases e.g. radon which may
accumulate in buildings, so increasing the local background count. Whenever taking
readings with GM tube, the background count should be established at the start and deducted
from subsequent readings to avoid systematic error.
29.8 Hal-life time of radioactive element:

“It is the time taken for half of the nuclei initially present in the element to decay or the
time taken for the activity of the specimen to drop to half the initial activity”
As mentioned earlier, the radioactivity is random and spontaneous process so, the half-life
time of an element is not affected by the temperature, pressure nor the behaviour of the
neighboring atoms
The Decay curve:

The number of radioactive atoms in a substance decreases
exponentially over time as shown in the decay graph.
Therefore, every radioactive element has a characteristic time
called half-life. After that time, the number of radioactive
nuclei in the sample would have decreased to half the number
originally present.
For example, if we have 1000000 atoms of a radioactive
element initially, whose half-life time is 10 years, then after
10 years 500000 atoms will remain; after 20 years or 2 half-
life times, 250000 atoms will remain undecayed and so on as
shown in the table beside the decay curve.

Notes:
• Different radioactive elements decay at different rates and hence different half-life.
Uranium-238 has a half-life of over 400 million years. Strontium-90 has a half-life of 28
years and the half-life of oxygen-18 is less than 0.01 s.
• The half-life of a radioactive element gives an indication of its stability. Radioactive
elements with longer half-life are more stable.
• in case if there are background radiations recorded by the GM tube, it must be subtracted
from the original counts in order to get the initial count rate without BG radiations, the
final count rate recorded by the GM tube after time (t) will the fraction remaining after
this plus the background radiations rate.
Mathematics of the half-life time:

The radioactive decay of Na-24 can be studied using a GM-tube and a counter to find the
number of counts per second at various time intervals.
The half-life of Na-24 is 15 hours. Initially, if there are 20 million undecayed Na-24 nuclei.
After 15 hours (1 half-life (t1/2)), there will be 10 million undecayed Na-24 nuclei left (1/2
the original), after 30 hours (2t1/2) the no. on the radioactive nuclei will be 5 million (1/4 or
1
( )2 of the original) and after 45 hours (3t1/2) the no. on the radioactive nuclei will be 2.5
2
1
million (1/8 or ( )3 of the original) and after 60 hours (4t1/2) the no. on the radioactive nuclei
2
1
will be 1.25 million (1/16 or ( )4 of the original)
2
𝟏
Where after number (n) of half-life, the sample present will drop to fraction of ( )𝒏 of the
𝟐
original activity or number of nuclides.
𝒕
As; 𝒏 = where (t) is the totl time required to decay & (T1/2) is the half-life time
𝑻𝟏/𝟐
Ex) The half- life time of a radioactive element is 3 days, in what time will the activity of the
specimen decay to 1/32 of it original value ?
Given→ half life time = 3 days
𝑁𝑜
The original value is No & the remaining value N =
32
→ to ease the calculation we use this relation:
𝑁 1 𝑡
= ( )𝑇 ; as (t) is the time required to decay & (T) is the half- life time
𝑁𝑜 2
1
𝑁𝑜 1 𝑡 1 1 𝑡
Hence; 32
=( ) → 3 = ( )3
𝑁𝑜 2 32 2
1 1 𝑡 𝑡
( )5 = ( )3 =5 t= 15 days
2 2 3
Extra: Radioisotopes or Radio-active isotopes:

“They are isotopes that are made artificially by bombarding neutron, proton or deuterons at
elements”
Such artificially produced isotopes are unstable and decay by emitting α-particle or β-particle
or γ-rays, but they are used in many applications which will be discussed in the next section.
59
Examples: 1) 10𝑛 + 27 𝐶𝑜 → 60
27𝐶𝑜 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 , cobalt-60 is a source of γ-rays.

