By - SID Sir
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Current Electricity
Current Electricity is the branch of science which
deals with the study of charges in motion.
Electric Current
Electric Current is defined as the rate of flow of
charge across any cross-section of a conductor.
Consider a conductor in which ‘Q’ charge flows
through it in time ‘t’, then the current through the
conductor is given by:
Electric Current
If ‘n’ free electrons pass through the conductor in
time ‘t’ then.
In case of non-uniform flow of charge, the
instantaneous current is given by,
Electric Current
So, the total amount of charge that passes through
the conductor in time ‘t’, is
Electric Current is a scalar quantity.
Its SI unit is ampere or A.
Electric Current
Electric Current in a conductor is said to be 1 ampere
if 1 coulomb charge flows through the conductor in 1
second
1 ampere = 1 coulomb/1 second
1 A = 3×109 esu of current or stat-ampere
1 A = 1/10 emu of current or ab ampere
The charge carrier in conductors are free
electrons
The direction of current in a circuit is
represented by an arrow.
Electric Current
Electric Current flows from higher potential (+ve
potential) to lower potential (-ve potential). It flows
in a direction opposite to that of flow of electrons.
Electric Current
Electric Current flows from higher potential (+ve
potential) to lower potential (-ve potential). It flows
in a direction opposite to that of flow of electrons.
Electric Current
Electric Current flows from higher potential (+ve
potential) to lower potential (-ve potential). It flows
in a direction opposite to that of flow of electrons.
Direct Current (DC)
An electric current is said to
be steady current if its
magnitude & polarity
direction does not change
with time. Ex.: Current from
a battery.
Alternating Current (AC)
An electric current is said to be
alternating current if its
magnitude changes with time
and the polarity reverses
periodically with time.
Ex.: Current
from
a plug point
in our
homes.
Variable Direct Current
An electric current is said to
be variable direct current if
its magnitude changes with
time and polarity remains
same with time.
Drift Velocity (vd)
Drift velocity is defined as the average velocity with
which the electrons in a conductor get drifted in a
direction opposite to the direction of the applied
electric field.
Explanation:
In a conductor, there are very large amount of free
electrons. These free electrons inside the conductor
move randomly with a thermal speed of 105 m/s to
106 m/s at room temperature.
Explanation:
But no free electrons leave the conductor, as there is
no electric field across the ends of the conductor. So,
the average thermal speed of all electrons is zero.
Explanation:
While moving forward the free electrons collide with
other electrons and nuclei. Due to these collisions,
the average speed of the fast-moving electrons
decreases, to the order of 10−4 m/s .
This decreased speed is called as Drift Velocity.
Explanation:
Now, let an electric field ( )be applied across the
ends of the conductor, by connecting it across a
battery. Under the effect of this field the free
electrons get accelerated & move in one direction
(from −ve terminal to +ve terminal of the battery).
Derivation:
In a conductor, there are very large amount of free
electrons. These free electrons inside the conductor
move randomly with a thermal speed of 105 m/s to
106 m/s at room temperature.
But the free electrons do not leave the conductor, as
there is no electric field across the ends of the
conductor. So, the average thermal speed of all
electrons is zero.
Derivation:
In a conductor, there are very large amount of free
electrons. These free electrons inside the conductor
move randomly with a thermal speed of 5 m/s to
m/s at room temperature.
But no free electrons leave the conductor, as there is
no electric field across the ends of the conductor. So,
the average
thermal speed of all electrons is zero
Let be the thermal velocities of n electrons.
Derivation:
So, …1
Now let a potential difference ‘V’ be applied across
the conductor of length ‘l’.
Let the electric field across
the ends of the conductor
due to this potential be
The electrons
experience a force due to this electric
field. So, …2
Derivation:
Let the mass of each electron be ‘m’. The
acceleration of each electron is,
(From Eq. 2)
…3
Derivation:
Under the effect of this field the free electrons get
accelerated & move in one direction (from −ve
terminal to +ve terminal of the battery). While
moving forward the free electrons collide with other
electrons and nuclei.
At any instant of time, the velocities of the electrons
will be,
…4
Derivation:
The average of these velocities is called as the Drift
Velocity (vd).
(From Eq. 4)
d 1 2 n
1 2 n
Derivation:
d
(From Eq. 1 & Eq. 3)
The time gap between two collisions is called as
Relaxation Time(τ).
Derivation:
Its magnitude is,
d
d
This is the expression for drift velocity of electrons
in a conductor under the influence of electric field
It can also be represented as,
Mobility (μ)
Mobility of a current carrier is defined as the ratio of
the drift velocity (vd) of the current carrier in the
material to the applied electric field (E)across the
material.
Mathematically,
d
Mobility (μ)
It is a scalar quantity.
The value of mobility is inversely proportional to
the mass of the current carrier.
The value of mobility is always positive.
The value of
Its SI unit is C m
Its dimension is .
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