EPCE-2101 Chapter 1 Handout
EPCE-2101 Chapter 1 Handout
EPCE-2101 Chapter 1 Handout
CHAPTER ONE
Basic Concepts of Electrical Engineering
Electric circuit theory and electromagnetic theory are the two fundamental theories upon which all
branches of electrical engineering are built. Many branches of electrical engineering, such as power,
electric machines, control, electronics, communications, and instrumentation, are based on electric
circuit theory.
In electrical engineering, we are often interested in communicating or transferring energy from one
point to another. To do this requires an interconnection of electrical devices. Such interconnection is
referred to as an electric circuit, and each component of the circuit is known as an element.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 1
Adama Science and Technology
The atoms of different elements differ in their structure and this accounts for different elements
possessing different electrical property. Every atom consists of massive core nucleus, carrying a positive
charge particle proton and neutral charge particle neutron, around which electrons move in orbits.
Therefore, any atom has three sub atomic particles: proton, electron and neutron.
I. Proton
It is a positively charged particle and it is inside the nucleus.
It has a mass of 1.673x10-27Kg which is 1836 times that of an electron.
It has a charge of 1.602x10-19C.
II. Electron
It is a negatively charged particle revolving around the nucleus.
It has a mass of 9.11x10-31Kg.
It has a charge of -1.602x10-19C.
III. Neutron
It is neutrally charged particle inside the nucleus between each proton.
It has a mass of 1837 times that of an electron.
Systems of units
As electrical engineers, we deal with measurable quantities. Our measurement, however, must be
communicated in a standard language that virtually all professionals can understand, irrespective of the
country where the measurement is conducted. Such an international measurement language is the
International System of Units (SI), adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in
1960.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 2
Adama Science and Technology
1.2. Basics of Electric Generation
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, so in order to make electrical energy we must get it by
converting it from another form of energy. Most power in the world is generated by converting hot
steam into movement, which can be made into electricity.
Most power generation in the world works similar to the model below, with some kind of turbine turning
a shaft connected to a generator. Batteries, photovoltaics and some other forms of power generation are
completely different. Batteries, fuel cells and PV produce Direct Current (DC) electrical energy and the
others can produce either DC or AC depending on the generating unit.
a)
b)
Figure1.2 Power generation units; a) Gas turbine plants, and b) hydropower plant.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 3
Adama Science and Technology
More specifically the most important part that is responsible for the generation of electrical energy is a
generator, and generators work with the principle of electromagnetic induction governed by Faraday’s
law. In other words, generator is an electromechanical device used to convert mechanical energy into
electrical energy.
The most elementary quantity in an analysis of electric circuits is the electric charge. Our interest in
electric charge is centered around its motion, since charge in motion results in an energy transfer. Charge
is an electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter consists. An electric charge is denoted
by Q and the SI unit is coulomb (C).
As we know from elementary physics that all matter is made of fundamental building blocks known as
atoms and that each atom consists of electrons, protons, and neutrons. We also know that the charge e
on an electron is negative and equal in magnitude to 1.602×10−19 C, while a proton carries a positive
charge of the same magnitude as the electron. The presence of equal numbers of protons and electrons
leaves an atom neutrally charged.
1) The coulomb is a large unit for charges. In 1 C of charge, there are 1/ (1.602×10−19) =
6.24×1018 electrons. Thus, realistic or laboratory values of charges are on the order of
pC, nC, or µC.
2) According to experimental observations, the only charges that occur in nature are
integral multiples of the electronic charge e = − 1.602×10−19 C.
3) The law of conservation of charge states that charge can neither be created nor
destroyed, only transferred. Thus, the algebraic sum of the electric charges in a system
does not change.
In general, total deficiency or addition of excess electrons in an atom is called its charge and the element
is said to be charged. Thus, if an electrically neutral (i.e., uncharged) body has 6.24 x 1018 electrons
removed, it will be left with a net positive charge of 1 coulomb, i.e., Q = 1 C. Conversely, if an uncharged
body has 6.24 x 1018 electrons added, it will have a net negative charge of 1 coulomb, i.e., Q = -1 C.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 4
Adama Science and Technology
Coulombs Law
Coulomb determined experimentally that the force between two charges Q1 and Q2 is directly
proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.
