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    ABC of Electrical

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    Shishir Acharya

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    ABC of Electrical

    Uploaded by

    Shishir Acharya
    1 views3 pages

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    1 views3 pages

    ABC of Electrical

    Uploaded by

    Shishir Acharya

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Electric Charge

    Electric charge (Q) is a fundamental physical property that causes objects to feel an attractive or
    repulsive force toward one another. The fundamental unit of charge is the coulomb (C). There
    are two types of charge: positive charge (exhibited by protons), and negative charge (exhibited
    by electrons).

    Whether a given body exhibits electricity (i.e. charge) or not depends upon the relative number
    of these particles of electricity.

    (i) If the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons in a body, the resultant
    charge is zero and the body will be electrically neutral. Thus, the paper of this book is
    electrically neutral (i.e. paper exhibits no charge) because it has the same number of
    protons and electrons.
    (ii) If from a neutral body, some electrons are removed, there occurs a deficit of electrons
    in the body. Consequently, the body attains a positive charge.
    (iii) If a neutral body is supplied with electrons, there occurs an excess of electrons.
    Consequently, the body attains a negative charge.

    The charge on an electron is so small that it is not convenient to select it as the unit of charge. In
    practice, coulomb is used as the unit of charge i.e. SI unit of charge is coulomb abbreviated as C.
    One coulomb of charge is equal to the charge on 625 × 10 16 electrons, i.e. 1 coulomb = Charge
    on 625 × 1016 electrons

    Thus when we say that a body has a positive charge of one coulomb (i.e. +1 C), it means that the
    body has a deficit of 625 × 10 16 electrons from normal due share. The charge on one electron is
    given by; Charge on electron = – 1.6 × 10–19 C.

    Electric Current
    An electric current is a flow of electric charge in a circuit. More specifically, the electric current
    is the rate of charge flow past a given point in an electric circuit. The charge can be negatively
    charged electrons or positive charge carriers including protons, positive ions or holes. The flow
    of electric current can be beautifully explained by referring to Fig. 1.1. The copper strip has a
    large number of free electrons. When electric pressure or voltage is applied, then free electrons,
    being negatively charged, will start moving towards the positive terminal around the circuit as
    shown in Fig. 1.1. This directed flow of electrons is called electric current.
    Fig. 1.1

    The reader may note the following points:

    (i) Current is flow of electrons and electrons are the constituents of matter. Therefore,
    electric current is matter (i.e. free electrons) in motion.
    (ii) The actual direction of current (i.e. flow of electrons) is from negative terminal to the
    positive terminal through that part of the circuit external to the cell. However, prior to
    Electron theory, it was assumed that current flowed from positive terminal to the
    negative terminal of the cell via the circuit. This convention is so firmly established
    that it is still in use. This assumed direction of current is now called conventional
    current.

    Unit of Current
    The strength of electric current I is the rate of flow of electrons i.e. charge flowing per second.

    Q
    Current, I =
    t

    The charge Q is measured in coulombs and time t in seconds. Therefore, the unit of electric
    current will be coulombs/sec or ampere. If Q = 1 coulomb, t = 1 sec, then I = 1/1 = 1 ampere.
    One ampere of current is said to flow through a wire if at any cross-section one coulomb of
    charge flows in one second.

    Thus, if 5 amperes current is flowing through a wire, it means that 5 coulombs per second flow
    past any cross-section of the wire. Note. 1 C = charge on 625 × 10 16 electrons. Thus when we say
    that current through a wire is 1 A, it means that 625 × 10 16 electrons per second flow past any
    Q ne
    cross-section of the wire. I = = , where e = – 1.6 × 10–19 C; n = number of electrons.
    t t
    Types of Electric Current
    The electric current may be classified into three main classes:

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