What are Circuit Elements A circuit element is basically just a component that makes up a complete electrical circuit.

They are like building blocks that can be combined to create interesting circuits and model real world electronics. Some examples include conductors, voltage sources, current sources, and resistors. Conductors A conductor is something that can carry an electron flow. In electrical circuits, copper wires are a commonly used conductor. Copper makes for a good conductor because it has good electrical conductivity, the measure of a materials ability to allow electrons to flow through it. Interestingly, when electrons move down wires, they dont exactly travel in the middle of the wire like water in a pipe. In reality, they travel on the surface if the wire, because here they are unbound and free to move more easily. This is why wires are round, because this cross sectional shape maximizes surface area and minimizes costs. Electrical conductivity is usually represented by a sigma (). The opposite (reciprocal) of conductivity is electricalresistivity, or a measure of how strongly a material opposes electron flow. The following table shows some values for these common materials. Material (m) at 20 C Resistivity Silver Copper Annealed copper Gold Aluminum Tin Carbon steel Lead Titanium Nichrome Drinking water Silicon Wood (oven dry) Air 1.59108 1.68108 1.72108 2.44108 2.82108 1.09107 (1010) 2.2107 4.20107 1.10106 2101 to 2103 6.40102 11014 to 16 1.31016 to 3.31016 (S/m) at 20 C Conductivity 6.30107 5.96107 5.80107 4.10107 3.5107 9.17106 1.43107 4.55106 2.38106 9.09105 5104 to 5102 1.56103 1016 to 10-14 31015 to 81015

Engineers must take other factors into account beyond merely electrical conductivity when selecting materials for designs. Copper is usually a good choice for conductors because its inexpensive, safe, reliable, has good ductility, and can transport electricity and heat more efficiently than many other metals. Finally, copper is quite easy to recycle which is both environmentally and economically beneficial. When analyzing circuits, its common to treat conductors as ideal conductors. In circuit diagrams, ideal conductors are represented by solid lines connecting various circuit elements together. Regardless of how much current is flowing through an ideal conductor, the voltage between each end will always be zero. In circuit analysis, voltage will change across circuit elements, but never across conductors. If two points along a circuit are connected by an ideal conductor, the points are said to be shorted together. The points are connected with a short circuit because this connection is the path of least resistance for the electrons to flow from point A to point B. Any circuit element like a resistor or battery will have higher electric resistivity than an ideal conductor, so if there are two possible paths between two points and one of them is a short, the electrons are going to flow down the one without any circuit elements. Electrons follow the path of least resistance just like people do. If you were walking home, and had the option of either walking down a sidewalk or a thick jungle, which would you pick? Short circuits are just easier for electrons to travel down. To continue that analogy, imagine an open circuit as a giant canyon thats impossible to walk cross. An open circuit is a path between two points on a circuit where no conductors or circuit elements connect the two points. You can turn a regular wire connected to both ends of a battery (a short) into an open circuit by simply cutting the wire. After you cut the wire no electrons can cross the gap. Ideal vs Reality Engineers are lazy. Whenever possible, we attempt to model real world systems as simplistically as possible. We do this to make our jobs easier. In the real world, an ideal conductor doesnt really exist. But while nothing will behave EXACTLY like an ideal circuit element, we can often assume that something will behave so close to ideal that for our purposes it makes sense to treat it like an ideal circuit element. Its always easier to model things when you can assume that they are ideal. The smaller your tolerance for error in your calculations, the less often you are able to do this. For example, if you are dealing with a lot of current, it doesnt make sense to model a regular 12V car battery as ideal.

Voltage Sources An ideal independent voltage source is a type of circuit element that maintains a constant voltage across its terminals. This means that regardless of the current Amperage flowing through it or the other elements connected to the voltage source, the voltage value across the element will remain constant. When diagramming a voltage source on a circuit diagram, use a circle with a positive and negative terminal.

AC and DC voltage source diagrams You can also have a dependent voltage source, whose voltage is a function of other voltages and currents in the circuit. These are diagrammed as diamonds. There are two kinds of dependent voltage sources. The first is a voltage controlled voltage source, which a source is having a voltage magnitude equal to some constant multiplied by the voltage across the terminals of an element elsewhere on the circuit.

A voltage controlled voltage source A current controlled voltage source has a voltage value equal to a constant times the current through an element on the circuit. The constant used to multiply the current is called a gain parameter, having the units of (V/A, the same thing as Ohms).

A current controlled voltage source Current Sources You can also have an independent current source, which forces specific Amperage through itself. These work the same as controlled voltage sources, but are diagrammed with an arrow pointed in the reference direction instead of + and terminals.

Current source diagrams Similarly, dependent current sources are functions of voltages and currents along the circuits. They works similarly to dependent voltage sources, but their gain parameters are A/A, or unitless.

A voltage controlled current source

A current controlled current source These various types of current and voltage controlled sources are very useful when modeling real world components. Amplifiers, transistors, and transformers can all be modeled with these elements.

How Temperature Affects Resistance. The value of a resistor changes with changing temperature, but this is not as we might expect, mainly due to a change in the dimensions of the component as it expands or contracts. It is due mainly to a change in the resistivity of the material caused by the changing activity of the atoms that make up the resistor. Materials which are classed as CONDUCTORS tend to INCREASE their resistivity with an increase in temperature. INSULATORS however are liable to DECREASE their resistivity with an increase in temperature. Materials used for practical insulators (glass, plastic etc) only exhibit a marked drop in their resistivity at very high temperatures. They remain good insulators over all temperatures they are likely to encounter in use. The reasons for these changes in resistivity can be explained by considering the flow of current through the material. The flow of current is actually the movement of electrons from one atom to another under the influence of an electric field. Electrons are very small negatively charged particles and will be repelled by a negative electric charge and attracted by a positive electric charge. Therefore if an electric potential is applied across a conductor (positive at one end, negative at the other) electrons will "migrate" from atom to atom towards the positive terminal. Only some electrons are free to migrate however. Others within each atom are held so tightly to their particular atom that even an electric field will not dislodge them. The current flowing in the material is therefore due to the movement of "free electrons" and the number of free electrons within any material compared with those tightly bound to their atoms is what governs whether a material is a good conductor (many free electrons) or a good insulator (hardly any free electrons). The effect of heat on the atomic structure of a material is to make the atoms vibrate, and the higher the temperature the more violently the atoms vibrate. In a conductor, which already has a large number of free electrons flowing through it, the vibration of the atoms causes many collisions between the free electrons and the captive electrons. Each collision uses up some energy from the free electron and is the basic cause of resistance. The more the atoms

jostle around in the material the more collisions are caused and hence the greater the resistance to current flow. In an insulator however, there is a slightly different situation. There are so few free electrons that hardly any current can flow. Almost all the electrons are tightly bound within their particular atom. Heating an insulating material vibrates the atoms, and if we heated sufficiently the atoms vibrate violently enough to actually shake some of their captive electrons free, creating free electrons to become carriers of current. Therefore at high temperatures the resistance of an insulator can fall, and in some insulating materials, quite dramatically. In a material where the RESISTANCE INCREASES WITH TEMPERATURE it is said that the material has a POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT. When RESISTANCE FALLS WITH AN INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE the material is said to have a NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT. In general, CONDUCTORS HAVE A POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT Whilst (at high temperatures) INSULATORS HAVE A NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT. Different materials within either group have different temperature coefficients. Materials chosen for the construction of resistors therefore are most likely to be carefully selected CONDUCTORS that have a very low POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT. In use, resistors made from such materials will have only very slight increases in resistivity, and therefore resistance, as temperature rises.

Ohms Law Ohms, Volts & Amperes. The resistance of a conductor is measured in Ohms and the Ohm is a unit named after the German physicist George Simon Ohm (1787-1854) who was the first to show the relationship between resistance, current and voltage. In doing so he devised his law which shows the inter-relationship between the three basic electrical properties of resistance, voltage and current. It demonstrates one of the most important relationships in electrical and electronic engineering. Ohms Law states that: "In metallic conductors at a constant temperature and in a zero magnetic field, the current flowing is proportional to the voltage across the ends of the conductor, and is inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor." In simple terms, provided that the temperature is constant and the electrical circuit is not influenced by magnetic fields, then: With a circuit of constant resistance, the greater the voltage applied to a circuit, the more current will flow. With a constant voltage applied, the greater the resistance of the circuit, the less current will flow.

Notice that Ohms law states "In metallic conductors" This means that the law holds good for materials which are basically metal, but there are some materials (mainly non-metals) to which Ohms Law does not strictly apply. Here however, in talking about Ohms Law, these nonmetals will not be discussed. Rather than trying to remember the whole of Ohms law, the three electrical properties of voltage, current and resistance by single letters: Resistance is indicated by the letter R and is measured in units of Ohms, which have the symbol (Greek capital O). Voltage is indicated by the letter V (or sometimes E, especially in the USA) and is measured in units of Volts, which have the symbol V. Current is given the letter I (we don't use C as this is used for Capacitance)and is measured in units of Amperes (often shortened to Amps), which have the symbol A. By using the letters V, I and R to express the relationships defined in Ohms Law gives three simple formulae:

Each of which shows how to find the value of any one of these quantities in a circuit, provided the other two are known. For example, to find the voltage V (in Volts) across a resistor, simply multiply the current I (in Amperes) through the resistor by the value of the resistor R (in Ohms).