29.9 Applications of radioactivity & Radioisotopes:
1) In agricultural field: the radioactive tracers are used to induce mutations in plants &
animals.
2) In scientific research: geologists & archaeologists use the measure of half-life time to
estimate the age of rocks or fossils.
How do scientists use radiocarbon dating to estimate the age of fossils?!
• The atmosphere contains a small proportion of radioactive carbon-14 which is absorbed

by living plants and trees during photosynthesis.
• The half-life of carbon-14 is 5568 years so there is negligible disintegration or decay over
the lifetime of most plants.
• However, once the plant has died, no further carbon-14 is taken in so the proportion of
carbon-14 in the plant starts to decrease as the radioactive carbon decays.
• After one half-life of 5568 years, the proportion of carbon-14 remaining is down to 50%
of its initial value.
• Since activity is proportional to the number of carbon-14 atoms remaining, measuring the
activity enables the age (time since death) of the dead sample to be calculated.
• To do this, the measured activity is compared with the activity of the same mass of living
wood. Then using the value of half-life of carbon-14, the age can be determined.
3) In medicine:
a) Diagnosis of some diseases as if we want to see if thyroid
gland is functioning properly, we should use radioactive
iodine which is ingested to the patient in a drink or a capsule
which is digested and later get absorbed by the thyroid
gland, so the doctors can measure the radioactivity of the
throat and can easily diagnose the patient & also the
radiations can destroy the cancer cells.
The most widely used iodine radioisotope, iodine-131, emits
radiation in the form of medium energy gamma rays & beta
particles, which disrupts molecules in cells and deposits
energy in tissues, causing damage. Radioactive iodine has a
short half-life time of 8 days so after few days its activity drops to safe levels
b) γ-rays are used to treat cancer where cancerous cells are growing rapidly and are
therefore much more likely to be killed by a high dose of gamma radiation from cobalt-60
source than are normal cells that divide less frequently.
c) γ-rays are used in sterilizing medical equipment to kill any bacteria or viruses.
It is seen that most of the radioisotopes in these medical applications emit high energy
gamma rays because it has less ionizing effect and has wide range.
On the other hand, beta and alpha are not commonly used because they are highly ionizing
and have short range inside the body.

4) In industry; radioactive elements & isotopes are used to
a- study the defects & welded joints & also to trace
underground pipe leakage E.g. Leaks in underground pipes
that carry water or oil can be detected by injected
radioactive tracer (usually gamma source) into the flow.
GM tubes on the surface can then be used to detect the
leakage. This method is cheaper & faster than digging to
find the defect.
The source chosen must be emitting gamma & has a suitable half-life time consistent with
the experiment in order not to produce further threat.
b- Using beta emission to check & control the thickness of
paper, plastic or metal sheets by passing the sheets on a
moving belt and the source where the β-emitting source on
one side and the GM tube on the other side so if the rate drop
significantly this means the sheet is too thick & vice versa.
(why not alpha nor gamma?!!)
c) Americium-241 which is a source of alpha particles is
used in smoke detectors as alpha particles, which are charged
particles, produce electric current when they fall on a detector
but when smoke enters the gap inside the detector and as
alpha particles can’t penetrate the smoke or the smoke absorbs
it so the current stops and a sensor triggers the alarm.
d) Food irradiation to sterile food from bacteria.
4) Nuclear power stations are used to generate electricity
5) some spaceships are powered by small nuclear plants.
29.10 Health hazards and safety precautions:

A) Health hazards from radioactive substances:
The nuclear radiations penetrate the skin (especially beta and gamma) and cause:
1) Their ionizing effect can destroy cells in tissues and upset natural chemical reactions.
2) Their ionizing effect can cause genetic mutations to undesirable hereditary traits.
3) Their ionizing effect can cause cancer, sterility, blood abnormalities or kill person.
4) α-particle can damage the skin (less dangerous outside the body), but it is very dangerous
if it is inhaled & enter the body due to its high ionizing abilities, it can cause lung cancer.
B) Safety Precautions When Being Around Radioactive Substances

