Chapter 25

Current, Resistance, and

Electromotive Force
PowerPoint® Lectures for
University Physics, Thirteenth Edition
– Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman

Lectures by Wayne Anderson

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education Inc. Modified 2016 Scott Hildreth – Chabot College
Goals for Chapter 25

• Understand current
& how charges move in a conductor
• Understand resistivity & conductivity
• Calculate resistance of a conductor
• Learn how an “EMF” (E) drives current in a circuit

• Calculate energy & power in circuits

Current
• Current is any motion of charge
from one region to another.

• Current I = dQ/dt
[Amps]

• E field in conductor causes

charges to flow.

• E field created by Potential

Difference!
 Direction of current flow
• Current produced by either positive or negative charges.
• Conventional current treated as flow of positive charges.
• Moving charges in metals are electrons.
Current, drift velocity, & current density
• Suppose:
– n charged particles/volume
– drift velocity vd
– time element dt
– Cross-sectional area A

• dQ = q (nAvd dt)

• I = dQ/dt = nqAvd
• Current I is a scalar
Current, drift velocity, & current density
• Suppose:
– n charged particles/volume
– drift velocity vd
– time element dt
– Cross-sectional area A

• I = dQ/dt = nqAvd (scalar)

• Define current density J
– J = I/A = nqvd (vector)
– [J] = Amps/m2
Current, drift velocity, & current density
• Thicker wire can carry more
charges @ same drift velocity

I = nqAvd

• Increase A = increase ability

to carry current!

• Note: SAME current density J

– J = I/A = nqvd
– n is # charges/volume
Wire gauges & resistivity

– So thicker wire can carry more current

– Rank wire diameter by “Gauge”
Current, drift velocity, and current density
• Example:
– 18 gauge wire
(diameter = 1.02 mm);
– current 1.67 A
– 200 Watt lamp
– Electron density = 8.5
x 1028/m3 .

• What is J and vd?

Current, drift velocity, and current density
• What is J and vd?
– A = pd2/4 = 8.17 x 10-7 m2
– |J| = I/A = 1.67/A = 2.04 x 106 A/m2
– Direction is same as vd
– |vd| = J/nq = 1.5 x 10-4 m/s
– 0.15 mm/ second!

• Notice!
– 200 W/1.67 Amps = 120 Volts!
Resistivity

• Resistivity of material = ratio of E field in material to current

density it causes:  = E/J.

• Larger  = LARGE field needed to generate small current!

• Units?
– [] = E/J = (Volts/m)/(Amps/m2)
– [] = Volts/Amp * m

– Resistivity is related to Resistance

Resistivity

• Resistivity of material = ratio of E field in material to current

density it causes:  = E/J.

• Larger  = LARGE field needed to generate small current!

 Resistance

• Resistance of conductor R = L/A [W = Ohms]

• This resistor has a resistance of 5.7 kΩ with a tolerance of ±10%.

 Resistance

• Pushing current across a resistor takes pressure & uses energy!

• Potential decreases across a conductor DV = IR
• Going from higher V to lower V; in direction of current

• V = IR (Ohm’s Law)

OR…

• I = V/R
Electromotive force and circuits

• An electromotive force (emf) makes current flow.

(but emf is not a force!)

• “EMF” is a voltage difference! +

• Ideal source – EMF is constant
• EMF symbol = E

• For simple complete circuits,

EMF “pushes” + current around
from start to finish.
Symbols for circuit diagrams
Internal resistance

• Real sources of emf actually

contain some internal
resistance r.

• The terminal voltage of an

emf source is

Vab =  – Ir

• Terminal voltage of 12-V

battery is less than 12 V
when actually connected to
the light bulb.
Example 25.4 – OPEN circuit
• EMF = 12 V; internal r = 2 Ohms (very large!!!)
• Not connected to anything (yet)
• What do ideal Voltmeter & Ammeter read?
Example 25.4 – OPEN circuit
• EMF = 12 V; internal r = 2 Ohms (very large!!!)
• Not connected to anything (yet)
• What do ideal Voltmeter and Ammeter read?