Where, εo is the permittivity of space and Q1 and Q2 are the charges in coulombs, r is the center-to-
center spacing between the charges in meters, and k= 9 x 109.
As Coulomb’s law indicates, force decreases inversely as the square of distance; thus, if the distance
between two charges is doubled, the force decreases to (1⁄2)2 = 1⁄4 (i.e., one quarter) of its original value.
Negative result indicates attractive force and positive value indicates repulsive force.
Example 1.1: - An initially neutral body has 1.7 µC of negative charge removed. Later, 18.7 x 1011
electrons are added. What is the body’s final charge?
Solution - Initially the body is neutral, i.e., 𝑄𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 = 0 𝐶. When 1.7 µC of electrons is removed, the
body is left with a positive charge of 1.7 µC. Now, 18.7 x 1011 electrons are added back. This is
1 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏
equivalent to 18.7 × 1011 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 × 6.24×1018 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 0.3µC of negative charge. The final charge
Exercises 1.1:
1. Positive charges Q1 = 2 µC and Q2 = 12 µC are separated center to center by 10 mm. Compute the
force between them. Is it attractive or repulsive?
2. Two equal charges are separated by 1cm. If the force of repulsion between them is 9.7 x 10-2 N, what
is their charge? What may the charges will be, both positive, both negative, or one positive and one
negative?
3. After 10.61 x 1013 electrons are added to a metal plate, it has a negative charge of 3 µC. What was its
initial charge in coulombs?
Answers: (1). 2160 N, repulsive; (2). 32.8 nC, both (+) or both (-); (3). 14 µC (+)
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 5
Adama Science and Technology
1.3.2. Current
An electric circuit is essentially a pipeline that facilitates the transfer of charge from one point to another.
The time rate of change of charge constitutes an electric current. Mathematically, the relationship is
expressed as
𝒕
𝒅𝒒
𝒊= 𝒐𝒓 𝒒 = ∫ 𝒊 𝒅𝒕
𝒅𝒕 𝒕𝒐
where i and q represent current and charge, respectively (lowercase letters represent time dependency,
and capital letters are reserved for constant quantities). The basic unit of current is the ampere (A), and
1 ampere is 1 coulomb per second.
The two types of current that we encounter often in our daily lives, alternating current (AC) and direct
current (DC), are shown as a function of time in Fig. 1.4. Alternating current is the common current
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 6
Adama Science and Technology
found in every household and is used to run the refrigerator, stove, washing machine, and so on.
Batteries, which are used in automobiles and flashlights, are one source of direct current.
In general, A direct current (DC) flows only in one direction and can be constant or time varying and an
alternating current (AC) is a current that changes direction with respect to time.
Figure 1.4: - Two common types of current: (a) alternating current (ac); (b) direct current (dc).
Examples 1.2:
1. How much charge is represented by 4,600 electrons?
Solution: Each electron has −1.602×10−19 C. Hence 4,600 electrons will have −1.602×10−19
C/electron×4,600 electrons = − 7.369×10−16 C
2.
a) The charge flowing through the imaginary surface of Figure 1.5 is 0.16 C every 64 ms.
Determine the current in amperes.
Solution:
b. Determine the time required for 4*1016 electrons to pass through the imaginary surface of Fig.
1.4 if the current is 5 mA.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 7
Adama Science and Technology
Solution: Determine Q:
3. The total charge entering a terminal is given by q = 5t sin4πt mC. Calculate the current at t =
0.5 s.
Solution:
𝑑𝑞 𝑑
𝑖= = (5𝑡 sin 4𝜋𝑡)𝑚𝐶/𝑠 = (5 sin 4𝜋𝑡 + 20𝜋𝑡 cos 4𝜋𝑡)𝑚𝐴
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝐴𝑡 𝑡 = 0.5
4. Determine the total charge entering a terminal between t = 1s and t = 2s if the current passing
the terminal is i = (3t2 −t) A.