Safe Handling Radioactive Materials
• Solid sources are most easily handled. They should be manipulated
remotely. Example: Using long tongs (forceps) of length 30-40 cm at
least or in a glovebox and never held close to the eyes.
• Ensure that the workers are shielded from its effect with thick block
of lead or high-density concrete.
• Radiation workers are given protective clothing and regular tests to monitor the dosage
they receive and wear radioactive sensing badges to determine the level they have been
exposed to it during periodic checks
• In general, keep all radioactive materials in lead containers when not in use.
• Any ingestion of radioactive material or brining the food near radioactive source should
be avoided. For example, radioactive particles lodged in lungs are much more dangerous
and harmful than if they were outside the body.
C) Disposal of Radioactive waste
Radioactive waste products must be quickly and safely disposed of. They can be encased in
concrete and sealed in steel tanks and then buried underground in sites that are chosen
carefully to prevent leaking of radiations to underground water and the sites must be
geologically stable (far from earthquakes spots, volcanoes and floods).
Consequences of Disposal of Radioactive waste:
Disposal of wastes has some consequences such as; economically; it’s highly costly and
cause reduction in tourism plus reduction in farm land, socially; as it arises local people
objections due to fear of cancer and might leave this land and environmentally as said
above the radiations coming from these wastes contaminate the underground water and
might cause undesired mutations in plants & animal plus polluting the atmosphere.
This is the end of the IGCSE syllabus, wish you best of luck
Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

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IGCSE Physics Notes

Cambridge 0625/0972 2021/2022 0561772364

Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

Physics notes 2 Mr Abdallah Fikry

22.1 Types of electricity:

22.2 Electric Charge

Insulator: they are the materials which do not allow electric

Physics notes 92 Mr Abdallah Fikry

When the objects become charged an electric force

B) Charging an insulator by induction

Physics notes 93 Mr Abdallah Fikry

C) Charging conductors by conduction (contact),

D) Charging conductors by induction

Earthing refers to the process of connecting the conductor to

Physics notes 94 Mr Abdallah Fikry

22.5 Electric Fields and electric charges

22.6 Representing electric field:

2) Uniform electric field such as that between 2

Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

23.2 Electrical quantities:

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝑄) 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏

• SI unit: Ampere (A)

To calculate the charge that is passing through a conductor we can use;

Physics notes 96 Mr Abdallah Fikry

Verification of Ohm's law:

To verify Ohm’s law or to find the resistance of unknown

We can verify ohm’s law or find the resistance of

Physics notes 98 Mr Abdallah Fikry

23.5 Effective resistance of resistors

A) Resistors in Series (all or nothing)

Physics notes 99 Mr Abdallah Fikry

- In a series circuit, the sum of the potential differences

B) Resistors in Parallel (independence or isolation):

If there are only 2 resistors in parallel, so the effective resistance

And why Same potential difference?!!

In a parallel circuit, two or more components are connected

Power (P) of electrical appliances is given by:

– The commercial unit for energy is the kilowatt-hour (kWh)

Heating effect of electricity

Mr.: Abdallah Fikry

Physics notes 102 Mr Abdallah Fikry

24.1 Electrical Symbols

24.2 Important Circuit components

1) Resistors: they are the elements of electrical resistance that can be

There are some types of resistors which are;

Physics notes 103 Mr Abdallah Fikry

- Open the switch = NO current is

6) Filament lamp, or bulb: It is used to convert the electric energy to

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Physics notes 106 Mr Abdallah Fikry

e) Light dependent resistors (LDRs):

- Even (V-I) characteristic graph of LDRs is like that type of

Example: In darkness, an LDR has a high resistance about 1000

Physics notes 107 Mr Abdallah Fikry

2) Alternating current (AC): It is the electric current that

Rectification: It is the process of converting A.C into D.C

24.6 Electricity at home:

24.7 Dangers of electricity:

24.8 Safety precautions to deal safely with electricity:

f- Earthing is the act of connecting the metal casing of the

Physics notes 109 Mr Abdallah Fikry

It makes use of the series connection of resistors as any fraction

25.5 Logic gates: