Professional Documents
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1. Nature of Electricity
Voltage, Current and Resistance
A stable (neutral) atom has a certain amount of energy, which is equal to the sum of
the energies of its electrons. Electrons, in turn, have different energies called energy
levels. The energy level of an electron is proportional to its distance from the
nucleus. Therefore, the energy levels of electrons in shells farther from the nucleus
are higher than those of electrons in shells nearer the nucleus.
When an electron has moved to the outermost shell of its atom, it is least attracted by
the positive charges of the protons within the nucleus of its atom. If enough energy is
then applied to the atom, some of the outermost shell or valence electrons will leave
the atom. These electrons are called free electrons. It is the movement of free
electrons that provides electric current in a metal conductor.
Because of the force of its electrostatic field, an electric charge has the ability to do
the work of moving another charge by attraction or repulsion. The ability of a charge
to do work is called its potential. When one charge is different from the other,
there must be a difference in potential between them.
The sum of the differences of potential of all the charges in the electrostatic field is
referred to as electromotive force (emf).
The basic unit of potential difference is the volt (V). The symbol for potential
difference is V, indicating the ability to do the work of forcing electrons to move.
Because the volt unit is used, potential difference is called voltage.
V = W/Q ;W (in joules); Q (in coulombs)
Current
The movement or the flow of electrons is called current. To produce current, the
electrons must be moved by a potential difference. Current is represented by the
letter symbol (I). The basic unit in which current is measured is the ampere (A). One
ampere of current is defined as the movement of one coulomb past any point of a
conductor during one second of time.
I = Q/t ; Q (coulombs); t (seconds)
Chemical Battery
A voltaic chemical cell is a combination of materials which are used for
converting chemical energy into electric energy
Generator
Converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by the principle of
electromagnetic induction
Thermal Energy
The production of most electric energy begins with the formation of heat energy.
Solar Cells
Solar cells convert light energy directly into electric energy. They consist of
semiconductor material like silicon.
Piezoelectric Effect
Certain crystals, such as quartz and Rochelle salts, generate a voltage when
they are vibrated mechanically.
Direct current (dc) is current that moves through a conductor or circuit in one
direction only
A dc voltage source can change the amount of its output voltage, but if the same
polarity is maintained, direct current will flow in one direction only.
Resistance
It may be defined as the property of a substance due to which it opposes (or restricts)
the flow of electricity (i.e., electrons) through it.
Conductors passed through drawing gauges increases its length at the expense of
reduction in cross-sectional area in most cases, the waste during the drawing
process is assumed negligible, keeping the volume of the conducting material is
constant.
What is the resistance of a copper wire having a diameter of 10-mm and a length of
10-m. the resistivity is 1.72 x 10-8 Ω-m.
Ans. 2.19-mΩ
A wire measuring 1.5 m3 has a resistance of 0.955μΩ at 20oC; its length is 1.5m and
an area of 1m2. Calculate the resistance of this wire at 20oC if the length is changed
to 150-m and its area to 450-cm2.
Ans. 2.12-mΩ
A 1-km cable consists of 12 identical strands of aluminum each 3mm in diameter.
What is the resistance of the cable?
Ans. 0.33-Ω
A piece of silver wire has a resistance of 1 Ω. What will be the resistance of
manganin wire of one third the length and one third the diameter, if the specific
resistance of manganin is 30 times of that silver?
Ans. 90-Ω
Determine the resistance of a bus bar made of copper if the length is 10 meters long
and cross-sectional area is 4 x 4 sq.cm. the resistivity is 1.724 μΩ-cm.
A rectangular carbon block has dimensions 1.0 cm x 1.0 cm x 50 cm. what is the
resistance measured (a) between two square ends. (b) between two opposing
rectangular faces / Resistivity of carbon at 20oC is 3.5 x 10-5 Ω-m.