Chapter#2

Current Electricity
Study of moving charges

Static Charge and Electric Current

For an isolated charged conductor, the charges on its surface do not move (static charges). However, if we provide a conducting path,
the charges will flow. When this happens, we say an electric current is produced.

Direction of current
When one or more electrical components are joined together to a
cell it is called a circuit. Electricity will not flow if there are any
breaks in this circuit.
In a metal wire there are millions upon millions of free electrons,
tiny negative charges, buzzing around randomly in all directions.
If we connect a cell battery between the two ends of the wire
these electrons will drift towards the positive terminal. This flow
of free electrons is what we call an electric current. Before the electron was discovered scientists
agreed to think of current as positive charges moving round a circuit in the direction from positive to negative of a battery. This
agreement still stands. Arrows on circuit diagrams show the direction of what we call the conventional current, i.e. the direction in
which positive charges would flow.
The electron current is in the opposite direction to that of the conventional current, from negative to positive terminal of battery.
NOTE: In electricity we consider conventional current mostly.

The measurement of current

An electric current is a measure of the rate of flow of electric charge Q through a given
cross-section of a conductor.
I=Q/t
I = current, Q = Charge, t = time
The SI unit for current is the ampere (A).
An electron is such a tiny amount of charge that we use a bigger unit when studying actual electric currents. The amount of electrical
charge is measured in units called coulombs. Current is measured by an instrument called Ammeter, connected in series (along) to the
circuit.
Some ammeters allow us to measure different ranges of current. Figure shows such an ammeter. Study the diagram carefully. Can you
see how the ammeter is connected and read?

Connecting an ammeter and a voltmeter

The diagram shows the correct connections for an ammeter and a voltmeter. The ammeter is
connected in series with the load and the voltmeter is connected in parallel with the load.
When you make up the circuit connect the cell, load (resistor etc.) and the ammeter first.
When this is correct then connect the voltmeter across the load.

Building Analogy Correspondences

Battery Elevator that only goes up and all the way to the top floor
Voltage of battery Height of building
Positive charge carriers People who move through the building
en masse (as a large group)
Current Traffic (number of people per unit time moving past
some point in the building)
Wire w/ no internal resistance Hallway (with no slope)
Resistor Stairway, ladder, fire pole, slide, etc. that only goes down
Voltage drop across resistor Length of stairway
Resistance of resistor Narrowness of stairway
Ammeter Turnstile (measures traffic without slowing it down)

Voltmeter Tape measure (for measuring changes in height)

Direct and alternating current
a) In a Direct current (d.c.) the electrons flow in
one direction only. Graphs for steady and
varying d.c. are
b) In an alternating current (a.c.) the direction of
flow reverses regularly, Batteries give d.c.
generators can produce either d.c. or a.c.
In Pakistan the a.c mains varies with a
frequency of 50 Hz. This means that there are
50 cycles per second and so one cycle takes
1/50 s.
The maximum voltage is called the PEAK VOLTAGE

Electromotive Force (e.m.f) and Potential Difference

Electrical energy and voltage
Each coulomb of electricity that flows from a battery has some energy. The voltage of the battery tells us just how much energy. So if
one coulomb of electric charge flows from a 240 V source, it will have more energy than one from a 12 V source.
We can compare voltage with gravitational (potential) energy in the pictures below.

The potential difference (voltage) is measured between two points on the circuit with a voltmeter. It is really measuring the loss of
energy of the electricity between one point and the other.
This is shown by the diagrams in Figure 2. The reading of V1 in the first circuit shows how much energy is lost in the bulb - it is
turned into heat and light. The reading of V2 will be 0, as almost no energy is lost in the connecting wires.
In the second circuit the battery is supplying energy to two bulbs. If the bulbs are identical the energy lost in one will be the same as
the energy lost in the other.
Using the figures in the diagram there will be a 3 V drop across each bulb.
In the third circuit one bulb is much more powerful than the other, there is much more energy used in it and so the voltage drop across
it is large compared with the other bulb.

