Scribd
Upload
39 views

7th October 2023 CSEC Physics Circuits

Uploaded by

Vannessa Kalaiski
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
39 views

7th October 2023 CSEC Physics Circuits

Uploaded by

Vannessa Kalaiski
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

7th October 2023

Physics

Convectional Current & Electron Flow


By convention we think of an electric current as a flow of positive
charge round a conducting circuit. Arrows are usually drawn on wires
to indicate this direction of flow which is called the conventional
current direction.
Metallic conductors, such as copper wires, contain many free,
negatively charged electrons which are able to move through the
conductor. Thus, electrons drifting through a conductor produce a
flow of negative charge in their direction of travel. Negative charge
flows from negatively charged points towards positively charged
points. This is the opposite direction to the conventional current.
Conductors & Insulators
All metals are good conductors of electricity, allowing large
electric currents through them. Silver and copper are very good
conductors. These materials have large numbers of electrons in
them which are free to move through them.

Some materials conduct electricity, but rather less well than


metals. These include graphite (used in pencils), certain
solutions called electrolytes and water and the materials used in
electronic devices which include germanium and silicon.
Electrolytes and semiconductors use both electrons and positive
charge carriers to allow current flow, but these are not as
plentiful or mobile as the electrons in metals.
It is very difficult to pass any current through some materials.
The best insulators are polythene, p.v.c (used to insulate electric
cables), nylon and plastics in general, glass, rubber and natural
materials such as quartz (a crystalline mineral) and wax. These
materials have no mobile and free charge-carriers.

Points to remember:
 Conventional electric current flows from a positively charged
point to a negatively charged point in a circuit.
 In wires, negative electrons flow in the opposite direction to
the conventional current
 Current arrows on wires point in the direction of conventional
positive charge flow.
Circuit Diagrams
Series Connection

 In series connection, the bulbs or lamps will have equal


brightness.
 This shows that the same current flows through all the bulbs or
lamps when connected.
 If any one bulb/lamp fails or comes loose in its holder then the
whole circuit is broken and with no current anywhere in the
circuit, all the bulbs/lamps go off. This happens in some
Christmas tree lamps. Lamps connected in series in a circuit
follow one after the other like a series of events.
Parallel Connection

These lamps are connected side by side or in parallel with each other.
In parallel connection the current in a circuit divides up and only part
of it flows in each conductor.
When lamps are connected in parallel, if one fails it does not affect
the other lamps, less current flows in the circuit as a whole.
The lights at home are connected in parallel with each other so that
each one can be switched on independently. When any one switch is
closed there is a complete circuit from the fuse box, through the
switch and lamp, back to the fuse box.
Parallel connection of electrical equipment is most usual.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy