Summary of Unit 3.

1- Electricity
A Simple Circuit-
A circuit is a path from one side of a power source to the other. For a circuit to be complete
it must have:
- An energy source, such as a battery or cell to provide the electricity
- A load, such as a lightbulb to consume electricity
- A conducting path, i.e. wire, so that the electricity can flow though a medium
- A switch, to turn the current on and off and control the flow of electricity
Inside a circuit-
There are three values in circuits that we can measure and calculate. They are:
- Current: Whenever charge moves, we have a current. In most circuits moving
charges are electrons and current ca be defined as the rate of flow of electric charge
in the direction that a positive moving charge would take and having magnitude
equal to the quantity of charge per unit time. Current is measured in amperes (A). In
circuits where there will be more than one path that the current can take, more
current will flow down the easier path and lesser current will flow down the harder
path. Current is represented as I.
- Voltage: Voltage (V) is the measure of energy that is either available from the
battery or power source to push current through the circuit or used when current
passes through a load. In scientific terms voltage is a measure of the difference in
electric potential between two points in space, a material, or an electric circuit,
expressed in volts (joules per coulomb).
- Resistance: Resistance can be described as a measure of how much a load restricts
and reduces the flow of current and hence can be defined as the amount of power
dissipated in the circuit. An electric current flows when electrons move through a
conductor, such as a metal wire. The moving electrons can collide with the ions in
the metal. This makes it more difficult for the current to flow, and causes resistance.
Water Pump analogy:
An electrical circuit can be compared to a water pump. In a water pump the pressure
applied by the pump drives the water around the pipe at a certain flow rate. The
waterwheel restricts the flow, slowing down the water, using up its energy and the valve
turns the flow of water on and off. Similarly, in a circuit, the power source drives the
electrons around the circuit causing an electrical current. The resistors in the circuit then
slow down electrons, using up their energy and a switch turns the flow of electricity on and
off.
Voltage: Charge is taken in at low voltage, energy is added and ejected at high voltage.
Current: A higher current means more electrons flow past a point in a circuit every second.
Resistance: Resistors are loads that restrict the flow of current and take the energy away
from the electrons. The filament of a lightbulb is very thin wire. As the current tries to
squeeze through it encounters resistance and uses up some of its energy. In a thick wire,
electrons move more freely, with little resistance so little energy is lost. Increasing the
resistance of the circuit will cause a decrease in the currents and results in more energy
being used up by the load.
Types of Circuits-
The two types of circuits are parallel and series:
Series Circuits: A series circuit is formed when all the loads in the circuits are placed in line
or share the same path for electrons to flow through. In a series circuit, the voltage is shared
amongst the loads, while the current passing through each is the same. In a series circuit, if
one of the loads is removed or broken then the circuit is broken so the rest of the circuit will
also fail.
Parallel Circuits: A parallel circuit is created by placing loads on two or more different
branches (parallel to each other). In a parallel circuit, the voltage used by each load is the
same, but the current is split between each branch. This means that while two bulbs in a
series circuit will be dim, the two bulbs in a parallel circuit will shine with equal brightness.
In a parallel circuit, if one of the loads or connection is removed, the other load will still
work as there is an alternate path for the electrons to flow through.
Ohms Law-
Ohms law describes the relationship between the current, voltage and resistance in a
circuit. A graph Ohms Law is a straight line passing through the origin (electric current is
directly proportional to the voltage). The slope of the graph gives us the resistance, i.e. R=
V/I. Thus Ohms law is stated as V= I R.
AC/DC-
The different between AC and DC is in the way the electrons move in the wire.
Direct current: In direct current the electrons flow in one direction only. A battery of DC
power pack provides a source of electrons and the potential different between the
terminals causes them to move from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.
Remember that conventional current flows in the opposite direction to the flow of electrons
so the current flows from the positive to the negative terminal.
Alternating current: In alternating current the electrons shuttle back and forth between the
wires. This occurs because the voltage at the power point or AC power pack constantly
changes from positive to negative to positive and so on. The back and forth voltage change
is measured in hertz, i.e. one change or cycle per second being 1 Hz. In Australia, the AC
electricity at home is 240V and 50Hz.
 Summary of 3.2- Electromagnetism
An electric current causes a magnetic field-
In 1820, Danish physicist professor Hans Oersted was carrying out experiments with electric
circuits when he notices that the needle of a compass on his desk moved whenever and
electric current flowed nearby. This was because the compass was reacting to a magnetic
field. In this case, the magnetic field was produced by the electric current. Oersted had
discovered that electricity could cause magnetism. The reverse can also be true that
magnetism causes electivity. This connection between two quite different phenomena is
known as electromagnetism.
The magnetic field produced around a straight, current-carrying wire is circular. If the wire is
looped, several circular magnetic field combine to produce a stronger field down the centre
of the loop, creating a solenoid. An electromagnet is a solenoid with an iron core that
further concentrates the field down its centre. Unlike permanent magnets, electromagnets
can be easily switched on and off.
To determine direction of the field and current flow-
The right hand thumb and finger rule is often used. In a magnetic field around a straight,
current-carrying wire, if the current is moving up, the direction of the magnetic field is
anticlockwise, whereas if the current id moving down, the direction is clockwise. In a
solenoid, the fingers can be used to represent the flow of current of the several loops, while
the thumb will point to the north pole.
Uses for electromagnets-
Industrial electromagnet- Industrial electromagnets are used extensively in metal scrapyards
and allow the movement of large amounts of steel.