Electrical Engineering Definitions

•SI units
•Electric Charge, Electrostatic Force, Electric
and Magnetic Fields
•Electric Voltage, Current, and Power
•DC and AC sources
•Conductors, Resistance, Capacitance
•Ohm’s Law
Currently, there are two main sets of measurement standards in use

•The U.S Customary System

•The International System (SI for short)

The primary system of measure for the world is the SI system often
referred to as the metric system

The scientific and engineering community use the SI system, so it is

important to learn the system
 Some commonly used prefixes for the international
system of units
Prefix Symbol Power of 10 Prefix Symbol Power of 10
exa E 1018 deci d 10−1
peta P 1015 centi c 10−2
tera T 1012 milli m 10−3
giga G 109 micro μ 10−6
mega M 106 nano n 10−9
kilo k 103 pico p 10−12
hecto h 102 femto f 10−15
deka da 101 atto a 10−18
PEN
 The seven basic SI units

Measured Quantity Unit Symbol

Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Electric Current Ampere A
Thermodynamic Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of a Substance Mole mol
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
 Some important SI units and symbols you
should commit to memory

Measured Quantity Unit Symbol Measured Quantity Unit Symbol

Angle Radian rad Electric Potential Volt V
Frequency Hertz Hz Resistance Ohm Ω
Force Newton N Conductance Siemens S
Pressure Pascal Pa Inductance Henry H
Energy/Work/Heat Joule J Capacitance Farad F
Power Watt W Magnetic Flux Weber Wb
Electric Charge Coulomb C Magnetic Flux Density Tesla T
 Formal Definition of Electric Charge
Electrical Charge

The fundamental unit of charge is denoted:

±q
It is the charge associated with a single electron or proton and is
equal in magnitude to
1.60 x 10-19 Coulombs

The Coulomb, denoted by C, is the basic unit of electrical charge.

•Charge can be either positive or negative

•One Coulomb = approximately 6.24 x 1018 unpaired electrons or unpaired

protons.
Example finding net charge:

What is the magnitude of charge, in coulombs, of 756.23 x 1017

electrons?

number of electrons
qnet =
6.24 x1018 electrons/C

756.23x1017 electrons
qnet =
6.24 x1018 electrons/C

qnet = 12.12 C
 Electrical Charge

To characterize electrical charge behavior we must start at the atom

which consist of

1. Proton(s): positive charges

2. Neutron(s): neutral charges
3. Electron(s): negative charges

Charge properties

1. Like charges repel one another

2. Unlike charges attract one another
3. The force of repulsion or attraction obeys the inverse square law

EXAMPLE 4.1
A atom that has the same number of positive particles (protons)
and negative particles (electrons) has a net neutral charge.

N
+ N
N
+ N +

-
If an atom loses an electron, it has a net positive charge

-
-

N
+ N
N
+ + N

-
Once an electron is removed from an atom, which requires
some form of work, we are left with a positively charged atom
and a free, negatively charged, electron

The free electron may

1. Be captured by a nearby positive atom

2. Remain free and migrate to the surface of the material
which occurs because like charges repel

Note: option 2 assumes the energy applied to dislodge the

electron from the atom was not sufficient to completely ionize
the electron from the material
Once at the surface of the material the electron will:

a. move along the surface if it encounters an electrical field

b. remain localized on the surface until it is captured by a nearby positive

charged atom

These localized electrons produce a negatively charged region or what we refer

to as static electricity

Static example:

•comb through the hair

•Electrons are mechanically removed from the hair and rest on the comb

•The strands of hair are charged positive, and stands up because the positive
charges seek the most distance between each other

•Over time the positive charge diminishes

The repulsion and attraction phenomena of charge can be
best explained by looking at the equation for the force
present between two charges, or Coulomb’s law

Electrostatic Force

Electrostatic Force is the force exerted by one body of

charge on another. This force can be calculated for
simple point charges by using the following equation.

q1q2
F = k 2 r̂12
r
F - is the force between the charges, q1 and q2
r - is the distance of separation
k - is a proportionality constant = 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2
r̂12 - is a unit vector pointing from q1 to q2

EXAMPLE 4.2
The Electrostatic Force depends on the presence of at least
two charges a fixed distance apart.

