Introductory to Physics II (PHYS 102)

Lecture Notes
Important points to note:
 These notes are ONLY highlights of the important points that shall be given during
the lectures.
 They are compiled to help the students to follow during the lectures but should NOT
be used as a substitute for not attending lectures.

Electricity and Electric fields

Electricity is everyway around us, from the forces that hold atoms together, lighting in the
sky, glowing bulbs in our homes and offices and the nerve signals in our bodies. It is
therefore important to understand the basics of this phenomenon of electricity in this
technology age. Many times we know what electricity does, but are not so sure of what it is.

We begin this journey by looking at electricity that is not moving known as Electrostatics.
We will take a step by step approach because one concept builds on the other and hence is
important, we pay attention to every concept. We experience static electricity in many
situations, such as the sparks that fly when we open our bedding sheets during dry winter
days, and the sparks that fly when we comb our hair with plastic combs, or when we stroke
the fur of a cat or a dog, picking of small papers using plastic ruler after rubbing it with a dry
cloth. All these examples are cases which show electric interactions.

Electrical Force: By now we all know that everything on earth experiences a pull towards
the earth’s centre and without this force, which is known as gravitational force, everything
would fly away from the earth’s surface. Just as there is a force that keeps everything on
earth together there is also, yet another force called Electrical force that keeps materials
together because there exist charge particles, some that are positive (protons) and some
that are negative (electrons). Electric force is a field force meaning that the objects exerting
an electric force need not to be touching each other.

Electrical charge is the fundamental quantity that underlies all electrical phenomenon. The
attraction between the positive and negative particles is the reason why atoms come
together to form molecules which form matter.

 Did you know? Protons are 1800 times more massive than electrons – but have the
same amount of charge as an electron with an opposite sign.

Since atoms are made of protons and electrons, and we know that in the structure of the
atom, there is a nucleus made of protons and neutrons and the electrons are orbiting
around the nucleus. Why don’t the protons repel each other or pull the electrons into the
nucleus? The stability of an atom is better explained by quantum mechanics which treats
electrons as waves. The nucleus is stable because of another force called nuclear force,
which is stronger than electrical force. The neutrons help to keep the protons as far apart as
possible inside the nucleus.

 Fundamental rule in electrostatics: Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.

Conservation of charge - In neutral atoms the number of protons is equal to the number of
electrons. If an atom loses an electron, it becomes are charged ion, i.e. positively charged
because it will be having excess protons. Most materials generally have equal number
protons and electrons and hence are electrically neutral. However if some electrons are
removed or added to the material it will either become positively charged or negatively
charged. When charges are separate in an object the process is known as polarization of
charge or simply polarization. The amount of work required to remove or dislodge electrons
depends on the type of the material. Rubbers and plastics require more work to remove
electrons than what is required on human hair. This explains why combing one’s hair makes
the hair positively charged and the comb becomes negatively charged. Another example
would be to rub glass with silk, electrons will be transferred from the glass to silk, because
silk has a higher affinity for electrons than glass. In both examples it is important to note
that electrons are not created or destroyed, they are just transferred from one material to
the other. This is the law of conservation of charge. This law is applicable in small and big
systems, the conservation of charge is key in Physics just like the law of conservation of
energy and momentum. Electrical charge cannot be sub-divided into fractions it is always a
whole number multiple of the charge on an electron, and hence we say charge is quantised.

How do charged particles interact, when they are not in contact or placed at distance apart?
This is because each charged particle has a sphere of influence around it known as a field.
An electric field (E) is said to exist in the region of space around a charged object. An
electric field exerts an electric force on an object within the field.

The electric field E, produced by a charge Q at a location of a small test charge q o is defined
as the electric force F, exerted by Q on q o divided by the test charge q o

+ ++
+ E
F
Q qo E= Units ( N/C)
qo
Source Charge Test Charge

The direction of an electric field follows this known convention: points away from a positive
particle and points towards a negative particle. i.e. It assumes the direction of a positive test
charge.

An electric field just like Gravitation field is a vector field, i.e. it has magnitude and direction.
However, unlike Gravitational field, which is always pointing towards the centre of the
source of the filed, Electric field can either point towards (negative charge) or away (positive
charge) from the source of the field. While a temperature field is a scalar field.
Coulomb’s Law: In the eighteenth-century Charles Coulomb discovered that two charges
smaller than the distance between them can exert a force on each which is proportional to
the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between
them.

q1 q 2
F=k 2 ,
r

where r is the distance between the charges and q 1 andq 2 is the amount of charge on each
respective charge.k is the proportionality constant = 9 x 109 N.m2/C2

The unit of charge is the Coulomb (C) and 1C is the total charge of 6.25 billion billion
electrons.

Coulomb’s law is very similar to Newton’s law of gravitation, the big difference is that
gravitational forces are always attractive (because the masses are always positive) while
electrical forces can be repulsive or attractive (because charge can be negative or positive).
Another difference is the value of the proportional constant, in gravity G is very small 6.67 x
10-11 while for electrical force k is very large 9 x 10 9. This gives an indication why
gravitational forces are very weak while electrical forces are very strong.

F q1 q 2
Since E= and from Coulomb’s law F ¿ k , it follows that the Electric field at a
qo r
2

q1 qo
k 2
q1
position r where there is q2, E = r = k 2
r
qo

Class Exercise 1:

The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom are separated by 5.3 x 10 -11 m. (a) Find the
magnitudes of the electric force and gravitation force that each particle exerts on the other
and the ratio of the electric force F e to the gravitation force Fg. (b) Compute the acceleration
caused by the electric force of the proton on the electron. Repeat the same for the
gravitational acceleration.

Class Exercise 2:
Three charges lie along the x-axis as shown below. The positive charge q 1 = 15 µC is at χ =
2.0 m and the positive charge q2 = 6.0 µC is at the origin. Where must a negative charge q 3
be placed on the x – axis so that the resultant electric force on it is zero.

q2
q1
q3

Class Exercise 3:

Consider three-point charges at the corners of a triangle, as shown below.

4m
q2
q3

3m
5m

q1

q1 = 6.00 x 10 -9 C, q2 = - 2.00 x 10-9 C and q3 = 5.00 x 10 -9 C, (a) Find the components of the
F23 exerted by q2 on q3 . (b) Find the components of the force F13 exerted by q1 on q3. (C) Find
the resultant force on q3, in terms of components and in terms of magnitude and direction.

Conductors, Semiconductors and Insulators: Materials can be classified into to either

conductor, semiconductor or insulator, depending on whether the material can allow
current to flow through it or not. Conductors have electrons that are loose and can easily
move all over the material and hence conduct electricity, e.g. most metals. Insulators on the
other hand, have all the electrons tightly bound to their respective atoms and hence do not
conduct electricity. Examples of insulators are materials like glass, rubber, wood and plastic.
Semiconductors are materials that can be made to behave either as conductors (adding
small amounts of impurities) or as insulators when kept pure. Conductivity of
semiconductors is mid-way between that of conductors and that of insulators.

Superconductors: There is another class of materials called superconductors, these are

materials that exhibit zero resistance to the flow of current at very low temperatures. These
shall be discussed in higher level physics courses.

Charging – is a process whereby a material can be made to have net positive or negative
charge. This can be achieved in two ways, either by

(1) Physical contact / friction charging – electrons are transferred from one material to
the other by rubbing or touching the other material with one with excess electrons.
This issue points to the fact that charge is mobile, i.e. it can move from one material
to the other, see Fig (a) below.
(2) Induction – electrons are either repelled or attracted to a material by simply bringing
one that has excess or less electrons respectively near one that is not charged, see
Fig b to d below.

The illustrations below show both processes:

The Van de graaf generator (By Robert J. Van der Graaf) - 1929

Is a device that can be used to generate huge amounts of positive charge on a metallic
dome, which in turn can ionise air and cause some form of lightning bolts as the dome
discharges. This device uses the principles of charging by induction.

- Used extensively in nuclear physics research. Because they can produce

up to 20 million volts which is high enough to accelerate particles to
penetrate nuclei of atoms.
- A motor -driven pulley P moves a belt past positively charged comb-like
metallic needles positioned at A. Negative charges are attracted to these
needles from the belt, leaving the left side of the belt with a positive
charge. The positive charges attract electrons onto the belt with a net
positive charge. The positive charges attract electrons onto the belt as it
moves past a second comb of needles at B, increasing the excess positive
charge on the dome. Because the electric field inside the metal dome is
negligible, the positive charge on it can easily be increased regardless of
how much charge is already present.
- The accumulation of charge cannot continue indefinitely, at some point
becomes high enough that it begins to ionise the air around the dome
resulting in lightning bolts as charge leaks off the dome.
- To increase the amount of charge that can accumulate on the dome, it
can be done by increasing the radius of the dome i.e. reducing curvature.
Secondly cover the dome in a pressurized gas which cannot easily be
ionised.

The Millikan Oil-Drop Experiment (By Robert Andrew Millikan) - 1909

Is an experiment that can be used to measure the elementary charge and demonstrate the
quantised nature of charge (i.e. Charge comes in whole number multiples)
- Oil droplets that are negatively
charged by friction of mass m and
total charge q are made to drop
between two parallel plates which
can be charged by a battery to
ensure that there is a positive electric
field pulling the oil droplet upwards.
- The rate at which drop falls can be
measured and this can be used to
calculate the amount of charge q.
Electric Flux

Is a measure of how much the electric field vectors penetrate through a given surface, i.e.
number of field lines per given area or volume. The field lines must penetrate through the
surface, if they are tangent to the surface at all points then the electric flux through the
surface is zero.

In the diagram above, for a uniform electric field E, (uniform in both Magnitude and
direction), the electric field is proportional to number of field lines per unit A

N
Eα it follows that N α EA,
A

The product of E and A is called the electric flux with symbol Ф E=EA , the SI units are N.
m2/C.

If the surface under consideration is not perpendicular to the field, the flux

Ф E=EAcos ϴ (a uniform E field) (1)

Where ϴ is the angle between the normal to the surface and the field lines. This tells us
that the flux is dependent on the orientation of the area in question.
From equation 1, flux is maximum when ϴ is zero and minimum or zero when ϴ is 90.

The figure above shows that the number of flux lines emanating from the centre of the
volume depends on the enclosed charge regardless of the position of the charge inside the
volume or shape of the enclosing volume. What happens if the filed lines crosses the
volume more than once as shown below in (a).

To solve the case shown in (a) we treat the field lines as flux lines and assign direction to the
field lines. Those leaving from inside out have a positive sign while those leaving from
outside to inside have a negative sign.
By convention for a closed surface, flux lines passing into the interior of the volume are
negative and those passing out of the interior of the volume are positive. From this
convention it follows that the normal vector points out of the surface of the area in
question. This convention effectively means for any closed surface, the effective field line
flux is the number of outward lines crossing the surface minus the number of the inward
lines crossing the surface.

In the case when a charge particle is outside the surface, the net filed flux lines is zero as the
lines would enter and leave the surface and hence cancelling each other using the
convention above see figure (b) above.

Exercise:

1. Calculate the magnitude of the flux of a constant electric field of 5.00 N/C in the z-
direction through a rectangle with area 4.00 m2 in the xy-plane.

2. Flux through a closed cube with no charge inside.

Electric flux from a continuous distribution of charge

The cases above have been discussions on point charges, the next question is what happens
when there is a continuous distribution of charge. For simplicity we will begin by looking at
cases for objects with symmetry, like cylindrical rods or wires. Let’s consider a thin wire with
charge carriers right through the wire shown below.
If we want to find the electric field at point P, which is a distance x from the wire. First we
imagine the rod to be made of very small charges dq along the wire length y, these small
charges result in a small E field at P, dE. Because of the symmetry of the wire along the x-
axis we note that at point P, there are two dE emanating from dq, equal distances from x
below and above the x-axis. These two dE have y-components that cancel each other while
the x-components are additive in the x-axis. So adding the all these x-components for the
entire rod will give us the resultant field at P. The mathematical calculation shall be done in
class.

Electric Flux for non-uniform E field

To determine the electric flux for an irregular area in an non-uniform electric field

Ф E=∑ Ei .δA i

Ф E= lim
δAi → 0
∑ Ei . δA i = ∫ E . dA
For a closed surface this equation becomes

Ф E=∮ E . dA
Gauss Law:

Is a law that relates an electric field and its source, It is used to determine the electric field
from a charge distribution that has some kind of symmetry.

From earlier discussion the number of field lines that emanate from a positively charged
object or terminate on a negatively charged object is proportional to the charge carried by
the object. This tells us that the flux is related to the source of the charge.

Closed surfaces: In any closed volume/ surface, there is a charge inside, the number of field
lines emanating from the charge is the same regardless of where inside the surface the
particle is placed. This tells us that they is a relationship between the field lines that cross a
surface and the enclosed charge. The closed surfaces is known as the Gaussian surface, the
choice of the surface is determined by the symmetry of the situation at hand. However the
known or accepted convention is to choice a surface such that the electric field is the same
or zero everywhere to make calculations easier.

Gauss Law, the flux through the gaussian surface is equal to the enclosed charge divided
by permittivity ϵ o

q enclosed
Ф E=
ϵo

Gauss law is a direct consequence of Coulomb’s law with its 1/r 2 dependence and the
superposition of electric fields. Gauss law makes the calculation of E field for spherical,
cylindrical or planar symmetry easy without having to carry out any integration.
Class exercise

1. A spherical conducting shell of inner radius a and outer radius b carries a total charge
+Q distributed on the surface of a conducting shell, the quantity Q is taken to be
positive.
(a) Find the electric field in the interior of the conducting shell, for r < a, and
(b) the electric field outside the shell, for r > b.
(c) If an additional charge -2Q is placed at the centre, find the electric field for r > b.

2. Find the electric field above and below a nonconducting infinite plane sheet of
charge with uniform positive charge per unit area, σ.
 Work, Energy and Capacitance

So far in our introductory Physics we have already encountered the concept of potential
energy in gravitational forces or fields and in springs. In this chapter we look at how the
same concept is applied in solving problems relating to electricity. We begin our discussion
with potential energy as they relate to static point charges and later look at how charge is
stored in devices called capacitors.

Electric potential Energy and Electric potential

Electric potential energy is the energy that something has due to its position in an electric
field. On the other hand, electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit charge.
The former is a more general term while the latter is specific for a unit charge.

Work done in an Electric field

Previously we have learnt that if an object is moved in a conservative force F, the work done
by this force during this movement is only dependent on the initial and final positions of the
object and is independent of the path travelled. This means that the work done is equal to
the negative of the change in potential energy from initial to final position.

i.e. W = - Δ PE = - ( PEf −PEi)

As we have already seen the Coulomb law and gravitational law are very similar
mathematical, and it is known that the gravitational force is conservative, it tends out the
Coulomb force is also conservative. Frictional force is a good example of non-conservative
force, the work done by frictional force depends on the path of the movement. So the
electric potential energy can be associated with the Coulomb force. Let’s imagine a charged
particle moving between two parallel plates with a uniform field see figure below.
• There is a uniform field between the two plates.
• As the charge moves from A to B, work is done on it.
• W = F Δx =q E (x – x )
AB x x f i
• ΔPE = - W = - q E x
AB x
– Only for a uniform field for a particle that undergoes a displacement along a given axis
• SI unit of energy: Joule (J)

The work done by a conservative force can be reinterpreted as the negative of the change
in a potential energy associated with that force.

ΔPE = - W = - q E x (eq 1)
AB x

This equation above (eq 1) is only valid for a charge moving in a uniform field in the x-
direction or along the direction of the E field. Later we will consider cases in which the
electric field is not uniform.

For now it is important to note that a positive charge in an electric field behaves or acts
exactly like a mass in a gravitational field. A positive charge moves in positive electric field
exactly like a mass would move in gravitational field. A negative charge however would
move in the opposite direction. A positive charge will accelerate in the direction of the E
field, but a negative charge will have to be pushed in the direction of the E field (i.e. an
external force will be required).
Class exercise

1. A proton is released from rest at x = -2.00 cm in a constant electric field with

magnitude 1.50 x 103 N/C, pointing in the positive x – direction. (a) Calculate the
change in the electric potential energy associated with the proton when it reaches x
= 5.00 cm. (b) An electron is now fired in the same direction from the same position.
What is the change in electric potential energy associated with the electron if it
reaches x = 12.0 cm? (c) If the direction of the electric field is reversed and an
electron is released from rest at x = 3.00 cm, by how much has the electric potential
energy changed when the electron reaches x = 7.00 cm?
2. (a) Find the speed of the proton at x = 0.050 m in part (a) of the question 1. (b) Find
the initial speed of the electron (at x = -2.00 cm) in part (b) of question 1 given that
its speed has fallen by half when it reaches x = 0.120 m.

Electric Potential

In the previous section we talked about the change in potential energy in a conservative E
field is equal to the work done. What will the change in electric potential (Δ V), be, known as
electric potential difference be?

The electric potential difference (ΔV) between points A and B is the change in electric
potential energy as a charge q moves from A to B divided by the charge q.

∆ PE
∆ V =V B −V A =
q

The SI unit is the volt (J/C, or Volt (V)). Because electric potential energy is a scalar, electric
potential is also a scalar. Potential difference is an important quantity in electronics and
unlike electric potential, potential difference can be measured easily using a voltmeter.

From earlier discussions for a parallel plate case, we saw that

Δ PE = q E x ∆ x if we divide both side by q. It follows that

ΔV = E x ∆ x for a parallel plate case.

This shows that the units of electric potential difference has units of E field times distance. It
therefore follows that the unit units for E field (1 N/C) = 1 V/m.
Applications

A battery in a motor vehicle is one good example of electric potential in everyday

application. The terminals of the battery have a potential difference of 12 V. This battery
drives the current through the electrical devices such as headlights, radio, windows etc. In
this process, suppose a current of 1 C is moved around the circuit, the work done in 1 S is 12
J. The actual amount of charge that leaves the battery each second and traverses the circuit
depends on the properties of the external devices, as shall be discussed later.

Class Exercise

In cyclotrons, charged particles are accelerated in much the same way they are accelerated
in TV tubes, through potential difference. Suppose a proton is injected at a speed of 1.00 x
106 m/s between two plates 5.00 cm apart. Suppose the two plates have holes in the
middles and the proton subsequently accelerates across the hole and exits through the
opening. (a) What must the electric potential difference be if the exit speed is to be 3.00 x
106 m/s? (b) What is the electric field between the plates, assuming its constant? The
positive x-direction is from the back to front plate.

Electric Potential of a point Charge

The electric field of point charges extends through out into space, it therefore follows that
the electric potential of a point charge also extends into the space. But how does it change
as one moves from the point charge? It turns out from calculus that the electric potential is
inversely proportional to the distance from the point charge in contrast to the E field which
varies as the inverse of the square of the distance.

q
V =k
r

A point of zero potential is a point that is very far from the point charges such that it can be
considered to be at infinity distance.

The electric potential at a point due to several number of point charges is the algebraic sum
of the potential due to the individual points. This is not surprising because electric potential
is a scalar quantity. When we know the electric potential at a point P near charge q, what
will be the work required to bring a particle of charge q 2 to P. The work done will be V
multiplied by q 2 . Therefore the general formula will be

q q2
W =PE=V q 2=k
r

Class exercise

A 5.00 μC point charge is at the origin, and a point charge q 2 = -2.00 μC is on the x-axis at
(3.00, 0) m, as shown in the figure below. (a) If the electric potential is taken to be zero at
infinity, find the electric potential due to these charges at point P with coordinates (0, 4.00)
m. (b) How much work is required to bring a third point charge of 4.00 μC from infinity to P?

Y (m)

x (m)

Equipotential surfaces

So far we have seen that we can determine the electric potential at various points in an
electric field. It turns out, there are points in the electric field that have the same electric
potential, because they will be the same distance from the source of the field. Such points in
two or three dimensions will make what is known as the Equipotential surface. In one
dimension it will be an equipotential line, i.e. dotted lines below.
If an object moves along an equipotential line, its electric potential does not change, this
means the work done for this object as it moves along the equipotential line is zero.

For a multiple of charge sources, the equipotential lines will look like the contour lines on a
map. See the figures below.

If one moves along the same contour line, their gravitational potential energy will not
change just as it is if an object moves along an equipotential line.

Work done in a nonuniform electric field

If a charged particle moves in a nonuniform field, the work done on this particle by the field
will now depend upon the path moved since the field is different at every point. In this case
we make use calculus to determine the work. The approach is to divide the path taken into
infinitesimally small lengths dl and then integrate the over the entire path.
 B
W ( A → B ) =∫ F . dl
A

Where F is the electric force exerted by particle 1 on particle 2 and dl is an infinitesimal

segment of the path. This integral is generally not easy to find, because the force and angle
between force and dl changes at every point along the path. To simplify this calculation, we
often choose an alternative path for which F and dl and the angle can be easily calculated. In
the case shown in the figure above, if we choose the path A – C to B. The force is the
Coulomb force while the distance dl = dr. r. Along the path A to C its along the equipotential
so the work done this circular path is zero. The path of concern becomes along C to B which
is opposite to the direction of the E field.

1 q 1 q2 1 q1q2
F . dl= 2
. ( dr r )= . dr
4π ϵ0 r 4 π ϵ0 r 2

rB
q q 1
Therefore W ( C → B )= 1 2 ∫ 2 . dr
4 π ϵ0 r r c
 Capacitors

A capacitor is device that stores electric charge and has many applications in electric
circuits, such as to tune the frequency of radio receivers, smoothing of electric signals in
power systems, and electronic flash units. In practice it consists of two parallel plates
separated by an insulating material and in some cases this insulating material can be air.
When a capacitor is connected to a battery, electric charge is drawn from one plate and
deposited on the other plate, making one plate positively charged while the other is
negatively charged. This process will stop when the potential difference across the plates is
equal to the potential difference of the battery.

Capacitance is defined as the amount of charge that can be stored per unit voltage which is
the potential difference between the plates.

Q
C=
V

The SI unit for capacitance is the Farad (F) = coulomb per volt (C/V).
In practice 1F is a very big unit, such that most capacitors have only a capacitance in the
micro (µF), and picofarads (pF) range. It is important to note that the capacitance
dependence on the geometry of the conductors or plates that make the capacitor as result
it can be defined in terms of the cross-sectional area and the separation of the plates.

A
C=ϵ 0
d

ϵ 0 is the permittivity of free space, if the space between the plates is filled with a dielectric

material which is not air, we replace this permittivity with the relative permittivity ϵ r of that
material.

They are many applications of capacitors and one good example is the key pads of most
computer systems, at the bottom is a plate and on top is the other plate, when a key is
pressed the capacitance changes and the electronic circuits recognises this change when a
key is pressed.

In electric circuits a capacitor is represented by the following symbols

or for an electrolytic capacitor

Class exercise

A parallel plate capacitor has an area A = 2.00 x 10 -4 m2 and a plate separation d = 1.00 x 10 -3
m (a) Find its capacitance. (b) How much charge is on the positive plate if the capacitor is
connected to a 3.00 V battery. (c) the charge density on the positive plate assuming the
density is uniform, and (d) the magnitude of the electric field between the plates.

Combination of Capacitors

In practice capacitors are made with certain standard values such 10 pF, 10 μF, 25 μF or 50
μF. However when applying these it is possible to get any value you want by using a
combination of capacitors connected either in series or in parallel.

Capacitors in Parallel

Two capacitors, in parallel, have the same potential difference across them as shown in the
figure above. When a battery is connected to the two capacitors, total charge Q is
transferred to both with each capacitor having charge Q1∧Q2 .

Q=Q 1+Q2

But Q1=C 1 ∆ V and Q2=C 2 ∆ V since Q=C eq ∆V

It follows that

C eq ∆ V =C 1 ∆ V +C 2 ∆ V
 Meaning that C eq=C 1 +C 2

This means that the equivalent capacitance of parallel combination of capacitors is larger
than any of the individual capacitances.

Capacitors in series

Capacitors in series, will have the same charge -Q on one plate and +Q on the other plates.
The voltage drop across each capacitor will depend on the value of each capacitor, but the
total voltage will be:

∆ V =∆ V 1 +∆ V 2

Q Q Q
But ∆ V 1= and ∆ V 2= and we know that ∆ V =
C1 C2 C eq

Q Q Q
It follows that = +
Ceq C 1 C2

The final equation for capacitors in series will be

1 1 1
= +
Ceq C 1 C2
This means that the equivalent capacitance of a series combination of capacitors is smaller
than any of the individual capacitances.

Class exercise

1. (a) Determine the capacitance of the single capacitor that is equivalent to four
capacitors in parallel, whose values are 3 μF, 6 μF, 12 μF and 24 μF connected to a
18.0 V battery. (b) Find the charge on the 12 μF capacitor, (c) the total charge
contained in the configuration. (d) Derive a symbolic expression for the fraction of
the total charge contained on one of the capacitors.
2. The same capacitors in question 1 are connected in series with the same battery. (a)
Calculate the capacitance of the equivalent capacitor. (b) Compute the charge on the
12 μF capacitor. (C) Find the voltage drop across the 12 μF capacitor.

Energy in a Capacitor

Capacitors store electrical energy, and that energy is the same as the work required to move
charge onto the plates. So in the process of charging a capacitor the work done to transfer
charge depends on the voltage (potential difference) across the plates and the amount of
charge to be transferred. We know that for a capacitor the potential difference ∆ V = Q/C, a
plot of voltage versus total charge gives a straight line with a slope of 1/C.

∆V

∆Q
Q

From the graph the work done is the area under the curve which is the area of a triangle.

1
W= Q∆V
2

This work done is the electrical energy stored in the capacitor. From the definition of
capacitance, it follows that the energy stored in the capacitor.
 2
1 1 2 Q
E= Q ∆ V = C V =
2 2 2C

Class exercise

A fully charged defibrillator contains 1.2 kg of energy stored in a 1.10 x 10 -4 F capacitor. In a

discharge through a patient, 6.00 x 10 2 J of electrical energy is delivered in 2.50 ms. (a) Find
the voltage needed to store 1.2 kJ in the unit. (b) What average power is delivered to the
patient?

Capacitors with dielectrics

A dielectric is an insulating material, such as plastic, rubber or wax, its effect on a capacitor
is that it increases the capacitance of the capacitor. If the space between the plates of a
capacitor is filled completely with a dielectric material, the capacitance is multiplied by a
factor of k, which is known as the dielectric constant.

When now look at how this happens quantitatively, lets consider a capacitor without a
dielectric material with charge Q0 , capacitance C 0 and voltage across the plates of V 0 .
Suppose the capacitor is not connected to anything, which means that the charge remains
the same, now if we insert a dielectric material between the plates, the voltage will drop by
V0
, since the charge remains the same, it follows that the capacitance will change.
k

Q0 Q0 Q0
C= = =k =k C 0
V V0 V0
k

A similar expression for the new capacitance can be derived showing how this capacitance
depends on the geometry of the capacitor.

A
C=k ϵ 0
d
Class exercise

1. A parallel plate capacitor has plates 2.0 cm by 3.0 cm. The plates are separated by a
1.0 mm thickness of paper. Find (a) the capacitance of this device and (b) the
maximum charge that can be placed on the capacitor. (c) After the fully charged
capacitor is disconnected from the battery, the dielectric is subsequently removed.
Find the new electric field across the capacitor, does the capacitor discharges.
2. A parallel plate capacitor has dielectrics with constant k1 and k2 between the two
plates. Each dielectric fills exactly half the volume between the plates. Derive
expressions for (a) the potential difference between the two plates and (b) the
resulting capacitance of the system.

