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Basic Concepts

This document introduces some basic concepts of DC circuits including charge, current, voltage, power, and circuit elements. It defines charge as the fundamental quantity measured in coulombs. Current is defined as the flow of charge over time measured in amperes. Voltage is the energy needed to move a unit of charge and is measured in volts. Power relates voltage, current, and energy, with the relationship of power equals voltage times current. Circuit elements can be either active elements that generate energy, or passive elements like resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

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Joel Sagun San Pascual
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11 views22 pages

Basic Concepts

This document introduces some basic concepts of DC circuits including charge, current, voltage, power, and circuit elements. It defines charge as the fundamental quantity measured in coulombs. Current is defined as the flow of charge over time measured in amperes. Voltage is the energy needed to move a unit of charge and is measured in volts. Power relates voltage, current, and energy, with the relationship of power equals voltage times current. Circuit elements can be either active elements that generate energy, or passive elements like resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

Uploaded by

Joel Sagun San Pascual
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Concepts of DC Circuits

Introduction

■ An electric circuit is an interconnection of


electrical elements.
Systems of Units
Charge

■ The most basic quantity in an electric


circuit is the electric charge.
■ Charge is an electrical property of the
atomic particles of which matter consists,
measured in coulombs (C).
■ The charge e on an electron is -1.602 x
10-19 C.
Charge (cont.)
Current
■ A unique feature of electric charge or
electricity is that it is mobile; it can be
transferred where it can be converted to
another form of energy.
■ When a conducting wire is connected to a
battery, the charges are compelled to
move; positive charges in one direction
and negative charges in the opposite
direction.
Current (cont.)
■ This motion of charges is what creates an
electrical current.
■ Electric current is the time rate of change of
charge, measured in amperes (A).
■ 1 ampere = 1 coulomb / second
■ It is conventional to take the current flow as the
movement of positive charges, although current
is actually due to negatively charged electrons.
Current (cont.)

■ A direct current (dc) is a current that


remains constant with time.
■ An alternating current (ac) is a current
that varies sinusoidally with time.
The Relationship
■ Mathematically, the ■ The charge
relationship between transferred between
current i, charge q, time t0 and t is found
and time t is by integrating both
sides;
Voltage

■ To move an electron in a particular


direction requires some work or energy
transfer. This work is performed by an
external electromotive force (emf),
typically a battery.
■ This emf is also known as potential
difference or voltage.
Voltage (cont.)
■ The voltage between ■ where w is energy in
two points a and b is joules (J) and q is
the energy (or work) charge (C). The
needed to move a voltage is measured
unit charge from a to in volts (V).
b. ■ 1 volt = 1 joule /
coulomb = 1
newton*meter/ coulomb
Voltage Polarity
■ The plus (+) and ■ The polarity can be
minus (-) signs are interpreted in two
used to define ways:
reference direction or
voltage polarity.
■ vab = -vba
Power

■ Although current and voltage are the two


basic variables, they are not sufficient by
themselves.
■ For practical purposes, we need to know
how much power a device can handle and
how much energy is consumed over a
period of time.
Power (cont.)
■ To relate power and ■ We write this relationship
energy to voltage and as
current, we recall that:
■ power is the time rate of
expending or absorbing
energy, measured in
watts (W).
■ p is power in watts (W),
w is energy in joules (J)
and t is time in seconds
(s).
Power (cont.)

■ The power p is a time-varying quantity


and is called instantaneous power.
■ p > 0, power is absorbed
■ p < 0, power is supplied
■ power absorbed = - power supplied
Power (cont.)

■ The law of conservation of energy must be


obeyed in any circuit. For with this
reason, the sum of power in a circuit must
be zero.
Energy

■ Energy is the capacity to do work,


measured in joules (J).
■ The energy absorbed or supplied by an
element from time t0 to t is
Circuit Elements

■ An element is a basic building block of a


circuit.
■ There are two types of elements: active
and passive.
Circuit Elements (cont.)
■ Active elements are ■ Passive elements
capable of generating cannot create energy
energy ■ Resistors
■ Generators ■ Capacitors
■ Batteries ■ Inductors
■ Amplifiers
Circuit Elements (cont.)

■ The most important active elements are


voltage and current sources because they
deliver power to the circuit.
■ There are two types of sources:
independent and dependent.
Circuit Elements (cont.)
■ Independent sources ■ Dependent sources
provide a specified have their source
voltage or current quantity controlled by
that is completely another voltage or
independent of other current.
circuit variables.
Circuit Elements (cont.)

■ There are 4 possible types of dependent


sources: voltage controlled voltage source,
current controlled voltage source, voltage
controlled current source, and current
controlled current source.

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