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DC CIRCUITS

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(i) BASIC DEFINATIONS, CURRENT ELEMENTS
& OHM’S LAW

1. ELECTRIC CHARGE

Electric Charge is nothing but the amount of energy or electrons that pass from one body to another
by different modes like conduction, induction or other specific methods. There are two types of
electric charges. They are positive charges and negative charges.
1.1 Basic Properties of Electric Charge
• Like charges repel each other.
• Unlike charges attract each other.
• Charges are additive in nature
• Charge are conserved quantity
1.2 Quantization of charge
This signifies the fact that charge is a quantized quantity and we can express it as integral
multiples of the basic unit of charge (e – charge on one electron). Suppose charge on a body
is Q, then we can write it As
Q = ne
Where, n= 1,2,3…………………..

2. ELECTRIC CURRENT

An electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge. In other words, current is defined as
the coulomb per second and is called ampere.
Thus
coulomb
I ( Ampere ) =
second
q
= .
t

One coulomb is equivalent to the charge of 6.28 × 10 18 electrons.

Direction of Electric current: The direction of flow of positive charges is same as of electric
current or equal flow of negative charges in opposite direction.
2.1. Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law states that the current through the conductor between the two points is
directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points keeping temperature
of the system being constant.

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Mathematically
Applied voltage V
Current = =
Resistance of the circuit R

V = IR = Current  Resistance

3. VOLTAGE

Voltage or potential difference is defined as the work needed per unit of charge to move a test
charge between the two points.
The SI unit of voltage is Volt (V).
In other words, 1 volt = 1 watt of power per 1 Ampere of current.

4. ELECTRICAL POWER

Electrical power is expressed in terms of watts (W) and is given by

W = EI
= I2 R
E2
=
R

Power is also expressed in terms of kW (kilowatt) (= 1000 W) or MW (megawatt) which is 1000

kW or 1000,000 W.

5. ELECTRICAL ENERGY

Energy is defined as the product of combination of electric current and electric voltage.
Electrical Energy is expressed in terms of kilowatt hours(kWh). Thus
1 kWh = 1 kW × 1 hour = 1000 watt – hours = 1000 × 60 × 60 watt – sec

6. TYPES OF ELEMENTS

Electrical Network: A combination of various electric elements (Resistor, Inductor, Capacitor,

Voltage source, Current source) connected in any manner is called an electrical network. We
may classify circuit elements in the following categories.
6.1. Active and Passive Elements
Passive Element: A passive element is an electrical component which does not generate
electrical power in the circuit instead dissipates or stores/releases the power. Passive
elements are resistor, capacitors, inductors.
Active Element: An active element is an electrical component which generates electrical
power in the circuit and supplies energy to the load. Examples of Active elements are
Current source, voltage source, battery, transistor, etc.

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6.2. Bilateral and Unilateral Elements

Bilateral Element: Conduction of current in both directions in an element (example:
Resistance; Inductance; Capacitance) with same magnitude is termed as bilateral
element.
Unilateral Element: Conduction of current in one direction is termed as unilateral
(example: Diode, Transistor) element.
6.3. Linear and Nonlinear Circuits
Linear Circuit: A linear circuit is one whose parameters do not change with voltage or
current. More specifically, a linear system is one that satisfies
(i) homogeneity property
(ii)additive property
Non-Linear Circuit: A non-linear system is that whose parameters change with voltage
or current. More specifically, non-linear circuit does not obey the homogeneity and
additive properties.

7. RESISTANCE

Resistance is defined as the property of a substance due to which it opposes the flow of
electrons through it. The SI unit of resistance is ohm (Ω).
Resistance of a conductor depends on
(i) length of the conductor
(ii) cross-sectional area of the conductor
(iii) resistivity i.e. the nature of composition of the material
Mathematically, resistance is defined as:
l
R=
A
where
ρ = specific resistance or resistivity of the material
l = length of the conductors
A = cross-sectional area of conductor

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7.1. Conductance (G)

Conductance is defined as the reciprocal of resistance (R) and is a measure of amount of
current flowing in the conductor.
Mathematically, Conductance is given as
1
G= .
R

The unit of conductance is mho ()

7.2. Effect of temperature on resistance
Resistance of a material depends on the temperature of the substance. Some of the
material properties are as follows:
• Resistance of most of the metallic conductors increases with increase in temperature.
• Resistance of insulators usually decreases with increase in temperature.
7.3. Temperature coefficient of resistance
Temperature coefficient is defined as the coefficient due to which an increase in resistance
per ohm original resistance per oC rise in temperature.
R t − R0
  =
R0 .t

where R0 is resistance at 0o C, RT is resistance at to C, and t is temperature rise in o C.

7.5. Colour Coding of Resistor:

Value of Resistance =AB×10 ±D% where D represents tolerance range.

C

The values of various Colours are:

Colour Digit Multiplier Tolerance (%)
Black 0 10 0
-
Brown 1 101 -
Red 2 10 2
-
Orange 3 103 -
Yellow 4 10 4
-
Green 5 105 -
Blue 6 10 6
-
Violet 7 107 -
Grey 8 108 -
White 9 109 -
Gold - 10-1 ±5%
Silver - 10-2 ±10%
No Colour - - ±20%

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7.6. Specific Resistivity:

The specific resistivity of the material is defined as the measure of how strongly a material

opposes the flow of electrons. In other words, it is the electrical resistance per unit length

per unit of cross-sectional area at a specified temperature. The SI unit of electrical

resistivity is ohm-metre.

Resistivity Levels of Different Materials:

Material Type Resistivity

Electrolytes Variable

Insulators ~ 1016

Metals ~ 10-8

Semiconductors Variable

Superconductors 0

8. INDUCTANCE

In electromagnetism, inductor is defined as the tendency of an electrical conductor which

opposes a change in electric current through it.

Mathematically, inductance is defined as the ratio between the induced emf due to the

electromagnetic induction by Faraday Law and the rate of change of current in the electrical

conductor.

The SI unit of inductance is Henry (H).

The mathematical formula for the inductance is given as

v
L=−
di
dt
Or we can say

di
v = −L
dt
Where minus sign indicates the opposing nature of the emf induced in the circuit due to Lenz

law.

9. CAPACITANCE

Capacitance is the ratio of the change in an electric charge to the corresponding change in

electric field. A material which holds more charge have more capacitance. The SI unit of

capacitance is Farad (F).

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The capacitance of the conductor depends on

• Area of the plates
• Distance between the plates
• Dielectric constant of the material
Mathematically, the formula for the capacitance is given as:
Q
C=
V
For Parallel plate capacitor,
A
C=
d
Where,
 is the permittivity of free space
A is the cross-sectional area of the plates
d is the distance between the plates

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