Note that when using these formulae the values of V I and R written into the formula must be in its BASIC UNIT i.e. VOLTS (not millivolts) Ohms (not kilohms) and AMPERES (not micro Amperes )etc. Briefly 15K (kilohms) is entered as 15 EXP 03 and 25mA (milliAmperes) is entered as 25 EXP -03 etc. This is easiest to do using a scientific calculator. How to use your calculator with the engineering notation used extensively in electronics is explained in our free booklet entitled "Maths Tips" Download it here. or from our Download page DEFINITIONS 1 OHM ..can be defined as "The amount of resistance that will produce a potential difference (p.d.) or voltage of 1 Volt across it when a current of 1 Ampere flowing through it." 1 AMPERE ..can be defined as "The amount of current which, when flowing through a resistance of 1 Ohm will produce a potential difference of 1 Volt across the resistance."

(Although more useful definitions of an ampere are available) 1 VOLT ..can be defined as "The difference in potential (voltage) produced across a resistance of 1 Ohm through which a current of 1 Ampere is flowing." (Again alternative definitions using other quantities can also be used)

Power & Energy Power in Resistors When a current flows through a resistor, electrical energy is converted into HEAT energy. The heat generated in the components of a circuit, all of which possess at least some resistance, is dissipated into the air around the components. The rate at which the heat is dissipated is called POWER, given the letter P and measured in units of Watts (W). The amount of power dissipated can be worked out using any two of the quantities used in Ohms law calculations. Remember, as with any formula the BASIC QUANTITIES must be used in the formula, i.e. VOLTS, OHMS and AMPERES, (not milli, Meg etc). To find the power P using V and I

To find the power P using V and R

To find the power P using I and R

Before starting, think about these few tips, they will make the problems easier if followed carefully. 1. Work out the answers using pencil and paper; otherwise it is easy to get mixed up half way through and end up with the wrong answer. 2. Of course the answer is not just a number, it will be a certain number of Watts (or multiple or sub units of Watts). Don't forget to show the correct unit (e.g. W or mW etc.) as well as the number or the answer is meaningless. 3. Convert all sub units such as mV or k to Watts when you put them into the appropriate formula. A slip up here will give really stupid answers, thousands of times too big or too small. 4. Although the structure of these power formulae seems very similar to the Ohms Law formulae, there is a subtle difference - they contain some squared terms (I2 and V2). Be very careful if using the triangle trick to transpose these formulae. If you need to relate power to resistance, then either I or V

must be squared (multiplied by itself). However you can construct a triangle to fit either of the formulae to give R, as shown below.

Don't forget to download our "Maths Tips" booklet, which shows you how to use your calculator with exponents and engineering notation to deal with those sub-units and get the right answer every time. Not got a scientific calculator? The "Maths Tips" booklet explains what you need (and what you don't need so you don't spend your money unnecessarily). If you don't want to buy a scientific calculator, you can always pick up a free one on the net. PC users can try Calc98 fromwww.calculator.org/download.html. Whichever calculator you choose remember that you should read the instructions to become familiar with the working methods you should use as these do vary from calculator to calculator. It is important to be aware of the effect of power dissipation in components, the greater the power, the more heat must be dissipated by the component. This generally means that components dissipating large amounts of power get hot, also they will be considerably larger in size than low power types. If a component is required to dissipate more power than it is designed to, it will not be able to get rid of the heat generated fast enough. Its temperature will rise and the overheating may cause complete failure of the component and possibly damage to other components and the printed circuit board (PCB) itself. As a precaution, large power resistors are often mounted clear of the PCB by using longer lead out wires encased in ceramic sleeves. High power wirewound resistors may even be encased in a metal heat sink and bolted to a large metal area such as the equipment case, to get rid of unwanted heat. Examples of high power resistors are shown on the Resistor Contruction page. Components such as resistors have a particular power rating quoted by the manufacturer (in Watts or milli Watts). This rating (parameter) must be checked when replacing a component so that no over rating will occur. This is an important safety consideration when servicing electronic equipment.

TIP The heat generated by high power resistors is a major cause of early failure in many circuits. Either the resistor itself fails by going "open circuit", especially in wire wound resistors. in carbon composition resistors, overheating over a long period can cause the value to change. This may increase in high resistance types, or more dangerously reduce (allowing an increased current flow) in low value types. The increase in current flow cause by this reduction in resistance only accelerates the process and eventually the resistor (and sometimes other associated components) burns up! Energy in Resistors If a certain amount of power is dissipated for a given time, then ENERGY is dissipated. Energy (power x time) is measured in Joules and by including time (t) in the power formulae, the energy dissipated by a component or circuit can be calculated.

Energy dissipated = Pt or VIt or V2Rt or even I2Rt Joules Note that in formulae for energy, quantities such as power, time, resistance, current and voltage must be converted to their basic units, e.g. Watts, seconds, Ohms, Amperes, Volts etc. No sub units or multiple units! As described in the "Maths Tips" booklet. All of the above units are part of an integrated system of internationally standardized units, the S.I. (Systme International dUnits) System. This sets out the basic units for any electrical, mechanical and physical property and their relations to each other. It also includes the standard form of multiples and sub multiples described in the "Maths Tips" booklet.