Magnetism

We are all familiar with the interactions of a magnet with paper clips or anything that has
iron such as iron fillings or refrigerator doors where we normally stick some plastic fruit
imitations. The subject of magnetism is very important and as we will later see, there is a
close relationship between electricity and magnetism, and this will bring us to the subject of
electromagnetism. Electromagnetism is the backbone of most modern technology from
radio waves, the light that enables us to see each other, telecommunications industry and
many others. For simplicity in this course we are studying electricity and magnetism
separately, but we will later discuss the connection between the two at a later stage.
A magnet can be defined in simple terms as any object which attracts pieces of iron, the
word is derived from the Greek word magnesia a province in ancient Greece where
magnetite was mined. One significant property of a magnet is that it has two ends, at which
the magnetic strength is more or stronger than every way else, and these ends are called
magnetic poles, one end is called the North pole while the other is called the South pole.

The convention of North and South pole was chosen because when a freely suspended bar
magnet is allowed to settle, one side will point towards the earth’s north pole, that side is
called the North pole, and the other side will then automatically be the South pole pointing
towards the South pole.

Another property of magnets is that Like poles repel each other and unlike poles attract, a
rule that is similar to electrostatic interactions. Magnets do not interact with non magnets
but there are materials that can be induced with magnetism, i.e. made to behave like
magnets, by magnetic polarisation. Some materials can retain the magnetism longer after
being polarized (Paramagnetism & Ferromagnetism) while others lose it after a shorter time.

One big difference between electrostatic charges and magnetic poles, is that we cannot
separate the magnetic poles into two separate entities unlike electric charges. Cutting a
bar magnet produces a new pair of N and S poles, it doesn’t matter how small you make the
pieces. You can cut down to atomic scale, experiments have shown that atoms of Iron,
Nickel and Cobalt still behaves like magnets. (Iron, Nickel and Cobalt are elements which
makes permanent magnets). So the elementary atoms which make magnets are called
elementary magnets.

Illustration of how cutting a magnet produces a new set of N and S poles.

Many efforts and experiments have gone into trying to separate the North and South poles,
but all have failed, and the conclusion for now is that magnetic monopoles do not exist.

Earth’s Magnetic field

As we have said earlier, a freely suspended bar magnet will have one end settling towards
the geographical north and as such can be called the North seeking pole, while the other
end is the South seeking pole. The conclusion therefore is the geographic north pole of the
Earth corresponds to a magnetic south pole, and the geographic south pole of Earth
corresponds to a magnetic north pole.

The figure above shows what will be observed if a huge bar magnetic was buried deep in the
Earth’s interior. The actual Earth’s south pole is located north of Hudson Bay in Canada and
if you suspend a bar magnet there it will point directly into the ground at 90 o with the
horizontal, this point is 1300 miles from Earth’s geographic north. It is believed that the
source of the Earth’s magnetism is the electric current in the liquid part of the inner core.
The difference between the truth (Geographical North) and the North pole indicated by a
compass varies from point to point and this difference is called Magnetic declination.

Magnetic Field

Just like we saw in the previous chapter, the area around a magnet has what is called a
magnetic field. This is the region in which a magnetic force is experienced; magnets have a
long-range effect because of this field. The magnetic field around a bar magnet can be
represented by field lines as shown below. The B is used to denote a magnetic field.
The convention is that the lines emanate from the North pole towards the South poles.
Analogous to electrostatics, the North pole is like a positive charge. The magnitude or
strength of a magnetic field is associated with the density of magnetic field lines. Another
important difference between electricity and magnetism is that

The magnetic field line flux through a closed surface is always zero. This is because each
field line leaving a closed surface that encloses an elementary magnet re-enters the surface
somewhere else. This is a direct consequence of the absence of magnetic monopoles.

Charged particle in a Magnetic field

When a charged particle moves in a magnetic field, it experiences a magnetic force. On the
contrary a stationary charged particle will not experience any force. This force depends on
the amount of charge on the particle, velocity of the charged particle, and the angle
between the B field and the velocity of the particle.

F=qvB sin ϴ

This expression is also used to define the magnetic field

F N
B= =
qv sin ϴ C . m/s

The IS unit for magnetic field is the tesla (T), also called weber per square meter.

It has been observed that a charged particle will describe a circular path when it moves in a
magnetic field. The direction can be determined by applying the left-hand rule.
 Motion

Since the particle will be moving in circular motion the magnetic force acts as the centripetal
force and therefore the above equation can be equated to:

2
mv
F=qvB=
r

where r is the radius of the circular path. From this equation it follows that the radius of the
circular path can be expressed as

mv
r= commonly known as the cyclotron equation
qB

If the particle enters the magnetic field at an angle not 90 o, it will describe a spiral motion
called a helix along the magnetic field.

Class exercise

1. A proton moves at 8.00 x 106 m/s along the x-axis. It enters a region in which there is
a magnetic field of magnitude 2.5 T, directed at an angle of 60 o with the axis and
lying in the xy-plane
 (a) Find the initial magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on the proton.
(b) Calculate the proton’s initial acceleration.

2. A charged particle enters the magnetic field of a mass spectrometer at a speed of

1.79 x 106 m/s. It subsequently moves in a circular orbit with a radius of 16.0 cm in a
uniform magnetic field of magnitude 0.35 T having a direction perpendicular to the
particle’s velocity. Find the particle’s mass to charge ratio and identify it based on
the table below.

Nucleus m/q (kg/C)

Hydrogen 1.04 x 10-8
Deuterium 2.09 x 10-8
Tritium 3.13 x 10-8
Helium 1.57 x 10-8

Magnetic force on a current carrying conductor

If a magnetic force is exerted on a single moving charged particle, what happens if the
charged particle is moving in a wire and the wire is placed in a magnetic field? It should be
correct to assume that the wire will also experience a magnetic force depending on the
number of the charged particles moving in the wire. The force on each particle is
transmitted to the bulk of the wire through collisions with the atoms making up the wire.
This phenomenon can be demonstrated by placing a current carrying conductor in a
magnetic field, it is observed that the wire will be deflected left or right depending on the
direction of the current. See the illustration below.
The direction of the force can be determined using the Flemings left hand rule which is
illustrated below.

To quantify this force, lets consider a straight wire segment of length l and cross-sectional
area A, carrying a current I in a uniform magnetic field B.

Total force = force on each charge carrier x total number of carriers

F=(q v d B)(nAl )

It is known that the current in the wire is given by

 I =nq v d

It follows that

F=BIl

This is only relevant when the current and magnetic field are at right angles to each other. If
the angle is not 90o but at some arbitrary angle ϴ.

F=BIlsin ϴ

ϴ is the angle between B and the direction of the current.

