Lesson 1: Introduction, Voltage, Current and Resistance

Learning Objectives

Apply SI units and engineering notation for standard electrical quantities.

Apply unit conversion factors when solving engineering problems.

Describe the concepts of voltage potential and current.

S.I.

Example Problem 1

Given a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph),

a. convert it to kilometers per hour.

b. convert it to meters per second.

Some common unit conversions are found in Appendix A.

Engineering prefixes In the SI system, common multiple powers of 10

are denoted using engineering prefixes.

Power Prefix Power Prefix

1012 tera (T) 10-3 milli (m)

109 giga (G) 10-6 micro ()

106 mega (M) 10-9 nano (n)

103 kilo (k) 10-12 pico (p)

Engineering notation It is common practice in engineering to avoid using exponential

notation if a suitable engineering prefix exists.

For example:

15 10-5 sec

150 s

General guideline: use closest prefix so that you have at least one NON-ZERO number to the left of the decimal place

0.15 msec

150 sec

not common engineering practice

common engineering practice

not common engineering practice

common engineering practice

Example Problem 2

Express the following using engineering notation:

a. 10 104 volts

b. 0.1 10-3 watts

c. 250 10-7 seconds

Significant Digits

Keep all digits in calculator while performing computations.

Include at least 3 significant digits in all answers.

Try to keep at least one digit to the right of the decimal pont.

INTRODUCING VOLTAGE AND CURRENT

The term voltage is encountered practically every day.

We are aware that most outlets in our homes are 120 volts.

Although current may be a less familiar term, we know what happens when we place too many appliances on the same outlet the circuit breaker opens due to the excessive current that results.

Atomic theory Electrons have a negative charge(-). Electrons orbit the nucleus at distinct orbital

radiuses known as shells. The outermost shell is called the valence shell.

Charge

1918

1 1.602 10 C

6.24 10eQ

VOLTAGE

If we separate the 29th electron in from the rest of the atomic structure of copper by a dashed line as shown, we create regions that have a net positive and negative charge as shown in Fig.

Defining the positive ion.

VOLTAGE

This positive region created by separating the free electron from the basic atomic structure is called a positive ion.

In general, every source of voltage is established by simply creating a separation of positive and negative charges.

What is Voltage? Work is required to separate positive and

negative charges. These separated charges have potential energy. The voltage (or potential difference) between

two points is defined as one volt if it requires one joule of energy to move one coulomb of charge from one point to another.

[volts, V]W

VQ

VOLTAGE

Since it would be inconsequential to talk about the voltage established by the separation of a single electron, a package of electrons called a coulomb (C) of charge was defined as follows: One coulomb of charge is the total charge associated

with 6.242 x 1018 electrons. If a total of 1 joule (J) of energy is used to move the

negative charge of 1 coulomb (C), there is a difference of 1 volt (V) between the two points.

[volts, V]W

VQ

Example Problem 3

If 600J of energy are required to move 9.36x1019 electrons from one point to another, what is the potential difference between the two points?

[volts, V]W

VQ

VOLTAGE

Since the potential energy associated with a body is defined by its position, the term potential is often applied to define voltage levels. For example, the difference in potential is 4 V

between the two points, or the potential difference between a point and ground is 12 V, and so on.

VOLTAGE SOURCES

In general, dc voltage sources can be divided into three basic types: Batteries (chemical action or solar energy)Generators (electromechanical)Power supplies (rectification—a conversion

process to be described in your electronics courses).

What is Current? The rate of flow of charge is known as electric

current. The measure of current, an ampere is defined

as a rate of flow of one coulomb of charge per second.

[amperes, A]Q

It

Example Problem 4

If 840 coulombs of charge pass through the imaginary plane of below during a time interval of 2 minutes, what is the current?

[amperes, A]Q

It

Current direction Initially it was believed that current was the flow

of positive charges. This is called conventional current direction.

The actual flow of charge is by electrons (negative charge) called electron flow direction.

We will use conventional current.

CURRENTSafety Considerations

It is important to realize that even small levels of current through the human body can cause serious, dangerous side effects.

Experimental results reveal that the human body begins to react to currents of only a few milliamperes.

Although most individuals can withstand currents up to perhaps 10 mA for very short periods of time without serious side effects, any current over 10 mA should be considered dangerous.

CURRENT

In summary, therefore, the applied voltage (or potential difference) in an electrical/electronics system is the “pressure” to set the system in motion, and the current is the reaction to that pressure.

QUESTIONS