Ohms Law, Energy,

Power, Series and

Parallel Circuits
Circuits 1
Fall 2005
Harding University
Jonathan White

Outline
Ohms

Law

Georg Ohm
Relationship between resistance, current,
and voltage
Energy
Power

In general
In electrical circuits
Series

and parallel circuits

Georg Simon Ohm

(1787-1854 )

German physicist who

experimentally determined that
the if the voltage across a
resistor is increased, the current
through the resistor will increase.
Ideas were published in 1827,
but they were rejected by his
peers. He lived in poverty for
several years before taking a
teaching position.
Called the Mozart of electricity.

Ohms Law

V=I*R
For a constant resistance, if the current increases, the voltage
increases at the same rate

I=V/R
For a constant resistance, if the voltage increases, the current
will increase at the exact same rate

R=V/I
For a constant resistance, if the voltage increases, the current
must increase at the exact same rate.

Using the water pipe example, for a given size of valve

(R), if you increase the pressure at which you push the
water through the pipe (V), the amount of water that
flows through the pipe will increase at the same rate(I).

Energy

Energy is the fundamental capacity to do work.

A charge can have potential energy (voltage)
because of its place in space.
In a power station, gas, coal, or nuclear energy is
transformed into electrical energy much like a
battery.
Note that energy can neither be created or
destroyed, only transformed.
Energy is measured in joules and symbolized by the
letter w. (lowercase w).
Energy is the amount of power consumed over
time, which can be written as w=p dt from t0 to t

Power
Power

is the rate at which energy is used.

p = dW/dt, where W is energy and t is time
Since i=dq/dt and v = dw/dq, p can be rewritten
as (dw/dq) * (dq/dt)
p=v*I
Power

in electrical circuits is measured in

watts and symbolized by the letter W. Note:
energy uses a lowercase letter and power
uses an uppercase.
For example, a 60 watt light bulb uses 60 joules
of energy in 1 second.

Power in Circuits
Consider

a device with a voltage across it

and a current through it.

The voltage is a measure of the potential energy

that a unit charge dissipates when it passes
through a device. If the device is a resistor, then
the energy lost will appear as heat.
The current is the number of charges that flow
through a device in 1 second.

If

each couloumb dissipates V joules, and I

couloumbs flows in one second, then the rate
of energy dissipation is the product, VI.
Thats what power is, the rate at which energy is
consumed.

Power Formulas
P

= VI

Note: Power can be negative. If the device is a

battery, it is losing power so that the loads can do
work. Can the power ever be negative for a
resistor? By convention, if the current enters
through the positive terminal of an element, the
power is positive. If the current leaves an element
(enters through the negative terminal), it is
producing power, and the power will be negative.

Using

Ohms Law, you can state the above

formula in a number of ways:
P = I2 * R
P = V2 / R

Energy Conversion in a
resistor
The

power consumed by a resistor can be

written as w=v*i dt from t0 to t, since p=v*i.
As youve seen, when there is a current
through a resistance, electrical energy is
converted to heat energy.
This heat is caused by the collisions of the free
electrons within the atomic structure of the
resistive material.
When a collision occurs, heat is given off and
the electron gives up some of its acquired
energy as it moves through the material.

Review
Ohms

Law:

V= I * R; I = V/R; R = V*I
Energy

Definition: Capacity to do work.

Measured in joules.
Symbol is w
Energy can neither be created or
destroyed, only transformed.
A battery stores energy

Review
Power:

Definition: The rate at which energy is used.

Measured in watts.
Symbol is W.
P=W/t
In electrical circuits,
P

= V * I, P = I2 * R, P = V2 / R

Power can be negative, if something is supplying

power.
Voltage

drops: Charge loses energy as it travels

through circuits.