Solution:
2 2
𝑞 = ∫ 𝑖𝑑𝑡 = ∫ 3𝑡 2 − 𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑡=1 1
3
𝑡2 2 1
= (𝑡 − ) | = (8 − 2) − (1 − ) = 5.5 𝐶
2 1 2
5) The charge entering a certain element is shown in the figure below. Then, find the current at:
(a) t = 1 ms (b) t = 6 ms (c) t = 10 ms
Solution:
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 8
Adama Science and Technology
1.3.3. Voltage (Potential difference)
As explained briefly in the previous section, to move the electron in a conductor in a particular direction
requires some work or energy transfer. This work is performed by an external electromotive force (emf),
typically represented by a battery. This emf is also known as voltage or potential difference.
In general, the amount of energy required to separate charges depends on the voltage developed and the
amount of charge moved. By definition, the voltage between two points is one volt if it requires one joule
of energy to move one coulomb of charge from one point to the other, mathematically
𝑊
𝑉= 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠, V
𝑄
Where, W is energy in joules, Q is charge in coulombs, and V is the resulting voltage in volts.
𝑊 = 𝑄𝑉 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠, J
𝑊
𝑄= 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠, C
𝑉
The voltage vab between two points a and b in an electric circuit is the energy (or work) needed to move
a unit charge from a to b; mathematically,
𝑑𝑤
𝑣𝑎𝑏 =
𝑑𝑞
The plus (+) and minus (−) signs are used to define reference direction or voltage polarity. The vab can
be interpreted in two ways: (1) point a is at a potential of vab volts higher than point b, or (2) the potential
at point a with respect to point b is vab. It follows logically that
𝑣𝑎𝑏 = −𝑣𝑏𝑎
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 9
Adama Science and Technology
Figure 1.7: Two equivalent representations of the same voltage vab: (a) Point a is 9 V above point b;
(b) point b is −9 V above point a.
In Figure 1.7, we have two representations of the same voltage. In (a), point a is +9 V above point b; in
(b), point b is −9 V above point a. We may say that in (a), there is a 9-V voltage drop from a to b or
equivalently a 9-V voltage rise from b to a. In other words, a voltage drop from a to b is equivalent to a
voltage rise from b to a.
Current and voltage are the two basic variables in electric circuits. The common term signal is used for
an electric quantity such as a current or a voltage (or even electromagnetic wave) when it is used for
conveying information.
Like electric current, a constant voltage is called a dc voltage and is represented by V, whereas a
sinusoidally time-varying voltage is called an ac voltage and is represented by v. A dc voltage is
commonly produced by a battery; ac voltage is produced by an electric generator.
Example - If it takes 35 J of energy to move a charge of 5 C from one point to another, what is the
voltage between the two points?
Solution
𝑊 35 J
𝑉= = = 7 J⁄C = 7 V
𝑄 5C
Exercises:
1. The voltage between two points is 19 V. How much energy is required to move 67 x 1018 electrons
from one point to the other?
2. The potential difference between two points is 140 mV. If 280 µJ of work are required to move a
charge Q from one point to the other, what is Q?
Answers: 1. 204 J 2. 2 mC
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 10
Adama Science and Technology
In the early days of electricity, it was believed that current was a movement of positive charge and that
these charges moved around the circuit from the positive terminal of the battery to the negative as
depicted in Figure 1–8(a). Based on this, all the laws, formulas, and symbols of circuit theory were
developed. (We now refer to this direction as the conventional current direction)
After the discovery of the atomic nature of matter, it was learned that what actually moves in metallic
conductors are electrons and that they move through the circuit as in Figure 1–8(b). This direction is
called the electron flow direction. However, because the conventional current direction was so well
established, most users stayed with it. Thus, in most books and in the discussions that follow, the
conventional direction for current is used.
Although current and voltage are the two basic variables in an electric circuit, they are not sufficient by
themselves. For practical purposes, we need to know how much power an electric device can handle.
Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy, measured in watts (W).
Power is defined as the rate of doing work or, equivalently, as the rate of transfer of energy. The symbol
for power is P. By definition,
𝑊
𝑃= 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠, W
𝑡
In general,
𝑑𝑤
𝑝=
𝑑𝑡
Where, W is the work (or energy) in joules and t is the corresponding time interval in seconds.
The SI unit of power is the watt. From the above equation, we see that P also has units of joules per
second.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 11
Adama Science and Technology
To express P in terms of electrical quantities, recall that voltage is defined as work per unit charge and
current as the rate of transfer of charge, i.e.,
𝑑𝑤
𝑣= => 𝑑𝑤 = 𝑣𝑑𝑞
𝑑𝑞
𝑑𝑤 𝑣𝑑𝑞
𝑝= =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑞
𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖 =
𝑑𝑡
Thus,
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖
The power (p) in the above Equation is a time-varying quantity and is called instantaneous power.
Thus, the power absorbed or supplied by an element is the product of the voltage across the element and
the current through it. If the power has a + sign, power is being delivered to or absorbed by the
element. If, on the other hand, the power has a − sign, power is being supplied by the element.
Passive sign convention is satisfied when the current enters through the positive terminal of an
element and p=+vi. If the current enters through the negative terminal, p= −vi.
Figure 1.9: Reference polarities for power using the passive sign convention: (a) absorbing power, (b)
supplying power.
In fact, the law of conservation of energy must be obeyed in any electric circuit. For this reason, the
algebraic sum of power in a circuit, at any instant of time, must be zero:
∑𝑝 = 0
From above equations the energy absorbed or supplied by an element from time t0 to time t is
𝑡 𝑡
𝑤 = ∫ 𝑝 𝑑𝑡 = ∫ (𝑣𝑖)𝑑𝑡
𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜
𝑑𝑤 = 𝑝𝑑𝑡
t2 t2
Solution - convert all quantities to the same set of units, thus 1.5 kW = 1500 W and 45 minutes = 0.75
h.then,
Example - Suppose you use the following electrical appliances: 1.5 kW heater for 7 1⁄2 hours, a 3.6 kW
boiler for 17 minutes, three 100W lamps for 4 hours, a 900W transfer for 6 minutes. At 0.09 birr per
kilowatt hour, how much will this cost?
Efficiency: A flowchart for the energy levels associated with any system that converts energy from one
form to another is provided in Figure below. Take particular note of the fact that the output energy level
must always be less than the applied energy due to losses and storage within the system. The best one
can hope for is that Wo and Wi are relatively close in magnitude.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 13
Adama Science and Technology
The efficiency (h) of the system is then determined by the following equation:
𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐮𝐭
𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 =
𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭
𝒑𝒐
𝜼=
𝒑𝒊
In terms of the input and output energy, the efficiency in percent is given by
N.B: The overall efficiency of a cascaded system is the multiplication of the efficiency of each system.
Examples
1) An energy source forces a constant current of 2 A for 10 s to flow through a light bulb. If 2.3 kJ
is given off in the form of light and heat energy, calculate the voltage drop across the bulb.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 14
Adama Science and Technology
Solution:
The total charge is ∆q = I ∆t = 2 × 10 = 20 C
∆𝑤 2.3 × 103
The voltage drop is 𝑣 = = = 115 V
∆𝑞 20
2)
3) How much energy does a 100-W electric bulb consume in two hours?
Solution:
w = pt = 100 (W) × 2 (h) × 60 (min/h) × 60 (s/min)
= 720,000 J = 720 kJ
This is the same as
w = pt = 100 W× 2 h = 200 Wh
4) A 2-hp motor operates at an efficiency of 75%. What is the power input in watts? If the applied
voltage is 220 V, what is the input current?
Solution:
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 15
Adama Science and Technology
5) Hydro power system
a) Find the overall efficiency of the system. if 𝜼1 = 90%, 𝜼2 = 85%, and 𝜼3 = 95%.
b) If the efficiency 𝜼1 drops to 40%, find the new overall efficiency and compare the
result with that obtained in (a)?
