Chap 1. Basic Concepts (3)

FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
Fundamentals of Electric Circuits

Chapter 1. Basic concepts
Dr. Ngoc-Viet Nguyen
A4.605 Phenikaa University,
Yen Nghia, Ha Dong, Hanoi, Vietnam
viet.nguyengoc@phenikaa-uni.edu.vn
Hanoi, 2021
Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Monday, October 10, 2022 1
https://nslab.phenikaa-uni.edu.vn/
Contents
❖ Electrical and Electronic Engineering

❖ Charge, Current, Voltage
❖ Power and Energy
❖ Circuits: Serial and Parallel Circuits
❖ Electric Elements and Measurements
❖ Circuit Network Analysis

EEE: Viet N., Nguyen 2
Introduction
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Introduction
Example:
The headlight circuit.
(a) The actual
physical layout of the
circuit.
(b) The circuit
diagram.

Introduction
Units The SI prefixes

Multiplier Prefix Symbol
• When taking measurements, we must use units 1018 exa E
to quantify values 1015 Peta P
1012 Tera T
• We use the International Systems of Units (SI 109 Giga G
106 Mega M
for short) 103 Kilo k
• Prefixes on SI units allow for easy relationships 102

10
Hecto
Deka
h
da
between large and small values 10-1 Deci d
10-2 Centi c
10-3 Milli m
10-6 micro µ
10-9 nano n
10-12 pico P
10-15 femto f
10-18 atto a

Charge
Symbol: q
Unit: Coulombs (C)
• Counts the number of electrons (or positive charges: protons) present.
• Charge of single electron is qe = −1.602 ∗ 10−19 C
• Charge in a proton is qp = 1.602 ∗ 10−19 C
• One Coulomb is quite large, 6.24 ∗ 1018 electrons.
• In the lab, one typically sees (pC, nC, or μC)
• Charge is always multiple of electron charge
• Charge cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred.

Current
Symbol: I
Unit: Ampere (A)
• 1A = 1 C/s
• Current: The movement of charges
• Thus we always note the direction of the equivalent positive charges, even if the
moving charges are negative.
• Current is measured as charge moved per unit time through an element.

Current
Direction of current
• The sign of the current indicates the direction in which the charge is moving
with reference to the direction of interest we define.
• We need not use the direction that the charge moves in as our reference, and
often have no choice in the matter.
• A positive current through a component is the same as a negative current
flowing in the opposite direction.

DC vs. AC
A current that remains constant with time is

called Direct Current (DC)
Such current is represented by the capital I,
time varying current uses the lowercase, i.
A common source of DC is a battery.
A current that varies in a sinusoidal shape

with time is called Alternating Current (AC)
Mains power is an example of AC.

Voltage
Symbol: V or U
Unit: Volt (V)
• Electrons move when there is a difference in charge between two locations.
• This difference is expressed at the potential difference, or voltage (V).
• It is always expressed with reference to two locations.
• It is equal to the energy needed to move a unit charge between the locations.
• Positive charge moving from a higher potential to a lower yields energy.
• Moving from negative to positive requires energy.

Power and Energy
Power is the product of voltage and current: 𝑝 = u.i
It is equal to the rate of energy provided or consumed per unit time.
It is measured in Watts (W)
Energy can be described as watts x time: W = p.t
Power companies usually measure energy in Watt.hours
In a circuit, energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Ideal and Dependent Sources
Ideal Voltage Source
An ideal voltage source has no internal resistance. It

also is capable of producing any amount of current
needed to establish the desired voltage at its terminals.
Ideal Current Source
An ideal current source has infinite resistance. It can

generate any voltage to establish the desired current
through them.
Ideal and Dependent Sources
Dependent Source: has its output controlled by an input value.
Symbolically represented as a diamond.
Four types:
A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS).
A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS).
A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS).
A current-controlled current source (CCCS).

Circuits
An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical elements.
It may consist of only two elements or many more.

Circuits
Series and Parallel Circuits

Circuits
Close, Open and Short Circuits

• When a current path is broken (incomplete) the circuit is said to be open.
The resistance of an open circuit is infinitely high. There is no current in an
open circuit.
• When the current path is closed but has little or no resistance, the result is a
short circuit. Short circuits can result in too much current.

