Electric Currents

Topic 5.1 Electric potential

difference, current and resistance
 Electric Potential Energy
 If you want to move a charge closer to a
charged sphere you have to push against
the repulsive force
 You do work and the charge gains electric
potential energy.
 If you let go of the charge it will move
away from the sphere, losing electric
potential energy, but gaining kinetic
energy.
 When you move a charge in an electric
field its potential energy changes.
 This is like moving a mass in a
gravitational field.
 The electric potential V at any point in an
electric field is the potential energy that
each coulomb of positive charge would
have if placed at that point in the field.
 The unit for electric potential is the joule
per coulomb (J C‑1 ), or the volt (V).
 Like gravitational potential it is a scalar
quantity.
 In the next figure, a charge +q moves
between points A and B through a distance
x in a uniform electric field.
 The positive plate has a high potential and
the negative plate a low potential.
 Positive charges of their own accord, move
from a place of high electric potential to a
place of low electric potential.
 Electrons move the other way, from low
potential to high potential.
 In moving from point A to point B in the
diagram, the positive charge +q is moving
from a low electric potential to a high
electric potential.
 The electric potential is therefore different
at both points.
 In order to move a charge from point A to
point B, a force must be applied to the
charge equal to qE
 (F = qE).
 Since the force is applied through a
distance x, then work has to be done to
move the charge, and there is an electric
potential difference between the two
points.
 Remember that the work done is equivalent
to the energy gained or lost in moving the
charge through the electric field.
 Electric Potential Difference
 Potential difference
 We often need to know the difference in
potential between two points in an electric
field
 The potential difference or p.d. is the
energy transferred when one coulomb of
charge passes from one point to the other
point.
 The diagram shows some values of the
electric potential at points in the electric
field of a positively‑charged sphere
 What is the p.d. between points A and B in
the diagram?
 When one coulomb moves from A to B it
gains 15 J of energy.
 If 2 C move from A to B then 30 J of
energy are transferred. In fact:
 Change in Energy
 Energy transferred,
 This could be equal to the amount of
electric potential energy gained or to the
amount of kinetic energy gained

 W =charge, q x p.d.., V
(joules) (coulombs) (volts)
 The Electronvolt
 One electron volt (1 eV) is defined as the energy
acquired by an electron as a result of moving
through a potential difference of one volt.
 Since W = q x V
 And the charge on an electron or proton is 1.6 x
10-19C
 Then W = 1.6 x 10-19C x 1V
 W = 1.6 x 10-19 J
 Therefore 1 eV = 1.6 x 10-19 J
 Conduction in Metals
A copper wire consists of millions of copper
atoms.
 Most of the electrons are held tightly to their
atoms, but each copper atom has one or two
electrons which are loosely held.
 Since the electrons are negatively charged,
an atom that loses an electron is left with a
positive charge and is called an ion.
 The diagram shows that the copper wire is
made up of a lattice of positive ions,
surrounded by free' electrons:
 The ions can only vibrate about their fixed
positions, but the electrons are free to
move randomly from one ion to another
through the lattice.
 All metals have a structure like this.
 What happens when a battery is
attached to the copper wire?
 The free electrons are repelled by the negative
terminal and attracted to the positive one.
 They still have a random movement, but in
addition they all now move slowly in the same
direction through the wire with a steady drift
velocity.
 We now have a flow of charge ‑ we have electric
current.
 Electric Current
 Current is measured in amperes (A) using
an ammeter.
 The ampere is a fundamental unit.
 The ammeter is placed in the circuit so
that the electrons pass through it.
 Therefore it is placed in series.
 The more electrons that pass through the
ammeter in one second, the higher the
current reading in amps.
1 amp is a flow of about 6 x 1018 electrons
in each second!
 The electron is too small to be used as the
basic unit of charge, so instead we use a
much bigger unit called the coulomb (C).
 The charge on 1 electron is

only 1.6 x 10‑1199 C.

In fact:

Or I = Δq/ Δt
Current is the rate of flow of charge
 Which way do the electrons move?
 At first, scientists thought that a current was made up of
positive charges moving from positive to negative.
 We now know that electrons really flow the opposite way, but
unfortunately the convention has stuck.
 Diagrams usually show the direction of `conventional current'
going from positive to negative, but you must remember that
the electrons are really flowing the opposite way.
 Resistance
A tungsten filament lamp has a high
resistance, but connecting wires have a
low resistance.
 What does this mean?
 The greater the resistance of a
component, the more difficult it is for
charge to flow through it.
 The electrons make many collisions with
the tungsten ions as they move through
the filament.
 But the electrons move more easily
through the copper connecting wires
because they make fewer collisions with
the copper ions.
 Resistance is measured in ohms (Ω) and is defined
in the following way:
 The resistance of a conductor is the ratio of the p.d.
applied across it, to the current passing through it.
 In fact:
 Resistors
 Resistors are components that are made
to have a certain resistance.
 They can be made of a length of nichrome
wire.
 Ohm’s Law
 The current through a metal wire is
directly proportional to the p.d. across
it (providing the temperature remains
constant).
 This is Ohm's law.

 Materials
that obey Ohm's law are called
ohmic conductors.
 Ohmic and Non-Ohmic
Behaviour
 What do the current‑voltage graphs tell
us?
 When X is a metal resistance wire the
graph is a straight line passing through the
origin: (if the temperature is constant)
 This shows that: I is directly proportional to
V.
 If you double the voltage, the current is
doubled and so the value of V/I is always the
same.
 Since resistance R =V/I, the wire has a
constant resistance.
 The gradient is the resistance on a V against
I graph, and 1/resistance in a I against V
graph.
 When X is a filament lamp, the graph is a
curve, as shown:
 Doubling the voltage produces less than
double the current.
 This means that the value of V/I rises as
the current increases.
 As the current increases, the metal
filament gets hotter and the resistance of
the lamp rises.
 The graphs for the wire and the lamp are
symmetrical.
 The current‑voltage characteristic looks
the same, regardless of the direction of
the current.
Power Dissipation