Solution:
(a)
(b)
Certainly 32.3% is noticeably less than 72.7%. The total efficiency of a cascaded system is therefore
determined primarily by the lowest efficiency (weakest link) and is less than (or equal to if the remaining
efficiencies are 100%) the least efficient link of the system.
An element is the basic building block of a circuit. An electric circuit is simply an interconnection of
the elements.
Circuit analysis is the process of determining voltages across (or the currents through) the elements of
the circuit.
There are two types of elements found in electric circuits:
1) passive elements and
2) Active elements.
An active element is capable of generating energy while a passive element is not. Examples of passive
elements are resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Typical active elements include generators,
batteries, and operational amplifiers.
The most important active elements are voltage or current sources that generally deliver power to the
circuit connected to them.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 16
Adama Science and Technology
There are two kinds of sources: independent and dependent sources.
An ideal independent source is an active element that provides a specified voltage or current that is
completely independent of other circuit variables.
Figure 1.10 Symbols for independent voltage sources: (a) used for constant or time-varying voltage,
(b) used for constant voltage (dc).
An ideal dependent (or controlled) source is an active element in which the source quantity is
controlled by another voltage or current.
Dependent sources are usually designated by diamond-shaped symbols, as shown in Figure below. Since
the control of the dependent source is achieved by a voltage or current of some other element in the
circuit, and the source can be voltage or current, it follows that there are four possible types of
dependent sources, namely:
Figure 1.12 Symbols for: (a) dependent voltage source, (b) dependent current source.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 17
Adama Science and Technology
Dependent sources are useful in modeling elements such as transistors, operational amplifiers and
integrated circuits.
Figure 1.13 The source on the right-hand side is a current-controlled voltage source.
In the above figure, the voltage 10i of the voltage source depends on the current i through element C.
Generally, it should be noted that an ideal voltage source (dependent or independent) will produce any
current required to ensure that the terminal voltage is as stated, whereas an ideal current source will
produce the necessary voltage to ensure the stated current flow. Thus, an ideal source could in theory
supply an infinite amount of energy. It should also be noted that not only do sources supply power to a
circuit, they can absorb power from a circuit too. For a voltage source, we know the voltage but not the
current supplied or drawn by it. By the same token, we know the current supplied by a current source
but not the voltage across it.
Examples
1) Calculate the power supplied or absorbed by each element in the Figure shown below.
Solution
For p1, the 5-A current is out of the positive terminal (or into the negative terminal); hence,
p1 = 20(−5) = −100 W Supplied power
For p2 and p3, the current flows into the positive terminal of the element in each case.
p2 = 12(5) = 60 W Absorbed power
p3 = 8(6) = 48 W Absorbed power
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 18
Adama Science and Technology
For p4, we should note that the voltage is 8V (positive at the top), the same as the voltage for p3, since
both the passive element and the dependent source are connected to the same terminals. (Remember that
voltage is always measured across an element in a circuit.) Since the current flows out of the positive
terminal,
p4 = 8(−0.2I) = 8(−0.2 × 5) = −8 W Supplied power
We should observe that the 20-V independent voltage source and 0.2I dependent current source are
supplying power to the rest of the network, while the two passive elements are absorbing power. Also,
p1 + p2 + p3 + p4 = −100 + 60 + 48 − 8 = 0
There for the total power supplied equals the total power absorbed.
Practical examples
1) The electron beam in a TV picture tube carries 1015 electrons per second. As a design engineer,
determine the voltage Vo needed to accelerate the electron beam to achieve 4 W.
The negative sign indicates that the electron flows in a direction opposite to electron flow as shown in
Fig. 1.10, which is a simplified diagram of the CRT for the case when the vertical deflection plates carry
no charge. The beam power is
2) A home owner consumes 3,300 kWh in January. Determine the electricity bill for the month
using the following residential rate schedule:
Base monthly charge of $12.00.
First 100 kWh per month at 16 cents/kWh.
Next 200 kWh per month at 10 cents/kWh.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 19
Adama Science and Technology
Over 200 kWh per month at 6 cents/kWh.
_____________________________________________________________________
EPCE 2101 Page 20