The electromotive force is defined as the total energy expended (work done) per coulomb of electricity when charge is driven round
the circuit.
A source of electromotive force (e.m.f.) is a device in which non-electrical energy (chemical or mechanical) is changed into electrical
energy. e.g. Electric cells and generators.
E=W/Q
The potential difference (p.d.) between two points is defined as the energy converted from electrical to other forms when one
coulomb of positive charge passes between the two points.
V=W/Q
E = e.m.f,
W = energy

V = voltage or potential difference

Q = charge

The SI unit for e.m.f. and potential difference is Volt

1 Volt = 1 Joule/Coulomb (V = J/C)
To measure the voltage (p.d), the voltmeter is always connected in parallel (across) to the load.
Volts, amps and joules
The voltmeter
As you have seen, voltage is a measure of electrical energy; its proper name is potential difference.

The voltmeter is therefore connected in parallel with the bulb as you see in the circuit diagram (Figure 1), it
measures the difference in the energy of the electricity between points A and B, that is before and after it
has passed through the bulb.
At A the electricity has a lot of energy but at B most of this energy has been changed into heat and light in the bulb.

Current and voltage

It is often easy to confuse current with voltage and so it is a good idea to remember the following:

It is therefore possible to have two wires carrying the same current but one with much more energy than the other.
The two circuits in Figure 2 explain this.
The low voltage bulb has a current of 1 A flowing through it, it runs
on 5 V and gives out energy as heat and light.
However the mains bulb runs on 240 V and also has a current of 1 A
flowing through it. It gives out a lot more energy and so is much
brighter.
The amount of electricity passing through each bulb per second (the
current) is the same, but the electric charges passing through one bulb
have more energy than those passing through the other one.

The volt
Energy is measured in joules and so we need to know the connection between volts and joules.

In other words if the potential difference between two points is 12 V then every coulomb of electricity passing from one point to the
other loses 12 J of energy.
If we think about the input of energy, then a 240 V supply will give each coulomb 240 J of energy while a 5 V supply only gives each
coulomb 5 J.

We can write these ideas in a formula as:

Resistance (R)
Resistance is a property of a material that restricts the movement of free electron (current) in the material. It determines the size of the
current which can pass through the material. This property is similar to mechanical friction for moving objects. You can explain
resistance by thinking about the free electrons moving through the material. As they move they collide with the atoms of the material
and this affects their motion and increases the resistance. Some materials have
more free electrons than others and so these materials have a low resistance.
A high resistance means that the free electrons will make lots of collisions and lose
lots of energy. You can compare this with a person struggling to get through a large
crowd; they will also lose lots of energy as they collide with the people in the

crowd.
The measurement of resistance
The primary purpose of resistors is to control the size of the current flowing in a circuit. There are two categories of resistors, the fixed
resistors and the variable resistors (or rheostats).

Ohms Law

The current flowing in a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference applied across its ends, provided that the
physical conditions (such as temperature) are constant.
V = IR

Resistivity
Resistance
The more resistance something has the smaller will be the electric current flowing through it for a certain voltage.
You should have found that the resistance of a sample depends on:
(a) what it is - copper has a very low resistance and plastic a very high one. Materials that have a very high resistance are called
INSULATORS and those that have a low resistance are called CONDUCTORS.

(b) how long it is - a long wire has a bigger resistance than a short one of the same material and diameter
(c) how thick it is - a thick wire has a lower resistance than a thin one of the same length and material

Resistivity is the resistance of a unit length wire.

Besides temperature the resistance R of a given conductor also depends on
(i) Its length l
Resistance increases with length.
(ii) Its cross-sectional area A
Resistance decreases with cross-sectional area.
(iii) The type of material.
Different materials have different resistance.
R l /A
R=l
A
(constant) is a property of the material of the conductor called its resistivity.
The SI unit of Resistivity is m.

The lower the resistivity of a material, the better it is a conductor of electricity. For example, copper is a much better conductor of
electricity than nichrome and tungsten.
Circuit diagrams
Current must have a complete path (a circuit) of conductors if it is to flow. Wires of copper are used to connect batteries, lamps, etc. in
a circuit since copper is a good electrical conductor.
It may help you to understand the definition of a volt If you imagine that the current in a circuit is formed by drops of electricity, each
having a charge of 1coulomb and carrying equal sized bundle of electric energy. In figure Mr. Coulomb represent one such drop. As
the drop moves round the circuit it gives up all its energy which is changed to other forms. Note that Electric energy, not the charge
or current, is used up
.

Students Investigation:
Copy and complete the following table: