PHYS502/University Physics 2

Module 5 – Current and Resistance

Learning Outcomes:
At the end this module, students are expected to:

C5 – Analyze inputs and outputs based on given electric circuit diagrams.

C6 - Solve problems that require the application of circuits and electromagnetism.

Specifically

✓ Voltage

✓ Current

✓ Resistance

Introduction

Before discussing the current and resistance, it is useful to understand the concept of
potential and field. The electric potential and electric field are not two distinct entities but
instead, two different perspectives or two different mathematical representations of how
source charges affects the space around them.

Recall that the electric potential is represented by:

𝑈𝑞+𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑉= 𝑞
And the potential difference between two points is given by:
𝑓
∆𝑉 = − ∫𝑖 𝐸⃗ ∗ 𝑑𝑠

which allows us to determine the potential difference between two points of we know the
electric field.

Sources of Electric Potential

The electric potential difference is created by separating the positive and negative
charges. The most common source of a electric potential is a battery, which uses
chemical reaction to separate the charges.

The behavior of the separation of charges in the battery are as follows:

✓ The charge escalator lifts positive charges from the negative terminal to the
positive terminal. This process requires work, with the energy being supplied by
the chemical reaction.
𝑊𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑚⁄
✓ The work done per charge is called the emf of the battery: 𝜀 = 𝑞
✓ The charge separation creates a potential difference ∆𝑉𝑏𝑎𝑡 between the
terminals. An ideal battery has ∆𝑉𝑏𝑎𝑡 = 𝜀

Capacitance and Capacitor

A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge. Capacitors have applications ranging
from filtering static out of radio reception to energy storage in heart defibrillators. Typically,
commercial capacitors have two conducting parts close to one another, but not touching,
and most the time an insulator is used between the two plates to provide separation.

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When battery terminals are connected to an initially uncharged capacitor, equal amounts
of positive and negative charge, +Q and – Q , are separated into its two plates. The
capacitor remains neutral overall, but we refer to it as storing a charge Q in this
circumstance. Below are typical types of capacitors as describe above.

The amount of charge Q a capacitor can store depends on two major factors—the voltage
applied and the capacitor’s physical characteristics, such as its size. The Capacitance C
is the amount of charge stored per volt, or

𝑄
𝐶= where the unit of C = Farad
𝑉

The unit of capacitance is the farad (F), named for Michael Faraday (1791–1867), an
English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
Since capacitance is charge per unit voltage, we see that a farad is a coulomb per volt,
or
1𝐶
1𝐹 = 1𝑉

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Example 5.1 What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with metal plates, each
of area 1.00 m2, separated by 1.00 mm? (b) What charge is stored in this capacitor if a
voltage of 3.00×103 V is applied to it?

Ans. Finding the capacitance C is a straightforward application of the equation C = ε 0 A /

d . Once C is found, the charge stored can be found using the equation Q = CV.

𝐴 𝐹 1.0 𝑚2
𝐶 = 𝜖0 𝑑 = (8.85𝑥10−12 𝑚) 1.00 𝑥 10−3𝑚 = 8.85𝑥10−9 𝐹

Capacitors in Series and Parallel

Several capacitors may be connected together in a variety of applications. Multiple

connections of capacitors act like a single equivalent capacitor. The total capacitance of
this equivalent single capacitor depends both on the individual capacitors and how they
are connected. There are two simple and common types of connections, called series
and parallel, for which we can easily calculate the total capacitance. Certain more
complicated connections can also be related to combinations of series and parallel.

Capacitors in Series
1 1 1 1
= + + ⋯+
𝐶𝑒𝑞 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶𝑛

Capacitors in Parallel
𝐶𝑒𝑞 = 𝐶1 + 𝐶2 + ⋯ + 𝐶𝑛

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Current

Current is defined as the flow of charge through a conductor. While we cannot physically
see how the current moves, the manifestation of its movement can be seen through: a
nearby compass needle is deflected, and a wire with a current gets warm. The current, I,
is measured in amperes which is a charge flow rate of 1 C per second.

A wire connected to the two terminals of the battery causes a nonuniform surface charge
distribution. The surface charges create an electric field inside the wire and this electric
field pushes the electrons through the metal. The electrons are the charge carriers.

The law governing the current is the Kirchhoff’s Law which states that:
✓ The current is the same everywhere in the circuit with no junctions.
✓ The sum of the currents entering a junction equals the sum leaving the junction.

As a matter of convention, the direction of current is the direction in which positive charges
flow, even though the flow is carried by electrons. Note that the positive charges move
from high potential to low potential.

A simple application of the current is using a simple circuit which is consists of a power
source (e.g. a battery) in which the + and – side are connected via a wire and some device
as shown in the figure below.

As long as the circuit is open, no current will flow and hence the device not work.

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Resistance

The collisions between the electrons and the atoms is the cause of resistance and the
cause fo a very slow drift velocity of the electrons. The higher the density, the more
collisions you have. Consider the figure below:

where the dashed lines represent the straight line tracks of electrons in between
collisions.

The resistance is a property of a specific conductor because it depends on the resistivity

of the material. The resistivity is the inverse of its ability to conduct electricity which in
turns is a measure of electron density. The resistivity of the material is:

1 𝑚
𝜌= =
𝜎 𝑛𝑒 𝑒 2 𝜏

where: 𝜌 = resistivity
𝜎 = conductivity
𝜏 = mean time between collisions

The resistance, in terms of the resistivity is:

𝜌𝐿
𝑅=
𝐴

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The definition of the resistance leads to the equation for current through a conductor as
given by the equation below:

∆𝑉
𝐼= 𝑅

This simple relationship is known as the Ohm’s Law. It states that the current is directly
proportional to the potential difference between the ends of the conductor and inversely
proportional to the resistance.

References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals

1. Knight, R.D. (2017). Physics with Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers A
Strategic Approach. 4th Edition. USA: Pearson Educ. Inc.
2. Lloyd, D.H. (2014). Physics Laboratory Manual. 4th ed. Canada: Brooks/Cole
Cengage Learning. (Laboratory).

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. https://www.phys.hawaii.edu/~morse/P272fall10-8_pdf.pdf

2. https://www2.gwu.edu/~phy21bio/Presentations/Phy1022Ch3132.pdf

Online Instructional Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-SCyD7f_zI

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXOok3mfMLM

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