12 Volts!

0 Amps!
 Source in a complete circuit
• Now add a 4-Ohm resistor to the same source….

• What is total resistance? What is current? Vab?

 Source in a complete circuit
• Now add a 4-Ohm resistor to the same source….

• Total resistance of SERIES resistors = 2 + 4 = 6 Ohms

 Source in a complete circuit

Va’b’ = IR
Vab =  – Ir.
2A x 4W = 8V
12V – (2A x 2W) = 8V

Ideal I =
12V/6 W
=2A
 Source in a complete circuit

Va’b’ = IR
Vab =  – Ir.
2A x 4W = 8V
12V – (2A x 2W) = 8V

Ideal I =
12V/6 W
=2A
Using voltmeters and ammeters
What do Ammeters and Voltmeters do to circuits?
Using voltmeters and ammeters
What do Ammeters and Voltmeters do to circuits?

Ammeters measure
flow of current PAST a
point.

Ideally, they should

NOT influence the
current

Ideally, R(ammeter) = 0!

Put them IN SERIES

with circuit “legs”
Using voltmeters and ammeters
What do Ammeters and Voltmeters do to circuits?

Voltmeters measure
pressure difference
across (or between)
points in the circuit.

Ideally, they should

NOT influence the
current

Ideally, R(voltmeter) = !

Put them in parallel!

Using voltmeters and ammeters
What do Ammeters and Voltmeters do to circuits?
Using voltmeters and ammeters
What do Ammeters and Voltmeters do to circuits?

Voltmeter in Series!

R(voltmeter) = 

No current will flow!

A source with a short circuit
• Without a resistor, what happens?
Potential changes around a circuit
• “Loop Rule”:
– NET change in
potential = zero
for “round trip” in a
circuit

• Net EMF for a loop

equals sum of voltage
“drops” across resistors
and/or other elements.
Energy and power in electric circuits
• Rate energy is delivered to
(or extracted from) a circuit
element is P = VabI.
• [POWER] = [WATTS]
• Power delivered to pure resistor:
P = I2R = Vab2/R.
Energy and power in electric circuits
• Rate energy is delivered to (or
extracted from) a circuit element
is P = VabI.

• [POWER] = [WATTS]

• Power delivered to pure resistor:

P = I2R = Vab2/R.
Power input and output
• What are rates of energy conversion and power dissipation in circuit?
Power input and output
• What are rates of energy conversion and power dissipation in circuit?
– Battery provides EI = 12 V x 2A = 24 Watts
– Energy dissipation in battery = I2r = 8 Watts
– Energy dissipation in 4W resistor = 16 Watts
Power in a short circuit

• Short Circuit bypasses resistance, allowing charge to flow

without “obstruction”

Remove
this!
Power in a short circuit

• Now power = 12 V x 6A = 72 W = I2R(internal)

Theory of metallic conduction
• Random motion of
electrons in a conductor.
PGE Rates & Meanings….
• PGE Home rates (2016):

• What’s a KWh??
PGE Rates & Meanings….
• What’s a KWh??
• Kilowatt = 1000 Watts = 1000 Joules/Second
• Kilowatt-hour = 1000 Watts x 3600 seconds
• = 3.6 x 106 Joules = 3.6 MegaJoules
• = 3.6 MJ
• How much energy do I use?
• 100W light bulb 5 hours at night to study physics?
• 0.1 KW x 5 hours = 0.5 KWh @ $.18/KWh
• Only 9 CENTS!!! (See!! Study physics more!)
What do we use on average in the US?

~ 911 KWh/residence/month2 (electricity)

~ 11,000 KWh/year
~ 80K – 90K KWh (80- 90 MWh) of energy
from all sources per person per year1
Sources:

1 US Department of Energy [Internet]. How much electricity does an American home use? 2016
Oct 3. http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3
2 Energy in the United States. (2016, October 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
October 2, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States