Ch.

6 ELECTRICITY
Recap from last talk
Electric potential energy or potential energy difference, PE Amount of work involved when a charged object (test charge) is brought into the field of a source charged object. Unit : Joule (unit of work) Electric potential or potential difference, V Potential energy per unit charge. V = PE / Q Unit: Joule / Coulomb = Volt. 1 Volt is the potential difference between two points in the electric field if a 1C charged object gains 1 Joule of potential energy when moves between the two points.

Q. The following diagrams show an electric field (represented by arrows) and

two points - labeled A and B - located within the electric field. A positive test charge is shown at point A. For each diagram, indicate whether work must be done upon the charge to move it from point A to point B. Finally, indicate the point (A or B) with the greatest electric potential energy and the greatest electric potential.

II. Current Electricity

Current electricity deals with the flow of charge. Flow of charge is the electric current. (Flow of water means water current.) Electric current is the direct outcome of potential difference between two points in the electric field.

A. Electric Potential in a Battery-Powered Circuit

Important points on this Circuit: Battery has electrochemical cells. One of the cells is having excess electron and hence is negatively charged (-). The other is in shortage of electron and hence, is positively charged (+). We know electric field lines are always directed away from the + charge and towards the charge. The red arrow inside the Battery indicates the electric field line.

+ end of the battery is high potential end of the battery. Why? Ans. If a positive charge (test charge) is moved through the battery from the negative end to the positive end (going against the field direction) we need to do some work on the test charge. So its potential energy will incease. This means that the test charge will have more potential energy as it

moves close to the + end of the battery. This is why +e end of the battery means high potential terminal of the battery. For the same reason end of the battery corresponds to the low potential terminal. As long as chemical reaction goes on the battery maintains a potential difference at the two terminals. These two charged ends of the battery have field lines extended everywhere, inside as well as outside the battery. (Red arrows are the field lines.) Outside of the battery, the positive charge from the positive end of the battery can travel, through a conducting wire, to the negative terminal. Since this travel falls along the direction of the field lines, there will be a loss of potential energy. If we attach a light bulb in the wire, the light bulb takes the lost heat from the + charge and the light bulb glows. This defines a simple battery operated circuit. Note: Charge is always conserved. That means the positive charge, on its travel, loses its potential energy. The + charge is not lost. It returns to the terminal with low potential energy and ready to repeat the cycle all over again.

B.

Electric current: Flow of Charge and convention

The flow of charge in the above example gives electric current. There are two ways to describe the current.

Flow of positive charge o by convention

Flow of negative charge (electrons) o Also used by many scientists

It does not matter which description is used. In fact, + charge moving from + terminal to terminal is mathematically equivalent to negative charge moving in the opposite direction.

The convention that the flow of + charge is associated with the current is only historical reason. In fact, the particles that carry charge through wire in a circuit are electrons.

C. Role of a Cell: (For example simple battery):

Cell, simply supplies the energy to the charge (+ charge) so that that the charge moves from terminal to the + terminal, internally. That is, cell pumps the charge from to + termial. In this way, cell maintains the potential difference.

D. Electric Circuit: Internal and External Circuit

Circuits, like the battery operated one above, has two parts

Internal circuit o Part of the circuit where energy is supplied to the charge from the cell. o The movement of charge in the internal circuit is not a natural one (since against the field lines).

External circuit o Part of the circuit where energy is lost to devices (bulb, toaster etc.) as the charge moves outside of the cell through a conducting wire. o The movement through the external circuit is a natural one, since the movement is in the direction of the electric field lines.

Example:

In the internal circuit: Every 1 Coulomb of charge gains 12 Joules of potential energy, from the cell, as it moves through the battery. In the external circuit: Every 1 coulomb of charge loses 12 joules of potential energy as it passes through the external circuit. The loss of this electric potential energy in the external circuit results in a gain in

light energy, thermal energy and other forms of non-electrical energy.

Q. The diagram below at the right shows a light bulb connected by wires to the + and - terminals of a car battery. Use the diagram in answering the following questions.