We can generalize the force exerted by a single point charge

by defining a field, known as the Electric Field..

Electric Field

F
E=
q0

Note the units are in Newton/Coulomb or force/unit charge

This is in terms of the force a test charge would experience when

placed in the electric field produced by other charges.
 Graphically representing Electric Field lines

1. Field lines originate on a positive

charge and terminate on a
negative charge. If there is no
negative charge to terminate on,
the lines will continue out to infinity

2. The number of field lines is +

proportional to the magnitude of
the net charge

3. The density of the field lines at a

given point is proportional to the
magnitude of the field at that point
 Electric Current
How is moving charge is described, or how do we quantify the amount of
charge we can move through a wire connected to a battery.

Electric Current

Electric Current, symbolized by I, is the quantitative measure of the

flow rate of electric charge carriers. It is measured by determining the
number of coulombs of charge that pass a specific point in the period
of time. The unit of electric current is the Ampere.

dq Coulombs
I= = = Ampere
dt Second
 Example of current

A piece of wire is connected across the terminals of a battery for a

period of 3 seconds. During this time, it is determined that 18
coulombs of charge move through the wire. What is the current in
the wire while it is connected to the battery terminals?

dq
I=
dt

18 C
I= = 6A
3 Sec
 Magnetic Field
BATTERY-WIRE COIL-NAIL
All changing Electrical fields have an
accompanying Magnetic Field. The magnetic
field is the result of charge movement or
Current . If a current exist you have an
associated magnetic field.

The magnetic field produced by a current is

related the magnitude of the current and the
geometry and other physical characteristics
of the conductor the current is in.
 Magnetic Flux due to a Current

×
(a)

⎛ μ N 2 Ac ⎞
• φm = ⎜
⎝ l
⎟ I (Weber)
⎠
Ac = cross-sectional area of the coil
μ = permeability of core material, in freespace
(b)
μ = μ0 = 4π x 10−7 H / m
N = number of turns in the coil
l = length of the coil
I = current in the coil
 Will all materials support a current, allow charge to flow? Part of the
answer to this question depends on the materials ability to “Conduct
Electricity” which is dependant the materials properties.

Category Description Examples

A material that restricts the flow of current.
Wood, Rubber, Plastic,
Insulator Large potential differences are required to push
and Glass
electrical current through these materials.

A material that is usually viewed as a poor

Semiconductor conductor, but under special circumstances it Silicon and Germanium
can be a useful conductor
A material that allows for the easy Silver, Copper,
Conductor establishment of a current with a minimal Aluminum, and most
applied voltage other metals
A material that is capable of conducting
Mercury below 4.15K
electrical current with no resistance when
and barium-yttrium-
Superconductor placed below a certain temperature. This
copper-oxide below 92K
means that electrical currents can exist without
K = Kelvin
the presence of an electric field.
 Definition of Electric Voltage

Voltage (potential): is defined as electrical potential energy

per unit charge.
W Joule
Volt = =
q Coulomb

Voltage can be thought of as a measure of stored electrical

energy that has the ability to do work, such as moving other
charges via an electric field.

This stored energy is equal in magnitude to the work done to

move a charge from point A to B where A and B are of
different potentials.

When we talk about Voltage, or potential difference, we are

really describing the voltage difference between two points
 Voltage Example
Any measure of potential must include a reference point
 Electrical Power

Electrical power is a measure of the electrical work, or energy used, per

unit time, the following relationship is known as Watt’s Law

Instantaneous Power

The instantaneous power, of an electrical device is defined as

the work that is done per unit of time. In terms of the voltage, V,
and current, I ,

Joule
P = IV = = Watt
Second

EXAMPLE 4.3
 DC Signal

•Has a constant voltage and current, neglecting the changes

occurring during power on and power off.
•Common sources
•Batteries
•DC power supply

V = constant
I = constant
t
 AC Signal
Alternating Current

Alternating Current is a fluctuating current that is associated with a

changing potential difference (AC Voltage). The most common
alternating current pattern is associated with a sinusoidal change in
voltage.

•Common Sources
•Household power
•Signal generator

v ( t ) = A sin(2 π ft )
t
Peak, peak-to-peak
RMS
EXAMPLE 4.4
 Resistance

•Physically resistance is a measure of a material’s

opposition to charge flow or current.

