Electrical Fundamentals

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 What is Electricity
• Electricity is the flow of electrons, or the simulated movement of
atoms missing an electron (holes)
• Electrons are moved when theres is a potential difference in
charge created by magnetic forces, chemical reactions, static, etc
• Some elements are stable and unable to allow electron or hole
flow (insulators)
• Some elements are unstable and able to allow electron or hole
flow (conductors)
Hole Flow vs Electron Flow
• Electron flow is negative to
positive
• Hole flow is positive to
negative
• Hole flow is more significant
to consider due to the
abundance of electrons at
‘Earth Ground’
• Conventional Current is ‘Hole
Flow’
 Potential Difference – Voltage (V)
• Voltage is the measurement
of the force put on an
electron to move it from one
atom to another
• Higher voltage can contribute
to overcoming an insulator
• Potential Difference is
measured by the Volt (V)
 Current (I)
• Current (Conventional Current) is the measurement of Hole
Flow
• Unless specified as Electron Flow, Current refers to
Conventional Current (or Hole Flow)
• Electron Flow is referred to when required (usually at a
scientific level)
• Current is measured by the Ampere (A) and is equal to 1
Coulomb of Electrons per second
• 1 Coulomb = 6.24 Quintillion Electrons
• 6,240,000,000,000,000,000
 AC & DC Current
AC Current
• Current (Holes) flows back and forth instead of
in one direction only.
• Non Polar
• Has a frequency of the direction change
• Voltage varies (Measured in RMS)(VAC)
• Can be transformed up or down
DC Current
• Current (Holes) flows in one direction only
• Polar (Positive & Negative)
• No Frequency
• Voltage is typically measured in average (VDC)
• Cannot be transformed up or down
 AC Current – Voltage\Current
• AC Voltage is not easily measured
as the voltage is always changing
• Voltage thus is calculated over the
length of the cycle
• The ‘Root Mean Square’ (RMS) of
the entire cycle is the formula used
to calculate the Voltage AC such
that, 1VAC produces the same
power as 1VDC
• RMS of an even sine wave is;
• 70.7% of the peak value of the wave,
or
• Peak of an even sine wave is;
• 141.4% of the RMS Voltage
 AC Current – Frequency
• AC current will have a frequency
that the direction of hole flow
will change
• Frequency is calculated as
changes per second
• 1 Hertz, Hz, denotes 1 change
per second
• North American sources provide
60Hz supplies
• 50Hz supplies are used in
European countries
 DC Current – Voltage\Current
• DC Voltage & Current is easily
measured and usually shown
as an average
• A multimeter will sample a
short period and average the
voltage
• Short changes in voltage will
thus go unnoticed
 Measuring With a Meter
• Multimeters have ranges
• Most multimeters have the ability
to auto range
• Range setting is important to note
• A value out of range will be
displayed as OL (OverLoaded)
• A range specific to the measured
value will deal the best accuracy
• A quality meter is a requirement!
 Measuring Voltage
• Measuring voltage with a meter is measuring
the potential difference between two points
• Knowing what the two points being measured
is imperative
• Potential difference can be between a source
and a common/ground/chassis or another
source
• Difference between a positively biased point
and a negatively biased point can increase the
potential difference between the two points
• AC waves can be out of phase by upwards of
359 degrees out of phase which will affect the
RMS voltage between both points
• Two points with AC waves that are 180
degrees out of phase will create the highest
RMS difference between the two points
 Measuring Resistance (r)
• A multimeter will circulate a small
current and use that current value
and voltage to calculate resistance on
the leads
• Measuring energized circuits can
produce erroneous readings
• A meters internal resistance is high
and varies with range
• Range is critical
• Measurements out of range will be
displayed as OL
• 1 MΩ = 1,000,000 Ω
• 1 kΩ = 1,000 Ω
• 0.1 kΩ = 100 Ω
Ohm’s Law
 Circuits – Series/Parallel/Series-Parallel
Series
• Current flow follows one path
• Current is equal across all loads
• Voltage is divided between loads
proportional to the resistance of the
loads
• Resistance is the sum of all the loads’
resistance
Parallel
• Current flow follows multiple paths
• Current is divided up between the multiple
paths, dependant on the resistances
• Voltage is even between the multiple paths
• Used most often in logic controls
• Resistance is equal to:
 Series-Parallel Circuits
• Series parallel circuits contain
multiple paths of flow with at
least one path having more
than one load in it
• Series parallel circuits can be
simplified down to a series or
parallel circuit in order to
deduce the current, voltage,