(A) Which one, between points A and D, has the highest electrical potential and by what amount? Ans. A is 12 V higher D. (B) At which point is the electrical potential energy of a charge zero? Ans. D (C) Which two points correspond to the movement of a + charge that require supply of energy to the charge? Ans. Between D to A (D) How much energy is required to move +2 Coulomb of charge between points D and A? Ans. 24 Joule.

Example: In the following example of a circuit, a positive charge maintains the following properties about its potential energy.

Potential energy at A < potential energy at B Potential energy at B = Potential energy at D Potential energy at C < Potential energy at D

Q. How much energy is available from a 12 V storage battery that can transfer a total of 1.0 x 106 Coulomb charge?
Ans. Equation: V = PE / Q

V= 12 Volt Q = 1.0 x 106 C PE= 12 Volt . 1.0 x 106 C = 1.2 x 107 Joule.

Q. Which one is the correct circuit to lighting the bulb using a storage battery?

E. Measuring Electric Current

Current is the rate at which charge (Q) flows through a cross section of a conductor per unit time. Electric current = quantity of charge / time I=Q/t

Metric Unit:

unit of current = unit of charge / unit of time = Coulomb / s = ampere (amp or A is short)

1 ampere = 1 Coulomb / 1 s A 1.00 amp current is 1.00 coulomb charge moving through a conductor each second.

F. Electric Current: Drift speed and the nature of charge flow:

Since I = Q/t, current has to do with the number of coulomb of charge which pass a point the in the circuit per unit time. Note: It doesnt matter the charge carriers are moving fast or slow. It only matters how many charge careers are crossing through a given point per second. (Electrons are the actual charge carriers, not positive charge.) When there is a potential difference at the two ends of a metal wire, the electrons (electrons are the actual carriers of charge), in the wire, (that is, in the external circuit) are set in motion. This is because the electric field lines are everywhere, that is, each electron, in the metal wire, are under a force field. Force changes the state of motion for the electrons. How fast/slow are they moving? What is the speed? Ans. They are actually moving quite slow in the wire. Their speed is called drift speed. Drift speed: Drift speed is the average distance travelled by the individual charge carrier (electron). The path of a typical charge carrier through a wire could be described as a rather chaotic, zigzag path because of constant collisions with fixed atoms within the metal wire.

Overall effect of the collision is the drift speed is very low. So electrons in the wire moves slow. A typical drift speed might e of the order of 1 meter an hour. That is slow.

Good question: How can there be current, almost instantly, when you turn on electric switch, if electrons speed is so low?

Ans. There are many, many charge carriers moving at once throughout the whole length of the circuit. Current is the # of charge crossing a point on a circuit per unit time. A high current is the result of several charges crossing over a cross section of a wire on a circuit. This means, the charge carriers do not have to travel a long distance in a second, there just has to be a lot of them passing through the cross section. Current does not have to do with how far charges move in a second but rather with how many charges pass through a cross section of wire on a circuit. Typically, even in a very thin wire, there are enormously large number of electrons in small cross sectional area. All of them are set in motion by the electric potential difference. With that much mobile charge within such a small cross section, a small drift speed could lead to a very large current.

G. Electrical Resistance (R):

Potential difference, at the two ends of the wire, encourages the electrons to move (that is flow of charge and hence the current). But the collision with the atoms, inside the wire, discourages the flow of charge. This is the resistance to the movement of the charge carriers. Thus electrons encounter resistance --- a hindrance to their movement. The rate at which current flows from terminal to terminal is the result of combined affect of these two quantities. Clearly, resistance depends on the material used in the external circuit.

H. Factors affecting Resistance:

1. Material 2. Length 3. Cross-sectional area of the wire 4. Temperature

H. Ohms Law: Resistance (R) and current (I) :

Current is inversely proportional to resistance.

1 R

(Of course this makes sense.) Current is directly proportional to the potential difference.

I V

(That makes sense too.) This means

I=
This is Ohms law.

V R

or

V = IR

Unit of resistance: unit of resistance = unit of potential difference/unit of current = Volt/A = ohm (

Q. A lightulb in a 120 V circuit is switched on, and a current of 0.50 amp flows through the filament. What is the resistance of the bulb?
Ans. Given: V = 120 V I = 0.50 A R=? V= IR R = V/I = 120/0.50 volt/A = 240 ohm