GITIMH2 Electrical Interactions II Page 1

Electric Current
 UNIT: Amperes (A) or (I)
 Flow of electrons.
 1A  6.24  1018 Electrons

q
Equation: I
t
I = Current (A)
q = Charge (C)
t = Time (s)

Effects of Current
 Physiological
 Chemical
 Mechanical
 Nuclear
 Thermal
 Solar

Current Direction:
 Electron Flow: from negative (excess of electron) to positive (depleted in electrons).
Electron Flow
+ 

Positive Electrons Negative Electrons

 Conventional current flow: from positive (charge potential) to negative (charge

potential).
Conventional Current Flow (I)
+ 

DC – Direct Current AC – Alternating Current

Positive (+) Active (A)
Negative ( ) Neutral (N)

I I

t t

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Electric Charge
 UNIT: Volts (V)
 Current direction depends upon the applied EMF or voltage.
 Represent an electrical pressure.
 Current flow in a closed electrical circuit.

WS
Equation: EMF 
q
EMF = Electromotive force (V)
WS = Energy Supplied (J)
q = Charge (C)

WR
Equation: PD 
q
PD = Potential difference (V)
WR = Energy Released (J)
q = Charge (C)

E.g.

1.5V EMF in here

1.3V PD
Internal Resistance

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Electrical Resistance
 UNIT: Ohm ()

 .l
Equation: R
a
R = Resistance ()
 =Resistivity (.m)
l = Length (m)
a = Cross-Sectional Area (m2)

Metal Resistivity @ 20C

Aluminium 2.83  108
Copper (annealed) 1.72  108
Iron 9.71  108
Lead 20.61  108
Silver 1.64  108
Manganin 4.8  107
Gold 2.45  108
Tungsten 5.5  108
Nickel 7.8  108
Constantan 49  108

Temperature:
 PTC: Positive Temperature Coefficient (Resistance increases with temperature)
 NTC: Negative Temperature Coefficient (Resistance decrease with temperature)
 The follow graph is the resistance of copper due to temperature, the graph is not
completely linear shown by the broken line.
 The linear graph passes through – 234.5C.
 If another temperature is known one can use similar triangles to calculate any
other temperature and therefore calculate resistance.
R()

T(C)
 234.5C

Equation: Rt = R0(1 + .t)

Rt = Resistance at Temperature t°C ()
R0 = Resistance at a particular temperature ()
 = Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
t = Temperature (°C)

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Metal  @ 20°C  @ 0°C

Aluminum 3.9  103 4.24  103
Copper 3.93  103 4.26  103
Iron 5  103
Silver 3.8  103 4.12  103
Carbon 5  104
Gold 3.4  103 3.65  103
Tungsten 4.5  103 4.95  103
Nickel 6  103
Constantan 8  106
 The negative value of carbon indicates that it is NTC. (This is because the
temperature increase allows many more electrons to become free. These extra
electrons are then available for current flow. The effect of this far outweighs any
scattering effects in the carbon.)

Resistors:
 Types Fixed Light
Variable Voltage
Classification
Value ()
Tolerance ( %)
Power rating (W)

Color Code
Significant Figures Multiplier Tolerance
Name Colour 1 Band 2nd Band 3rd Band
st
4th Band 5th Band
Black 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 1 10 1%
Red 2 2 2 100 2%
Orange 3 3 3 1000
Yellow 4 4 4 10000
Green 5 5 5 100000 0.5%
Blue 6 6 6 1000000 0.25%
Violet 7 7 7 10000000 0.1%
Grey 8 8 8
White 9 9 9
Gold 0.1 5%
Silver 0.01 10%
None 20%

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Resistor Symbols:
Fixed Resistor Light Dependent Resistors Potentiometers
(LDR)

Trimpot Resistor

Resistors in Series:

Equation: RT = R1 + R2...
RT = Total Resistance
R1 = 1st Resistor
R2 = 2nd Resistor
... = Etc

Resistors in Parallel:

1 1 1 1
Equation:    
RT R1 R2 R3
RT = Total Resistance
R1 = 1st Resistor
R2 = 2nd Resistor
... = Etc

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Electrical Calculations
Ohm’s Law:
 Relationship between voltage, current and resistance
Equation: V = I.R
V = Potential Difference (V)
I = Current (A)
R = Resistance ()

Electrical Energy:
Equation: W = P.t
W = Work (J)
P = Power (W)
t = Time (s)

Electrical D.C. Power:

 1KWh = 3.6MJ (Since P = W/t)
 Rate at which work is done or energy consumed.
V2
Equation: P = I2.R or P = V.I or P
R
P = Power (W)
I = Current (A)
R = Resistance ()
V = Volts (V)

DC Circuits

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 Voltage drop or PD is in the direction of current.
 No voltage is lost.

Series:

RT = R1 + R2
V1 = I.R1
V2 = I.R2
VT = I.RT
 VT  (V1 + V2) = 0

Parallel:

R 1 .R 2
RT 
R1  R2
VT = V1 = V2
V1 = I1.R1
V2 = I2.R2
VT = I.RT
I = I1 + I2

Measuring

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Permanent Magnet Moving-Coil Instrument (PMMC):
 Current flowing in the coil
produces the deflecting
force, and spiral springs
provide a controlling force.
A pointer attached to the
coil indicates the amount of
deflection.
 The deflection of the pointer
of a moving-coil instrument
is directly proportional to
the current flowing through
the coil.
 When the current is in the wrong direction, the magnetic field set up around the coil
reacts with the field from the magnet in a way that tends to cause the pointer to
deflect to the left of the zero position. The terminals of the instrument are identified
as + and  to show the polarity for correctly connecting the meter into a circuit.

Current:
 Use an ammeter.
 Connect in series with the circuit at the appropriate location.

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Inside a Ammeter

I m .rm
Equation: Rs 
I  Im
Rs = Shunt resistor ()
Im = PMMC current for F.S.D (A)
rm = PMMC resistance ()
I = Ammeter current for F.S.D ()

 A low resistance shunt resistor causes most of the circuit current to be bypassed
around the low-current PMMC. The PMMC measures a portion of the total current
and indicates total current on is scale.

Voltage:
 Use a voltmeter.
 Connect in a Parallel position with the component.

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 Sensitivity is the accurate responds to the measurement.

R
Equation: S
E
S = Sensitivity (/V)
R = Resistance of voltmeter ()
E = Volt range on PMMC (V)

Inside a Voltmeter

V
Equation: R  rm
Im
R = Multiplier resistor ()
V = Voltage (V)
rm = PMMC resistance ()
Im = PMMC current for F.S.D (A)

Resistance:
 Use a ohmmeter.
 Switch the circuit off and isolate the resistance concerned.

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Inside a Ohmmeter

Equation: R T = R x + R 1 + rm
RT = Total resistance ()
Rx = Resistor being tested ()
R1 = Variable resistor ()
Rm = PMMC resistance ()

Resistance by Ammeter and Voltmeter:

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Vx
Equation: Rx 
I  Iv
Rx = Resistor ()
Vx = Voltmeter reading (V)
I = Ammeter reading (A)
Iv = Voltmeter current (A)

This is the Best Arrangement

Vx
Equation: Rx 
Ix
Rx = Resistor ()
Vx = Voltmeter reading  VA (V)
Ix = Ammeter reading (A)

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