Chapter 2 – Materials used in EEE

Refer to Chapter 21.1 & 21.2

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 Atom
nucleus
• All materials are made of atoms
• Inside an atom
– p, n, e
• No. of p = no. of e
• Electricity occurs when there is an
imbalance in p and e

Negatively charged materials

• No of e > no. of p

Positively charged materials

• No of e < no. of p

• When a material charged up area

surrounded by that material feels a real
mechanical force

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 Electrostatic interactions
• Zapped by an annoying spark
when you open the car door
• Zapped by an annoying spark
when you reach a metal door
now
• Hair attached to the comb
when you brush the dry hair

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 Electric Charge
• Electric charge is the basis of a fundamental
interaction among particles.
• We can’t say what the electric charge is: only
the properties and the behaviour can be
explained.
• Materials become charged when the
number of electrons (e) does not equal the
number of protons (p).

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• No of electrons contained inside a material is
a really vast number.
1 C (coulomb) = 6x1018 e -->1 e = 1.6x 10-19 C

• Materials may be compared with a sea of

electrons.

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• If electrons are removed, the material becomes
positively charged.
• If electrons are added, the material becomes
negatively charged.
• Remember protons can’t be moved.

+ +
+ -
- - Two opposite charges attract

Two similar charges repel

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 Materials used in EEE
• All engineering depends upon the availability
of materials.

• Electrical engineering has developed out of

the use of three basic materials:
– Copper
– Steel
– Silicon.

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 Conductors and Insulators
Conductors
• If electrons move freely
within a material it is a
conductor.
• In conductors the outer
electrons tend to wander
about between atoms.
• Eg: Copper, Steel,
Aluminium
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Insulators
 Have no free electrons.
 Very hard to displace an
electron
 If they resist movement,
even in the presence of a
strong electric field, the
material is an insulator.
 Eg: Plastics, Ceramics, Air,
Oil
8
 Copper
• Copper has made possible the continued, efficient
development of the electrical industry because it
has the highest conductivity of the commercial
metals.
• It has ideal mechanical properties at low, ambient
and elevated temperatures, is easily fabricated or
cast to shape and can be readily machined.
• Copper is a malleable material
Malleability is physical property of metals that defines the ability to be
hammered, pressed or rolled into thin sheets without breaking. It has excellent
resistance to oxidation and corrosion.

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 Use of Copper

• Power transmission cables to microcircuits

• Generators to computers
• Different aspect of electricity generation,
transmission and use

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• Wire and Cables
• Transformers
• Motor windings
• Welding electrodes
• Printed circuit boards
• Semiconductors
• Heat exchangers
• Electronic devices
Copper is an expensive metal.
Most of the time recycled copper is used in various
applications.

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 Steel
• Steel is a combination of iron and carbon. The
carbon content of steel is between 0.002% and 2.1%
by weight.
• Steel has excellent magnetic properties.
• Motors, generators and transformers all depend
upon high level magnetic forces, the only plentiful
material capable of transmitting these forces is
steel.
• 10,000 times better magnetic properties than any
other material.

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Steel and Copper Parts of a Motor

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 Power loss in conductors
• The conductivity of metals is based on the free electrons due
to the metal bonding.
• Electrons move through the conductor can be collided into the
atoms.
• These collisions create a resistance to the flow of electrons
and generate heat which cause the power loss in the
conductor.
• When the temperature increases, atoms inside the conductor
tend to vibrate. So, the electrons are constrained in their
movements with higher number of collisions. As a result, the
resistance increases with higher power loss.
• One application is to use tungsten in light bulb.

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Silicon (Semi-conductor)

• Foundation material of electronics.

• It is not a conductor; is not an insulator; it is a
semi-conductor
• Decades of research has shown how the
electrical properties of silicon can be very
accurately and subtly controlled if tiny
amounts of impurity can be added to the basic
silicon substrate.
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 Insulators
• Various types of insulators used in the past.
• But now only two commonly used in
insulators
– Plastic
– Air

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 Insulators- Plastic
• Modern insulating materials tend to be
derived from plastic.
• The advantages of plastic are:
– Low cost
– Easily molded
– Not affected by moisture
– Flexible and Tough

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End of Chapter 2

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