•Resistance is measured in units called Ohms Ω

•The higher the resistance of a material, the more potential

difference is required to maintain a current.

•The resistance of a material is temperature dependant.

 Figure 4.6. This water pipe illustrates the concept of resistance. The smaller center section of the pipe
has a larger resistance to water flow.

Resistive Material

Figure 4.7 The electrical equivalent of the water-based example given in figure 4.6. A resistive material connected to
two conducting copper wires.
 Type Characteristics
Carbon Least expensive, wide available range of values
and tolerances, typically used for low power and
low frequency applications

Metal Film Used in higher voltage applications and where

high precision is called for. These devices exhibit
internal capacitance, due to the metal film
deposits, which can cause changes in the device
impedance at higher frequencies.

Wirewound Used for medium to high voltage applications

requiring high power handling. However due to
their geometry they exhibit high inductive
properties, making them suitable only for lower
frequency applications.
 Color Numeric 1 Numeric 2 Numeric 3 Multiplier Tolerance
Black 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 1 10 ±1%
Red 2 2 2 100 ±2%
Orange 3 3 3 1K
Yellow 4 4 4 10K
Green 5 5 5 100K ±0.5%
Blue 6 6 6 1M ±0.25%
Violet 7 7 7 10M ±0.10
Gray 8 8 8 ±0.05%
White 9 9 9
Gold 0.1 5%
Silver 0.01 10%

Four band Resistor Five band Resistor (High precision)

The first two bands indicate numeric The first three bands are numerical
values. values.

The third band is the multiplier. The fourth band is the multiplier.

The fourth band is the tolerance. The fifth band is the tolerance.

Example: Example:
[Red2][Green5][Yellow10k][Silver10%] [Blue6][Gray8][Red2][Blue1M][Brown1%]

Resistor value = 25 x 10k = 250 kOhm 10% Resistor value = 682 x 1M = 682 MOhm 1%
 Capacitance
Capacitor is a device capable of storing energy in an electrical field

Capacitance

Capacitance, simply stated is the amount of charge that a

capacitor is capable of holding per unit of voltage applied.

Q
C=
V
Where Q is the net charge, V is the voltage, and C is the
capacitance. Units are Farads (F).

Energy Stored by a capacitor:

1
U = CV 2
2
Units of Joules
 Type Characteristics
Paper Cheap, low to high voltage, low frequency, low
capacitance/volume, non-precision general
purpose applications

Mica Very stable, high precision, good for tuned

circuit applications, high capacitance/volume,
low leakage current

Tantalum or Aluminum Polarized, largest capacitance/volume, high

loss, commonly used for power supply filtering.

Ceramic High voltage, available in both low loss and high

loss, Capacitor tolerance can run from +100%
to -20%

Codes see: http://www.twysted-pair.com/capidcds.htm

 Example of a parallel plate capacitor

Aκ (8.85 x10 −12 F/m)

C=
d

Plate
Separation
Distance, d

Plate
Separation
+ -
distance, d
+ -
+ -

+ -
+ -
+ -

+ -
+ -

+ - Electric Field Lines

Figure 4.9. An illustration of the electric field

Figure 4.8. A conceptual example of a basic lines existing between the plates of a capacitor.
capacitor. A capacitor consists of two metal The energy that is stored in a capacitor is stored
plates separated by an insulating dielectric in this electric field.
material.
There exist a nice relationship that ties together the quantities
Voltage, Current, and Resistance known as Ohm’s Law

Ohm’s Law

Ohm’s Law gives a relationship between a material’s

resistance, R, the voltage across it, V, and the current flowing
through it, I.

V = IR

Ohm’s law gives us an equation we can use to find voltage, current, or

resistance if we know two of the quantities. MEMORIZE IT

EXAMPLE 4.5
CHECK 4.5
 What You should know
1. Basic SI units
2. How charges behave (repel, attract)
3. Definition of current
4. Definition of voltage
5. Definition of resistance
6. Ohm’s law
7. Watt’s law
8. Difference between a DC and AC signal
9. How to find peak, peak-to-peak, and RMS voltage
values