Electric Elements
Two main types:

Active elements: generate energy
Generators
Batteries
Operational Amplifiers
Passive elements: absorb energy

Resistors
Capacitors
Inductors

Electric Elements
Resistor:
A resistor is a dissipative element. It converts electrical energy into heat
energy. It is analogous to the viscous friction element of mechanical system.
Resistor Applications:
• Limiting current in electric circuits.
• Lowering voltage levels in electric circuits.
• As current provider.
• As a sensor (e.g., photoresistor detects light condition, thermistor detects temperature condition, strain
gauge detects load condition, etc.)
• In electronic circuits, resistors are used as pull-up and pull-down elements to avoid floating signal levels.
Electric Elements
Resistivity: Materials tend to resist the Resistivity of common materials

Material Resistivity 𝛀. 𝒎 Usage
flow of electricity through them. Silver 1.64 × 10−8 Conductor
Copper 1.72 × 10−8 Conductor
This property is called “resistance”.
Aluminum 2.8 × 10−8 Conductor
The resistance of an object is a function of Gold 2.45 × 10−8 Conductor
Carbon 4 × 10−5 Semiconductor
its length, l, and cross sectional area, A, Germanium 47 × 10−2 Semiconductor
𝑙 Silicon 6.4 × 102 Semiconductor

and the material’s resistivity: 𝑅 = 𝜌 Paper 1010 Insulator
𝐴
Mica 5 × 1011 Insulator
Glass 1012 Insulator
Teflon 3 × 1012 Insulator

Electric Elements
Typical Resistors:

Electric Elements
Resistor Color Coding:

Electric Elements
Examples:

Electric Elements
Surface-mount resistors (SMD resistors):

Electric Elements
Variable resistors:

Electric Elements
Capacitor: is a passive element that stores energy in its electric field

It consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulator (or dielectric)
The plates are typically aluminum foil
The dielectric is often air, ceramic, paper, plastic, or mica
The measure of how much charge is stored is the capacitance C.
The farad (F) is the basic unit of capacitance.
Most capacitors have values less than 1 F:
1 μF (microfarad) = 1 × 10-6 F
1 nF (nanofarad) = 1 × 10-9 F
1 pF (picofarad) = 1 × 10-12 F
Electric Elements
Capacitor:
When a voltage source u is connected to the capacitor, the source deposits a positive charge q
on one plate and a negative charge –q on the other.
The charges will be equal in magnitude.
The amount of charge is proportional to the voltage: 𝑞 = 𝐶.u

Electric Elements
Capacitor:
Ideal capacitors all have these characteristics:
When the voltage is not changing, the current through the cap is zero. This means that with DC applied to
the terminals no current will flow. Except, the voltage on the capacitor’s plates can’t change instantaneously.
An abrupt change in voltage would require an infinite current. This means if the voltage on the cap does
not equal the applied voltage, charge will flow and the voltage will finally reach the applied voltage.
A real capacitor has a parallel-model leakage resistance, leading to a slow loss of the stored
energy internally. This resistance is typically very high, on the order of 100 MΩ and thus can be
ignored for many circuit applications.

Electric Elements
Typical Capacitors:
https://www.elprocus.com/capacitors-types-applications/

Electric Elements
Typical Capacitors:
• Mica: Typically used for small capacitance values of 10 to 5000 pF.
• Paper: Typically used for medium capacitance values of 0.001 to 1.0 μF.
• Film: Very temperature-stable. Frequently used in circuits where this characteristic is a
necessity, such as radio frequency oscillators and timer circuits.
• Ceramic: Available in a wide range of values because Kε can be tailored to provide almost any
desired value of capacitance. Often used for temperature compensation (to increase or
decrease capacitance with a rise in temperature).
• Surface-mount: Also called chip capacitors. Like chip resistors, chip capacitors have their end
electrodes soldered directly to the copper traces of the printed-circuit board.

Electric Elements
Typical Capacitors:

Electric Elements
Typical Capacitors:

Electric Elements
Capacitor Applications:
❖ Blocking DC
❖ Passing AC
❖ Shift phase
❖ Store energy
❖ Suppress noise
❖ Start motors
❖ Filters

Electric Elements
Inductor: is a passive element that stores energy in its magnetic field

If a current is passed through an inductor,
the voltage across it is directly proportional to
the time rate of change in current:
Where, L, is the unit of inductance,

measured in Henries, H.
1 H to 10 H (for iron-core inductors)
1 mH (millihenry) = 1 × 10-3 H
1 mH (microhenry) = 1 × 10-6 H

Electric Elements
Inductor:
If the current through an inductor is constant, the voltage across it is zero. Thus an inductor
acts like a short for DC.
The current through an inductor cannot change instantaneously. If this did happen, the voltage
across the inductor would be infinity. This is an important consideration if an inductor is to be turned
off abruptly; it will produce a high voltage.
In reality, inductors do have internal resistance due to the wiring used to make them. A real
inductor thus has a winding resistance in series with it.

Electric Elements
Typical Inductors:
❖ Air-core coils
❖ Laminated core
❖ Powdered iron core
❖ Ferrite core

Electric Elements
Inductor Applications:
❖ Tuning circuits
❖ Sensors
❖ Store energy in a device
❖ Induction motors
❖ Transformers
❖ Filters
❖ Chokes
❖ Ferrite beads
https://byjus.com/physics/uses-of-inductor/
❖ Inductors used as relays
Electric Elements
DC Characteristics:

Electric Elements
AC Characteristics: Amplitude, Frequency, Period, Phase Angle

Electric Elements
RLC Circuits:

Electric Measurements
A multimeter (VOM/DMM) is a device used to measure the voltage, current,

or resistance in a circuit.
Ammeter
Voltmeter
Ohmmeter

Circuit Network Analysis
Ohm’s Law:
➢ I = V/R
➢ V = IR
➢ R = V/I
where:
➢ I = Current
➢ V = Voltage
➢ R = Resistance

Node, Branch, Loop, and Mesh:

❖ A branch represents a single element such as a voltage source or a resistor.
❖ A node is the point of connection between two or more branches.
❖ A loop is any closed path in a circuit.

• Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL):

➢The sum of currents entering any point in a
circuit is equal to the sum of currents leaving
that point.
➢Otherwise, charge would accumulate at the
point, reducing or obstructing the conducting
path.
➢Kirchhoff’s Current Law may also be stated as
IIN = IOUT

• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL):

➢A loop is a closed path.
➢This approach uses the algebraic equations
for the voltage around the loops of a circuit to
determine the branch currents.
➢Use the IR drops and KVL to write the loop
equations.
➢A loop equation specifies the voltages around
the loop.

Analysis methods:
❖ Series-Parallel Circuits
❖ Voltage or Current Dividers
❖ Node-Voltage Analysis
❖ Mesh-Current Analysis
❖ Superposition Principle
❖ Thevenin’s and Norton’s Circuits


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FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

❖ Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Units The SI prefixes

• Prefixes on SI units allow for easy relationships 102

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

A current that remains constant with time is

A current that varies in a sinusoidal shape

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Power is the product of voltage and current: 𝑝 = u.i

It is equal to the rate of energy provided or consumed per unit time.

It is measured in Watts (W)

Energy can be described as watts x time: W = p.t

Power companies usually measure energy in Watt.hours

In a circuit, energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Ideal Voltage Source

An ideal voltage source has no internal resistance. It

Ideal Current Source

An ideal current source has infinite resistance. It can

Dependent Source: has its output controlled by an input value.

Symbolically represented as a diamond.

A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS).

A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS).

A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS).

A current-controlled current source (CCCS).

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical elements.

It may consist of only two elements or many more.

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Series and Parallel Circuits

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Close, Open and Short Circuits

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Two main types:

Passive elements: absorb energy

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Resistivity: Materials tend to resist the Resistivity of common materials

𝑙 Silicon 6.4 × 102 Semiconductor

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Resistor Color Coding:

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Surface-mount resistors (SMD resistors):

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Capacitor: is a passive element that stores energy in its electric field

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Nanosensors and Applications Laboratory

Inductor: is a passive element that stores energy in its magnetic field