CURRENT ELECTRICITY

Dr Nahid Ullah (PT)

DPT, MSPT* IPMR KMU
 ELECTRIC CURRENT

• A flow of charge from one place to another.

The unit is Ampere, which equal to a flow of 1
coulomb per second.

• Moving charges as current:

• Its described as a stream of moving charges.
• May range very small currents such as the
nerve impulses to a large as the solar wind
emitted by the sun. There must be a “net” flow
of charges towards one direction
 Electric current in a conductor

• An isolated conductor in absence of electric potential

contains free flowing electrons but no electric current.
• An isolated conductor in absence of electric potential
contains free flowing electrons but no electric current.
• A conductor connected to a dry cell or battery has the necessary
electric potential to influence the flow of charges towards one
direction, hence producing current.
 Electric Current

• Electric current (I ) is defined as the amount of charges

passing through the conductor per unit of time.

• Its unit is coulomb per second (C/s), also called ampere (A).

• I =Q/t
• Where:
• I = Current (ampere, A)
• Q = Charge (coulomb, c)
• t = Time (seconds)
 Numerical Questions

• A current of 3 mA is flowing through a wire for 1

minute. What is the charge flowing through the
wire ? ? ?
• A current of ……mA is flowing through a wire for
2 minute. If the charge of 20 columb is flowing
through the wire .
 DIRECTION OF CURRENT

• In reality, electric current are movement of electrons

along the conductor.

• For historical reason, current is treated as flow of

positive charges to the direction opposite that of the
actual movement of electrons.
• These positive charges are not actual particles.
They are called holes, vacant spaces where there
should be an electron. The charge of a hole is +1.6
x 10-19 C.
• Electrons are known as negative charge carriers.
Holes are known as positive charge carriers.
 Electric Resistance

• Property of the conducting medium that weakens the transmission of

electric current.
• Denoted as R and its unit is Ohm (Ω).

• R = ρ L/A
• Where:
• R = Resistance (Ohm, Ω)
• ρ = resistivity (Ωm)
• L = Length of the wire (m)
• A = cross-sectional area of a wire(m2)
 Numerical Questions

• A piece of 1.0 m wire has a resistance of 0.19 ohms.

Calculate the resistivity of the wire. The cross-
sectional area of the wire is 0.5 mm2 ???
• A piece of 0.5 m wire has a resistance of 0.25 ohms.
Calculate the resistivity of the wire. The cross-
sectional area of the wire is 0.12 mm2 ???
• A piece of 0.8 m wire has a resistance of 0.15 ohms.
Calculate the resistivity of the wire. The cross-
sectional area of the wire is 0.15 mm2 ???
 Resistance

• Ohms Law states that when a voltage (V) source is applied

between two points in a circuit, an electrical current (I) will flow
between them encouraged by the presence of the potential
difference between these two points.
• The amount of electrical current which flows is restricted by the
amount of resistance (R) present.
• In other words, the voltage encourages the current to flow (the
movement of charge), but it is resistance that discourages it
• Resistance in a conductor depends on nature, length and area of
cross section of the conductor..
 Nature of material:
• Some materials create least hindrance and hence are
called good conductors. Silver is the best conductor
of electricity.
• While some other materials create more hindrance in
the flow of electric current, i.e. flow of electrons
through them. Such materials are called bad
conductors.
• Bad conductors are also known as insulators. Hard
plastic is the one of the best insulators of electricity.
 Length of conductor
• Resistance R is directly proportional to the length of the
conductor. This means, Resistance increases with increase in
length of the conductor. This is the cause that long electric
wires create more resistance to the electric current.
• Thus, Resistance (R) ∝ length of conductor (l)
• An electric current flows when electrons move through a
conductor, such as a metal wire. The moving electrons can
collide with the ions in the metal. This makes it more difficult
for the current to flow, and causes resistance.
• The resistance of a long wire is greater than the resistance
of a short wire because electrons collide with more ions as
they pass through. The relationship between resistance and
wire length is proportional.
Length of Conductor
 Cross sectional Area

• The resistance of a thin wire is greater than the resistance of a thick

wire because a thin wire has fewer electrons to carry the current. The
relationship between resistance and the area of the cross section of a
wire is inversely proportional.
Cross sectional area
 Resistivity

• Resistivity (ρ)
• Measure of how much resistance a material
possesses against electric current.
• Intrinsic property of a material that depends on its
electronic structure.
 Conductivity

• Measure of how the material is capable of

conducting electricity.

• Reciprocal of resistivity.
 OHM’S LAW

• Ohm's Law deals with the relationship between voltage and

current in an ideal conductor. This relationship states that:
• The potential difference (voltage) across an ideal
conductor is proportional to the current through it.
• The constant of proportionality is called the "resistance", R.
• Ohm's Law is given by:
• V=IR
• where V is the potential difference between two points which include
a resistance R. I is the current flowing through the resistance.

• Material that obeys Ohm's Law is called "ohmic" or "linear" because

the potential difference across it varies linearly with the current.
 The Resistor

• The resistor is a passive electrical component to create

resistance in the flow of electric current. In almost all
electrical networks and electronic circuits they can be
found.

• The resistance is measured in ohms. Resistors are used for

many purposes. A few examples include delimit electric
current, voltage division, heat generation..
 Direct and Alternating Current

• There are two different types of current in widespread use

today. They are direct current, abbreviated DC, and alternating
current, abbreviated AC.
 Alternating current

• Abbreviated AC, pushes the electrons back and forth,

changing the direction of the flow several times per second.

• The generators used in power plants to produce electricity

for your home are designed to produce alternating current.

• You've probably never noticed the lights in your house

actually flicker as the current changes direction because it
happens too fast for our eyes to detect.
 Direct Current
• Direct current is electric current that only flows in one
direction. A common place to find direct current is in batteries.

• A battery is first charged using direct current that is then

transformed into chemical energy.

• When the battery is in use, it turns the chemical energy back

into electricity in the form of direct current. Batteries need
direct current to charge up, and will only produce direct
current.
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