What Is Current Electricity?

Current electricity is defined as the flow of

electrons from one section of the circuit to another.
Electromotive Force (EMF) and Voltage:

When two bodies at different potentials are linked

with a wire, free electrons stream from Point 1 to
Point 2, until both the objects reach the same
potential, after which the current stops flowing.
Until a potential difference is present throughout a
conductor, current flows.
From the above analogy, we can define
electromotive force and voltage as follows:
Electromotive Force Definition: Electromotive
force is defined as the electric potential produced
by either an electrochemical cell or by changing
the magnetic field.
Voltage Definition: Voltage is defined as the
electric potential difference between two points.


Types of Current Electricity

There are two types of current electricity as
follows:
 Direct Current (DC)
 Alternating Current (AC)
Direct Current
The current electricity whose direction remains the
same is known as direct current. Direct current is
defined by the constant flow of electrons from a
region of high electron density to a region of low
electron density. DC is used in many household
appliances and applications that involve a battery.
Alternating Current
The current electricity that is bidirectional and
keeps changing the direction of the charge flow is
known as alternating current. The bidirectionality is
caused by a sinusoidally varying current and
voltage that reverse directions, creating a periodic
back and forth motion for the current. The
electrical outlets at our home and industries are
supplied with alternating current.

Generation of Current Electricity

Current electricity can be generated by the
following methods:
 By moving a metal wire through a magnetic
field (Both alternating current and direct
current can be generated by the following
method)
 By a battery through chemical reactions (Direct
current can be generated through this method)
Relative Motion Between Magnetic Field and
Coil
Note that this setup must be a part of an electric
circuit, otherwise the electrons have nowhere to go
and current electricity won’t be generated.
The direction of the magnetic field and the
direction of the wire will determine the direction of
the current through the wire.
Current Electricity vs Static Electricity
In this section, we will look into the difference
between current electricity and static electricity:
What Is Static Electricity?
Static electricity refers to the electric charges that
build up on the surface of materials or substances.
These charges remain static until they are
grounded, or discharged. This type of electricity is
formed due to fiction. Basically, the phenomenon
of static electricity arises when the positive and
negative charges are separated.
Now let us look at the various differences between
static electricity and current electricity.

Current Electricity Static Electricity

The electricity due to

The electricity built on the
the flow of electrons is
surface of a substance is
known as current
known as static electricity.
electricity.

Static electricity is
Current electricity is
generated when objects are
generated by power
rubbed against each other
plants and batteries.
resulting in charge transfer.

Current electricity is Static electricity is

controlled. uncontrolled.

The electricity that is

The shock experienced
used to power up
while touching a doorknob
electronic devices is an
is an example of static
example of current
electricity.
electricity.
Series Circuits
A series circuit is one in which numerous
resistances are linked one after the other. Such
connection is also termed as an end to end
connection or a cascade connection. There is a
single path for the flow of current.
Properties of Series circuit:
 The same current travels through every
resistance.
 The supply voltage V is the total of the
individual voltage dips across the resistances.
V = V1 + V2 + V3 + …..+ Vn
 The equivalent electrical resistance is
equivalent to the total of the individual
resistances.
  The equivalent resistance is the biggest of all
the individual resistances.
R > R1, R > R2,….., R > Rn
Parallel Circuits
The parallel circuit is one in which numerous
resistances are linked across one another in such a
manner that one terminal of every resistance is
connected to form a junction point while the
remaining end is also linked to form another point.
Properties of Parallel Circuits:
 A similar potential difference gets across all the
resistances in parallel.
 The total current gets distributed into the
number of paths equivalent to the number of
resistances in parallel. The aggregate current is
always the summation of all the individual
currents.
I = I1 + I2 + I3 + ……+ In
 The reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a
parallel circuit is equivalent to the sum of the
reciprocal of the individual resistances.
 The equivalent resistance is the minutest of all
the resistances.
R < R1, R < R2, ….., R < Rn
  The equivalent conductance is the
mathematical addition of the single
conductances.
The equivalent resistance is lesser than the
smallest of all the resistances linked in
parallel.
Dissimilarities
The variances between series and parallel circuits
are demonstrated in the table underneath.

Circuit In Series Circuit In Parallel

There is a single There are multiple current

current pathway pathways

All components have All components have similar

similar current running potential difference across
through them them

The sum of the The sum of the currents

potential dips across flowing into any point in the
each component is circuit is equivalent to the
equivalent to the emf sum of the currents flowing
of the source. out of that point.