or resistance
 Measuring Series Circuits
• Voltage will drop along a
closed circuit between loads
• Voltage will not drop along a
circuit that is open
• Current measuring requires
the current to pass through
the meter
• Current will remain the same
throughout the circuit
 Measuring Parallel Circuits
• Voltage will not drop
throughout a closed circuit
• Voltage will not drop
throughout an open circuit
• Current measuring requires
the current to pass through a
meter
• Current will vary depending
on loads and meter
placement
 Loads - Resistive
• All loads have some resistive
characteristics
• Purely resistive loads resist current by
means of the conductivity of the
components
• This is usually achieved by controlling
the length and cross section of a
conductor of a known conductivity
• The conductor could be anything from
copper to a mix of carbon and sand
• The resistive load will convert
electrical energy into heat energy
while resisting current flow
 Loads - Capacitive
• Capacitive loads are a means of storing a
potential difference by separating two plates
by an dielectric insulator
• Capacitor have an internal resistance near
zero when discharged and increases to near
infinite when charged
• Capacitors will discharge inversed to the
polarity they are charged if the circuit is closed
• Capacitors can be used as short term batteries
for various functions
• Capacitors will discharge quickly, but hold a
small charge
• Capacitors will also discharge themselves fairly
quickly if charged and unloaded
• The resistance of a capacitor to an AC supply is
dependant on the capacitance and the
frequency of the supply. This resistance is then
calculated and referred to as the ‘reactance’
 Loads – Inductive
• Inductive loads also store energy however energy is
stored in a magnetic field
• Inductors have an internal resitance based on their
construction
• Inductors also have a ‘reactance’ which will only apply
when a AC supply is applied to the load
• Inductors also will discharge inversed to the polarity
they are charged if the circuit is closed, however if the
circuit is open voltage will climb until the circuit closes
(usually by overcoming insulation)
• A 12V coil can achieve a reverse potential difference of
2000V if the coil does not have a discharge path
• Inductors cannot be used effectively as a short term
battery
• Inductors can be used for their magnetic field to do
mechanical work
• Inductors are usually constructed by coiling a wire,
usually around a core
 Silicon Devices - Transistor
• Transistors
• Essentially a solid state switch of high
switching speeds (720 GHz World Record)
• Does not degrade
• Designed for a specific current and voltage
• 3 connections; two connections to be
connected together and one connection to
trigger the connection
• NPN & PNP
• Can be used to amplify voltage or current or
control loads
• MOSFETs, FETs, IBGTs, BJT, JEFT, Darlington
Transistor, ISFET, Unijunction Transistor
• World’s smallest transistor can pass one
electron at a time
 Silicon Devices - Diode
• Diodes are silicon based devices that
will only pass current in one direction
• Current will only flow from the
positive side to the negative side
• Diodes can be used to rectify an AC
supply into a DC supply
• Rectification can be half bridge, full
bridge, or three phase full bridge
• Diodes can be also used to provide
paths for coils or capacitors to
discharge. These diodes are
commonly referred to as free-
wheeling diodes
 Silicon Devices - SCR
• SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)
is essentially a diode with an on
switch
• SCRs are switched on by pulsing
or maintaining a positive
voltage at the gate
• SCRs are switched off by
reducing the potential between
the anode and cathode to 0V or
by shunting the SCR with an
external connection
 Silicon Devices – Optical Coupler
• Optical couplers, or opto-
couplers bridge two circuits
without electrically connecting
them
• Opto-couplers prevent surge
transmission
• Can be called
• Photodiode
• Traic (AC)
• Opto
• Opto-isolator
 Silicon Devices – Microprocessors
• Vary is size, vintage,
peripherals, and speed
• Most require separate
memory
• Microcontrollers are
packaged microprocessors
with memory and peripheral
interface(s)
• Come in different
configurations
 Silicon Devices – Memory
• Vary is size, vintage,
peripherals, and speed
• Types of memory include
• ROM
• (E)(E)PROM
• Flash
• Hard Disk
• Tape
• RAM
• Volatile
• Non-Volatile
 Silicon Devices –
Multiplexer/Addressable Latch
• Converts multiple inputs into
a couple pins on a processor
• Similarly can be used to
control outputs with an
addressable latch
 Silicon Devices – Shift Register
• Converts multiple inputs into
a couple pins on a processor
• Similarly can be used to
control outputs with an
addressable latch
Questions?