The way a magnetic force acts on a current carrying conductor, is the principle behind sound
speakers, a coil of wire is stuck to a diaphragm and is inserted between two magnets. When
electrical current of certain frequency flows through the coil, it causes the diaphragm to
vibrate thus converting the current to sound.

Class exercise

A wire carries a current of 22.0 A from west to east. Assume the magnetic field of the Earth
at this location is horizontal and directed from south to north and it has a magnitude of 0.5 x
10-4 T. (a) Find the magnitude and direction of the magnetic force on a 36.0 m length of
wire. (b) Calculate the gravitational force on the same length of wire if it’s made of copper
and has a cross sectional area of 2.5 x 10-6 m2.

Magnetic Torque

We have already seen that a current carrying conductor will experience a force when it is in
a magnetic field. When this conductor is made into a loop, it can be shown that a torque is
exerted on the loop. Let’s consider a rectangular loop carrying current I in the presence of
an external magnetic field.

The force on the sides of the loop that are parallel to the loop is zero, while on those that
are perpendicular to the loop the force is

F=BIl where l is the length of each side

From the figure in the previous page, the Force on the two sides are equal but in opposite
direction, and hence this causes a torque on the loop if it is pivoted on some in the middle.

The magnitude of the torque is

a a
τ max=F 1 + F 2
2 2

Where a is the distance between the two sides of the loop experiencing a force and F 1 and
F 2 are the forces on each side. Since the force on each side is F=BIl it follows that the
total torque is

τ max=BIla

This result is only true if the magnetic field is parallel to the plane of the loop or
perpendicular to the sides of the loop. If the loop is at some arbitrary angle with the field,
then the torque will be

τ =BIla sin ϴ
If the wire loop is made up of several N loops, the total torque is

τ =N ¿

The quantity μ = IAN is called the magnetic moment of the coil, in this case A is the area
covered by the loop.

Hence τ =μBsinϴ

The torque is always perpendicular to the magnetic moment and the B field.

The concept of torque experienced by current carrying conductors is the basis on which
electric motors work. In practical electric motors the current must always continuously be
reversing in direction to keep the rotation in specific direction. In DC motors, the continuous
rotation in one direction is achieved using split rings called a commutator.

Class exercise

1. A circular wire loop of radius 1.00 m is placed in a magnetic field of magnitude 0.500
T. The normal to the plane of the loop makes an angle of 30 o with magnetic field. The
current in the loop is 2 A in the direction shown in the figure. (a) Find the magnetic
moment of the loop and the magnitude of the torque at this instant. (b) The same
current is carried by the rectangular 2 m by 3 m coil with three loops. Find the
magnetic moment of the coil and the magnitude of the torque acting on the coil at
that instant.
μ
B

r y
x
Ampere’s law

The connection between electricity and magnetism was first observed by a Danish Scientist
Hans Oersted who discovered that a current carrying wire deflected a compass needle, this
observation indicated that electricity flowing in a wire produces a magnetic field.

After more experiments it was then discovered and quantified the magnetic field produced
by the current carrying conductor is given by

μo I
B=
2 πr

Where the constant μo is called the permeability of free space and is equal to 4π x 10−7 T.
m/A. The direction can be determined by using the right-hand rule or the corkscrew rule.
The above equation is valid for a straight wire carrying a current. To find the magnetic field
produced any shape of wire, a general procedure to do so, was provided by Andre
Ampere, now what is known as Ampere’s law.

Let’s consider a case where some wire of arbitrary shaped carrying a current I, if we take an
arbitrary closed path around the wire, and we split it into small segments ΔƖ . Multiplying
one of these segments with the parallel component of the magnetic field and summing over
the entire closed loop, according to Ampere, this will be equal to the current in the wire
times the permeability constant.
Ampere’s circuit law can therefore be expressed mathematically as

∑ B¿/ ¿∆ l =μo I ¿
This law describes how electric currents create magnetic field in the surrounding empty
space. If we apply Ampere’s law for a straight conductor carrying a current, we observe that
the magnetic field experience by each small segment of length is B meaning and is the same
right round the circle.

Therefore ∑ B¿/ ¿∆ l =B ¿/¿ ∑ ∆ l =B (2 πr )=μ I ¿ ¿

o

And hence

μo I
B=
2 πr

Class exercise

A coaxial cable consists of an insulated wire carrying current I 1 = 3.00 A surrounded by a

cylindrical conductor carrying current I 2 = 1.00 A in the opposite direction. (a) Calculate the
magnetic field inside the cylindrical conductor at r∫ ¿¿ = 0.5 cm. (b) Calculate the magnetic
field outside the cylindrical conductor at r ext = 1.5 cm.

Magnetic Fields of current loops and Solenoids

When a current carrying conductor is made into a loop, the strength of the magnetic field
produced will be increased. So, when strong magnetic field are required it is necessary that
the wire be made into several loops. The direction of the produced field is again determined
using the right-hand rule, in which the Thumb finger points in the direction of the field and
the other curling fingers point in the direction of the current.

The magnetic field produced by such a loop can be calculated using calculus and can be
shown to be:

μo I
B=
2R

Each segment of the wire contributes to the magnetic field experienced at the centre of the
loop, this is what makes the magnetic field at the centre stronger. In many electrical
applications, in which insulated wires carrying currents in opposite directions are twisted
together as shown below. The reason for this is that if the wires are not twisted the
combination of the two wires forms a current loop which produces strong magnetic fields
that might affect the nearby circuits, but if the wires are twisted, the produced magnetic
fields tend to cancel each other.

Magnetic Field of a Solenoid

A solenoid is a long wire made into several coils that are closely packed loops. Sometimes it
is referred to as an electromagnet, because it can produce strong magnetic fields depending
on the amount of the electrical current flowing through it. The magnetic field is proportional
to the current and the number of coils per unit length.

B=μ o∋¿

Where n is the number of turns per unit length i.e. N /l , l is the length of the solenoid and N
is the number of turns.

A lot of our everyday equipment uses electromagnets or solenoids, instruments such as

electron microscopes, X-ray machines, car alternators, ignition keys etc.

Class exercise

A certain solenoid consists of 100 turns of wire and has a length of 10 cm. (a) Find the
magnitude of the magnetic field inside the solenoid when it carries a current of 0.5 A. (b)
What is the momentum of a proton orbiting inside the solenoid in a circle with a radius of
0.02 m? The axis of the solenoid is perpendicular to the plane of the orbit. (c) Approximately
how much wire would be needed to build this solenoid? Assume the solenoid’s radius is
5.00 cm.

Magnetic Domains

We have seen that moving charge which is current produces a magnetic field, since in atoms
we have electrons moving around the nucleus, this constitutes moving charge, it is therefore
logical to assume that electrons will produce a strong magnetic field at the centre of the
atom. The reality however is that the magnetic field is very weak or zero in most materials,
this is because in most materials electrons pair up and a revolving or spinning in opposite
directions. And by so doing the magnetic fields produced cancel each other.

