Electric Current

If there is a potential difference between two points, the electric field exists in the space between them

F q

Any electric charge placed in electric field F experiences an

electric force = q F

Electric Field makes mobile charges moving

F q

If the charge is free or mobile, then in the electric field it would move (drift) pushed by the electric force. The charge drift velocity,

v = F,
Here is a coefficient called mobility

Electric Field causes Electric Current in conductors

F q

Conductor is any material that contains a lot of free or mobile charge. When a conductor is placed in an electric field, the mobile charges in it start moving (drifting).

Moving mobile charges form an electric current

Electric Current
Electric current is the rate of electric charge transfer. Electric current is measured as the charged transferred through any crosssection of the conductor per unit time

Q I= t
Q is the charge crossing the reference plane of a conductor per time t

Electric Current
Example 1

If each marble is charged and carries the electric charge 0.1 C and 10 marbles pass through the open end of the tube per 1 second, the current is

Charge ( 0.1C 10 ) I= = = 1C / s = 1 A Time 1s

Current is measured in Amperes:

1 A = 1C / s

Electric Current
Example 2

Consider a nano-tube filled with a fluid. The fluid contains positively charged mobile molecules. There are 105 charged molecules per 1 cm of the nano-tube length. Each molecule has a charge of +1.6 10-19 C. In applied field, the molecules move with the drift velocity v = 103 cm/s. What is the electric current through the nano-tube?

Electric Current
Example 2

A 1 cm Consider a 1 cm-long part of the nano-tube. Let us calculate the charge transferred through the plane A. In the 1 cm long part, there are 105 charged molecules. How long does it take them to pass the plane A? The last molecule has the longest way to go. For it, the time to reach the plane A is: Distance/Velocity = 1 cm/ (103 cm/s) = 10-3 s. By that time, all the molecules within that 1 cm will pass the plane A

Electric Current
Example 2

A 1 cm Therefore, in 10-3 s, 105 molecules would cross the plane A. What charge is transferred by those molecules? Each molecule carries the charge +1.6 10-19 C. Hence, the total transferred charge, Q = 1.6 10-19 C 105 = 1.6 10-14 C. The time it takes to transfer this charge, t = 10-3 s. Hence, the current is: I = Q / t = 1.6 10-11 A. Answer: the current I = 1.6 10-11 A

Electric Current
Example 3

A metal wire contains 1014 free electrons per 1 cm of the wire length. Each electron has an electric charge of -1.6 10-19 C. The electric field accelerates the electrons to the drift velocity v = 104 cm/s. What is the electric current in the wire?

Electric Current
Example 3

As follows from the previous example, Current, I = (the charge of a single mobile electron, e) (number of electrons per unit length of the wire, N1) (electron velocity, v).

I = e N1 v
I = 1.6 10-19 C 1014 cm-1 104 cm/s = 0.16 C/s = 0.16 A e N v

Electric Current

STOP !
Is there an error in the above calculations? The electron charge is NEGATIVE: - 1.6 10-19 C Shouldnt the current be negative

I = -e N1 v
I = -1.6 10-19 C 1014 cm-1 104 cm/s = -0.16 C/s = -0.16 A e N v

Electric Current Direction

v
+
q

Lets take x axis in the direction of the electric field . The current, I = q N1 v

q is the charge of a single mobile charged particle, N1 is the number of particles per unit length, v is the particle velocity in the electric field.

Electric Current Direction -2

+
q

Suppose that the conductor contains positive mobile charges (e.g. ionized molecules of electrolyte). Positive charges move from + to - - in the same direction as the electric field, i.e. the velocity v is positive.

Electric Current Direction -2

+
q

Therefore, for positively charged particles we have: q > 0 ; v > 0; The current, I = q N1 v; hence

I>0

The current created by positive charges is positive

Electric Current Direction -4

Suppose that the conductor contains negative mobile charges (e.g. electrons). Negative charges move from - to + - in the direction opposite to that of electric field, i.e. the velocity is negative:

v < 0.

Electric Current Direction - 5

x
Therefore, for the current created by negative charges we have: q < 0 ; v < 0; The current, I = q N1 v; - - = +, hence I > 0

The current created by positive charges is positive

Electric Current direction summary

No matter what the type of the mobile charges in the conductor is (positive or negative),

the direction of electric current is always from the positive terminal toward the negative terminal.
More common short form of this statement: the current flows from + to - If the conductor contains both positive and negative charges, the total current is the sum of the two component.

Example problem 1
If a current of 10 mA passes through your cell phone battery charger wire for 10 minutes, what quantity of electric charge is transferred through the wire to the battery?

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Example problem 1 - solution

If a current of 10 mA passes through your cell phone battery charger wire for 10 minutes, what quantity of electric charge is transferred through the wire to the battery?

Q = I t Q = (10*1E-3) A* (10 * 60 s) = 6 C

Example problem 2
How much current does your laptop consume if 100 C of charge is transferred through the charger wire in 4 seconds?

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Example problem 2 - Solution

How much current must there be in your laptop if 100 C is transferred through the charger wire in 4 seconds?

I = Q/ t

I = 100 C/ 4 s = 25 A

Example problem 3 How much time is required for 10 Coulombs of charge to flow past a point if the current is 2 amperes?

1. 2. 3. 4.

5s 20 s 20 min 5 min

60

Timed response

Example problem 3 - Solution

How much time is required for 10 Coulombs of charge to flow past a point if the current is 2 amperes?

I = Q/ t t = Q/ I t = 10 C/ 2 A = 5 s

Example problem 4
Example problem 4 A conductor has a constant current of 5 A. How many electrons pass through a cross-section of the conductor in 3 minutes?

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A conductor has a constant current of 5 A. How many electrons pass through a cross-section of the conductor in 3 minutes? Solution. A single electron charge is q = 1.6 10-19 C (we can ignore the sign as we only need the number of electrons). If N electrons pass through the conductor, the total charge transferred: Q = N q. If the time needed for the charge to pass through is t, then the current is: I = Q/t = N q/t; From this, the number of electrons: N = I t/q. t = 3 min. = 3 60 s = 180 s. N = 5 A 180s/ 1.6 10-19 C = = 5.625 1021 electrons Answer: N = 5.625 1021 electrons

Example problem 5
A bath with a liquid electrolyte is connected to the battery. The electrolyte has positive and negative mobile ions in it. The current carried by positively charged ions is 12 mA. The current carried by negatively charged ions is 7.5 mA. What is the total current flowing through the electrolyte?

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