Electrical Engineering Definitions SI units Electric Charge, Electrostatic Force, Electric and Magnetic Fields Electric Voltage, Current,

and Power DC and AC sources Conductors, Resistance, Capacitance Ohms Law

Currently, there are two main sets of measurement standards in use The U.S Customary System The International System (SI for short) The primary system of measure for the world is the SI system often referred to as the metric system The scientific and engineering community use the SI system, so it is important to learn the system

Some commonly used prefixes for the international system of units

Prefix exa peta tera giga mega kilo hecto deka

PEN

Symbol E P T G M k h da

Power of 10

1018 1015 1012

109

106 103 102 101

Prefix deci centi milli micro nano pico femto atto

Symbol d c m n p f a

Power of 10

101 102 103 106 109 1012 1015 1018

The seven basic SI units

Measured Quantity Length Mass Time Electric Current Thermodynamic Temperature Amount of a Substance Luminous Intensity Unit Symbol Meter m Kilogram kg Second s Ampere A Kelvin K Mole mol Candela cd

Some important SI units and symbols you should commit to memory

Measured Quantity Unit Symbol Measured Quantity Unit Symbol Angle Radian rad Electric Potential Volt V Frequency Hertz Hz Resistance Ohm Force Newton N Conductance Siemens S Pressure Pascal Pa Inductance Henry H Energy/Work/Heat Joule J Capacitance Farad F Power Watt W Magnetic Flux Weber Wb Electric Charge Coulomb C Magnetic Flux Density Tesla T

Formal Definition of Electric Charge Electrical Charge

The fundamental unit of charge is denoted:

q
It is the charge associated with a single electron or proton and is equal in magnitude to 1.60 x 10-19 Coulombs The Coulomb, denoted by C, is the basic unit of electrical charge. Charge can be either positive or negative One Coulomb = approximately 6.24 x 1018 unpaired electrons or unpaired protons.

Example finding net charge: What is the magnitude of charge, in coulombs, of 756.23 x 1017 electrons?

qnet

number of electrons = 6.24 x1018 electrons/C

qnet

756.23x1017 electrons = 6.24 x1018 electrons/C

qnet = 12.12 C

Electrical Charge
To characterize electrical charge behavior we must start at the atom which consist of 1. 2. 3. Proton(s): positive charges Neutron(s): neutral charges Electron(s): negative charges Charge properties 1. 2. 3. Like charges repel one another Unlike charges attract one another The force of repulsion or attraction obeys the inverse square law EXAMPLE 4.1

A atom that has the same number of positive particles (protons) and negative particles (electrons) has a net neutral charge.

+ N N + N +

If an atom loses an electron, it has a net positive charge

+ N N + N +

Once an electron is removed from an atom, which requires some form of work, we are left with a positively charged atom and a free, negatively charged, electron The free electron may 1. 2. Be captured by a nearby positive atom Remain free and migrate to the surface of the material which occurs because like charges repel

Note: option 2 assumes the energy applied to dislodge the electron from the atom was not sufficient to completely ionize the electron from the material

Once at the surface of the material the electron will: a. move along the surface if it encounters an electrical field b. remain localized on the surface until it is captured by a nearby positive charged atom These localized electrons produce a negatively charged region or what we refer to as static electricity Static example: comb through the hair Electrons are mechanically removed from the hair and rest on the comb The strands of hair are charged positive, and stands up because the positive charges seek the most distance between each other Over time the positive charge diminishes

The repulsion and attraction phenomena of charge can be best explained by looking at the equation for the force present between two charges, or Coulombs law Electrostatic Force Electrostatic Force is the force exerted by one body of charge on another. This force can be calculated for simple point charges by using the following equation.

F=k

q1q2 12 r 2 r

F - is the force between the charges, q1 and q2 r - is the distance of separation k - is a proportionality constant = 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2 12 - is a unit vector pointing from q to q r 1 2 EXAMPLE 4.2

The Electrostatic Force depends on the presence of at least two charges a fixed distance apart. We can generalize the force exerted by a single point charge by defining a field, known as the Electric Field.. Electric Field

F E= q0
Note the units are in Newton/Coulomb or force/unit charge This is in terms of the force a test charge would experience when placed in the electric field produced by other charges.

Graphically representing Electric Field lines

1. Field lines originate on a positive charge and terminate on a negative charge. If there is no negative charge to terminate on, the lines will continue out to infinity 2. The number of field lines is proportional to the magnitude of the net charge 3. The density of the field lines at a given point is proportional to the magnitude of the field at that point
+

Electric Current
How is moving charge is described, or how do we quantify the amount of charge we can move through a wire connected to a battery. Electric Current Electric Current, symbolized by I, is the quantitative measure of the flow rate of electric charge carriers. It is measured by determining the number of coulombs of charge that pass a specific point in the period of time. The unit of electric current is the Ampere.

dq Coulombs I= = = Ampere dt Second

Example of current
A piece of wire is connected across the terminals of a battery for a period of 3 seconds. During this time, it is determined that 18 coulombs of charge move through the wire. What is the current in the wire while it is connected to the battery terminals?

dq I= dt
18 C I= = 6A 3 Sec

Magnetic Field
BATTERY-WIRE COIL-NAIL All changing Electrical fields have an accompanying Magnetic Field. The magnetic field is the result of charge movement or Current . If a current exist you have an associated magnetic field.

The magnetic field produced by a current is related the magnitude of the current and the geometry and other physical characteristics of the conductor the current is in.

Magnetic Flux due to a Current

(a)

(b)

N 2 Ac m = l

I (Weber) Ac = cross-sectional area of the coil

= permeability of core material, in freespace = 0 = 4 x 107 H / m

N = number of turns in the coil l = length of the coil I = current in the coil

Will all materials support a current, allow charge to flow? Part of the answer to this question depends on the materials ability to Conduct Electricity which is dependant the materials properties.
Category Insulator Description Examples

A material that restricts the flow of current. Wood, Rubber, Plastic, Large potential differences are required to push and Glass electrical current through these materials.

A material that is usually viewed as a poor Semiconductor conductor, but under special circumstances it Silicon and Germanium can be a useful conductor A material that allows for the easy Silver, Copper, Conductor establishment of a current with a minimal Aluminum, and most applied voltage other metals A material that is capable of conducting Mercury below 4.15K electrical current with no resistance when and barium-yttriumSuperconductor placed below a certain temperature. This copper-oxide below 92K means that electrical currents can exist without K = Kelvin the presence of an electric field.

Definition of Electric Voltage Voltage (potential): is defined as electrical potential energy per unit charge.

W Joule Volt = = q Coulomb

Voltage can be thought of as a measure of stored electrical energy that has the ability to do work, such as moving other charges via an electric field. This stored energy is equal in magnitude to the work done to move a charge from point A to B where A and B are of different potentials. When we talk about Voltage, or potential difference, we are really describing the voltage difference between two points

Voltage Example
Any measure of potential must include a reference point

Electrical Power
Electrical power is a measure of the electrical work, or energy used, per unit time, the following relationship is known as Watts Law Instantaneous Power The instantaneous power, of an electrical device is defined as the work that is done per unit of time. In terms of the voltage, V, and current, I ,

Joule P = IV = = Watt Second

EXAMPLE 4.3

DC Signal
Has a constant voltage and current, neglecting the changes occurring during power on and power off. Common sources
Batteries DC power supply

V = constant I = constant
t

AC Signal
Alternating Current Alternating Current is a fluctuating current that is associated with a changing potential difference (AC Voltage). The most common alternating current pattern is associated with a sinusoidal change in voltage.

Common Sources
Household power Signal generator

v ( t ) = A sin(2 ft )
Peak, peak-to-peak RMS EXAMPLE 4.4
t

Resistance

Physically resistance is a measure of a materials opposition to charge flow or current. Resistance is measured in units called Ohms The higher the resistance of a material, the more potential difference is required to maintain a current. The resistance of a material is temperature dependant.

Figure 4.6. This water pipe illustrates the concept of resistance. The smaller center section of the pipe has a larger resistance to water flow.

Resistive Material

Figure 4.7 The electrical equivalent of the water-based example given in figure 4.6. A resistive material connected to two conducting copper wires.

Type
Carbon

Characteristics
Least expensive, wide available range of values and tolerances, typically used for low power and low frequency applications Used in higher voltage applications and where high precision is called for. These devices exhibit internal capacitance, due to the metal film deposits, which can cause changes in the device impedance at higher frequencies. Used for medium to high voltage applications requiring high power handling. However due to their geometry they exhibit high inductive properties, making them suitable only for lower frequency applications.

Metal Film

Wirewound

Color Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White Gold Silver

Numeric 1 Numeric 2 Numeric 3 Multiplier 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 10 2 2 2 100 3 3 3 1K 4 4 4 10K 5 5 5 100K 6 6 6 1M 7 7 7 10M 8 8 8 9 9 9 0.1 0.01

Tolerance 1% 2%

0.5% 0.25% 0.10 0.05% 5% 10%

Four band Resistor The first two bands indicate numeric values. The third band is the multiplier. The fourth band is the tolerance. Example: [Red2][Green5][Yellow10k][Silver10%]
Resistor value = 25 x 10k = 250 kOhm 10%

Five band Resistor (High precision) The first three bands are numerical values. The fourth band is the multiplier. The fifth band is the tolerance. Example: [Blue6][Gray8][Red2][Blue1M][Brown1%]
Resistor value = 682 x 1M = 682 MOhm 1%

Capacitance
Capacitor is a device capable of storing energy in an electrical field Capacitance Capacitance, simply stated is the amount of charge that a capacitor is capable of holding per unit of voltage applied.

C=

Q V

Where Q is the net charge, V is the voltage, and C is the capacitance. Units are Farads (F). Energy Stored by a capacitor:

1 U = CV 2 2
Units of Joules

Example of a parallel plate capacitor

A (8.85 x10 12 F/m) C= d
Plate Separation Distance, d

Plate Separation distance, d

+ + + + + + + +

Electric Field Lines

Figure 4.8. A conceptual example of a basic capacitor. A capacitor consists of two metal plates separated by an insulating dielectric material.

Figure 4.9. An illustration of the electric field lines existing between the plates of a capacitor. The energy that is stored in a capacitor is stored in this electric field.

Type
Paper

Characteristics
Cheap, low to high voltage, low frequency, low capacitance/volume, non-precision general purpose applications Very stable, high precision, good for tuned circuit applications, high capacitance/volume, low leakage current Polarized, largest capacitance/volume, high loss, commonly used for power supply filtering. High voltage, available in both low loss and high loss, Capacitor tolerance can run from +100% to -20%

Mica

Tantalum or Aluminum

Ceramic

Codes see: http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Capacitor_Codes

There exist a nice relationship that ties together the quantities Voltage, Current, and Resistance known as Ohms Law

Ohms Law Ohms Law gives a relationship between a materials resistance, R, the voltage across it, V, and the current flowing through it, I.

V = IR
Ohms law gives us an equation we can use to find voltage, current, or resistance if we know two of the quantities. MEMORIZE IT EXAMPLE 4.5 CHECK 4.5

What You should know

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Basic SI units How charges behave (repel, attract) Definition of current Definition of voltage Definition of resistance Ohms law Watts law Difference between a DC and AC signal How to find peak, peak-to-peak, and RMS voltage values