There are materials (such as Iron, Nickel and Cobalt) however in which there is strong
coupling between atoms such that the spinning of electrons does not lead to the
cancellation but instead there is alignment of the Spins in certain areas. The areas in
which this happens they are called magnetic domains. Such materials are called
Ferromagnetic materials and when not exposed to a magnetic field the magnetic domains
are in random orientation, but when exposed to a magnetic field the magnetic domains
align, making the material magnetic.

Some materials do not lose this magnetism and are called permanent magnets while
materials like Iron are called soft magnets because they lose the magnetism easily.

Iron is used to enhance or increase the magnetic field produced by solenoids, because when
it is inserted at the core of the solenoid it gets magnetised as the domains align. As soon as
the current is switched off, it loses the magnetism. And hence it can be used to make an
electric bell.

Induced Voltages and Inductance

The discovery of the connection between magnetic fields and electric current led to the
revolution that brought electricity in our homes and industries. This began by Hans Christian
Oersted who discovered that an electric current exerted a force on a magnetic compass,
showing that an electric current was producing a magnetic field. This discovery led to ideas
that magnetic fields could produce an electric current, and from this idea electric current
generators were born, which power and drives our economies.

Induced EMF and Magnetic flux

Despite the discoveries by Oersted, it was Michael Faraday who discovered that a changing
magnetic field could produce an electric current using the set-up shown below.

When the switch in the diagram above is closed, the current in the primary coil, produces a
magnetic field which induces a current in the secondary coil, from the diagram its clear that
there is no battery in the secondary circuit. The current observed in the secondary circuit is
such that it is only observed at the instant when the switch is closed or opened. When the
switched remains closed there is not current induced. The conclusion from this observation
is that, the Induced current is as a result of the CHANGING magnetic field. At the instant of
closing or opening the switch the current is increasing or decreasing respectively, and this
results in the changing magnetic field. The induced current is a results of a voltage
developed in the secondary coil, and this voltage is known as the induced electromotive
force (emf).

Magnetic Flux

In order to quantify the amount of the induced emf, we need to understand the factors that
affect this phenomenon. Earlier we saw that electric fields are associated with an electric
flux, similarly magnetic field have a magnetic flux associated with them. Magnetic flux just
like an electric flux is proportional to the strength of the field and the area of the loop it is
penetrating.

Ф B=BA cos ϴ

The angle ϴ, the angle between the normal to the area and the magnetic field lines.

The SI unit for flux is the weber (Wb).

The equation above tells us that they are three things that can be changed to change the
magnetic flux, i.e. the strength of the field, the area of the loop and the orientation of the
area with regards to the B field.

Class exercise
A conducting circular loop of radius 0.25 m is placed in the xy-plane in a uniform magnetic
field of 0.36 T that points in the positive z -direction, the same direction as the normal to the
plane. (a) Calculate the magnetic flux through the loop. (b) Suppose the loop is rotated
clockwise around the x-axis, so the normal direction now points at a 45 o angle with respect
to the z-axis. Recalculate the magnetic flux through the loop. (c) What is the change in flux
due to the rotation of the loop?

Faraday’s Law of Induction and Lenz’s Law

From his experiments Faraday concluded that the induced emf is equal to the rate of change
of the magnetic flux with respect to time. The direction of the induced emf was found to be
always opposite the change producing it, and this fact is now known as Lenz’s law.

Δ ФB
Ɛ=−N
Δt

The above equation is known as Faraday’s law of induction and the negative sign in the
equation is Lenz’s law. N is the number of turns, of the wire loop.

From Lenz’s law if the magnetic flux producing a current is increasing the induced current
will produce a magnetic field to opposing that increase, i.e. a flux in the opposite direction
for a certain interval of time. The direction of the induced current can be determined using
the right-hand rule.

Class exercise

A coil with 25 turns of wire is wrapped on a frame with a square cross section 1.80 cm on a
side. Each turn has the same area, equal to that of the frame, and the total resistance of the
coil is 0.350 Ω. An applied uniform magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane of the coil, as
shown below. (a) If the field changes uniformly from 0.00 T to 0.500 T in 0.800 s, what is the
induced emf in the coil while the field is changing? Find (b) the magnitude and (c) the
direction of the induced current in the coil while the field is changing.

Z
B
Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI)

Is an electrical safety device which uses Faraday’s law to protect users of electrical devices
in case of short circuits. A sensing coil, due to an induced current is used to activate a circuit
breaker in the event that there is an electrical short circuit.

The induced current that is developed in the sensing coil, will be as a result of changing
magnetic from one of the wires that is powering an electrical device. Under normal
operation, wire 1 and 2 will be supplying power to a device, and the current will be in the
opposite directions resulting in net zero magnetic field. When there is a short circuit, the
return path will not have current and as a result the AC current in one wire results in a
changing magnetic field which induces a current in the sensing coil.

There many devices that uses the Faraday principle of induction from Electric guitars, Apnea
monitors, used to monitor the breathing of a baby to detect when a baby suddenly stops
breathing in sleep, a phenomenon known as Sudden Infant death syndrome. The most well-
known use of Faraday’s principle of Induction is the generation of electricity at power
stations. We will discuss this at a later stage.

Motional EMF

In the cases above we have been looking at the induction of emf due to a changing magnetic
field. However, an induced current can be obtained when a conductor is made to move
inside a constant magnetic field. Lets consider a straight wire of length l moving with a
constant velocity through a uniform field directed into the plane of the paper. If the wire is
moving perpendicular to the field, a magnetic force = qvB will act on the electrons in the
wire, moving them to the lower end of the wire, leaving a net positive charge at the other
end.

This results in an electric field produced in the conductor, result in an induced current. It can
be shown that the induced emf is equal to

Ɛ=Blv sin ϴ

Where the angle ϴ is the angle between the field and the velocity of the moving wire.

The above arrangement is more useful when the moving wire is part of a closed loop, it can
then be used to power an external circuit. This type of set-up illustrates how a changing area
results in a changing magnetic flux.
The above equation is true if the field is perpendicular to the motion.

Class exercise

An airplane with a wingspan of 30.0 m flies due north at a location where the downward
component of Earth’s magnetic field is 0.600 x 10 -4 T. There is also a component pointing
due north that has a magnitude of 0.470 x 10 -4 T. (a) Find the difference in potential
between the wingtips when the speed of the plane is 2.50 x 10 2 m/s. (b) Which wingtip is
positive?

Electric Generators
They transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. They normally consist of many
loops of wire rotating between static magnetic fields. The mechanical energy required to
rotate the coils is provided by many sources, such as Steam (Thermal power station), falling
water (Hydro power station).
If the coil is rotating the force on the charge carriers in the wire will be
F=qvB
The rotational nature of the coil results in an ac current and the current direction will be
changing every ½ a cycle.
ξ=2 Blv sin ϴ

The two is because each side of the loop produces Blv and therefore for the two sides we
add them.
If the coil is rotating in a uniform B field with constant angular velocity ω. And we know that
v=r ω∧also ϴ=ωt .The induced e.m.f

ξ=2 Bl ( a2 ) ω sin ωt = Bla ω sin ω t

Where a is the length of the sides of the wire loop.

If a coil has N turns, the emf is N times as large because each loop has the same emf induced
in it. Further, because the area of the loop is A = la , the total emf is

ξ=N BA ω sin ω t

ξ = ξ o sinωt where ξ o=NBAω is the amplitude.

The frequency of the ac supply or generator is f = ω/2π and in most SADC countries is 50Hz.

DC generator

It operates in the same way as an AC generator described above, the only difference is in
the commutator, the AC generator uses continuous slip rings that are always in contact with
the brushes, whereas in the DC generator the commutator is split into two and as such it
tapes half a cycle of the induced current.

Class exercise

An AC generator consists of eight turns of wire, each having area A = 0.090 m 2, with a total
resistance of 12.0 Ω. The coil rotates in a magnetic field of 0.500 T at a constant frequency
of 60.0 Hz, with axis of rotation perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field. (a) Find
the maximum induced emf. (b) What is the maximum induced current? (c) Determine the
induced emf and current as functions of time. (d) What maximum torque must be applied to
keep the coil turning?

Motors and Back emf

Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy (rotational motion). The
electric current causes the armature to rotate, the rotation of armature in a magnetic field
results in an induced emf which opposes the rotation. This induced emf is known as back
emf.
 This emf is proportional to the angular velocity ω.

N.B. the back emf is in the same circuit as the applied current, see diagram below.
Back emf ξ

Motor windings

V
Class exercise

A motor has coils with a resistance of 10.0 Ω and is supplied by a voltage of ΔV = 1.2 x 10 2 V.
When the motor is running at its maximum speed, the back emf is 70.0 V. Find the current in
the coils (a) when the motor is first turned on and (b) when the motor has reached its
maximum rotation rate.

Self-Inductance

In any electrical circuit with a load such as a resistor or coil of wire, when the battery is
switched on the current does immediately increase from zero to maximum at that instant.
Instead there is a delay which is due to the Faraday induction process, this effect is called
Self-inductance. In a single coil a changing current induces an emf which produces a current
to oppose what is producing it. The magnetic flux is proportional to the magnetic field,
which is proportional to the current in the coil. Therefore the self-induced emf must be
proportional to the rate of change of the current with time,

∆I
Ɛ=−L
∆t

L is the proportionality constant called the Inductance of the device and its SI units is the
Henry (H). The negative sign indicates that a changing current induces an emf in opposition
to the change. The inductance can be expressed as:

ΦB
L=N
I

Class exercise

(a) Calculate the inductance of a solenoid containing 300 turns if the length of the
solenoid is 25.0 cm and its cross-sectional area is 4.00 x 10 -4 m2. (b) Calculate the self-
induced emf in the solenoid described in apart (a) If the current in the solenoid
decreases at the rate of 50.0 A/s.
RL Circuit

An ideal inductor has no resistance but in reality, every inductor has some resistance and
therefore the true circuit is an RL circuit.

When the switch is closed, the voltage drop across the resistor
∆I
∆ V R = - IR and across the inductor Ɛ=−L
∆t

The sum of the voltage drops in circuit at the instant when the switch in the circuit is closed
will be
dI
V o −IR−L =0
dt

It can be shown from calculus that the inductor can be energised according to
Vo
I= ¿) where τ = L/R is the time constant
R
From the above equation, since the current rises gradually and inductor can be used as
surge protector sensitive devices. When the circuit is shorted the current will drop according
to
−t /τ
I =I o e

This is like the process of discharging of a capacitor

Class exercise

A 12.6 V battery is in a series circuit with a 30.0 mH inductor and a 0.150 Ω resistor. The
switched is closed at t = 0. (a) Find the time constant of the circuit. (b) Find the current after
one-time constant has elapsed. (c) Find the voltage drops across the resistor when t = 0 and
t = one time constant, τ. (d) What’s the rate of change of the current after one time
constant?

Energy Stored in Magnetic fields.

Induced emf by an inductor prevents a battery from establishing an instantaneous current in

a circuit, as a result the battery must do work to produce a current. In an inductor, the work
done to increase current from zero to I in a small-time interval dt will be:
dW =Pdt =LI dt

I
1 2
W =∫ dW =∫ LI dt = L I
0 2

1 2
W= LI
2
This is the energy stored by the magnetic field around the inductor. The form of this
equation is like that of energy stored in a capacitor which we saw earlier.

Class exercise
A 12.0 V battery is connected in a series to a 25.0 Ω resistor and a 5.00 H inductor. (a) Find
the maximum current in the circuit. (b) Find the energy stored in the inductor at this time.
(c) How much energy is stored in the inductor when the current is changing at a rate of 1.50
A/s?
 Alternating Currents – Circuits

Most of our household appliances use electric energy which comes from the power
companies, mostly as alternating current, i.e. current that is always changing direction. In
this topic we will look at how simple devices like resistors, inductors and capacitors behave
in a circuit with an alternating current.

An AC source is one whose current is periodically changing direction of flow, the current
from an AC generator is an example of an AC source. The voltage of this source varies
sinusoidal with time according to the equation below.

V s =V max sin 2 π f t

Where V s is the instantaneous voltage, V max is the maximum voltage of the AC generator
and f is the frequency at which the voltage changes, measured in hertz (Hz). Previously we
saw that ω = 2 πf .

Let us consider a simple circuit of a resistor in series with an AC source as shown below.

In the circuit above, it is observed that the voltage across and current through the resistor
varies as shown in the next page. As shown in the figure (next page) the voltage and current
reach the maximum at the same time, because of this there are said to be in phase. The
average value of the current over one cycle is zero because the current is maintained in one
direction for the same amount of time and at the same magnitude as it is in the opposite
direction.

Figure A: Schematic illustration of the variation of Voltage and Current for a resistor in an AC
circuit.

The change in the direction of the current has no effect on the behaviour of the resistor in
the circuit: the collisions between electrons and the fixed atoms of the resistor results in an
increase in the resistor’s temperature regardless of the direction. Mathematically this
argument can be expressed as power in the resistor P is

2
P=i R

Where i is the instantaneous current in the resistor. The heating effect of a current is
proportional to the square of the current, it means the direction of the current is not
important whether negative or positive. To find the alternating current that has the same
heating effect as the DC current, we determine the root mean square value of the AC
current which is given by

I max
I rms = =0.7071 I max
√2
The average power dissipated in an AC circuit for a resistor will be

2
Pav =I rms R

The root mean square voltage for the AC source will have the similar relationship

V max
V rms = =0.7071 V max
√2
The rms value of AC sources is what electricians measure with a meter, an AC source with
240 V, is actually 240 V rms value. AC meters are designed to measure rms values.

Class exercise

An AC source has an output voltage of V = (2 x 10 2 V) sin 2πft. This source is connected to a

1.0 x 102 Ω resistor as in the example circuit above. Find the rms voltage and current in the
resistor.

Capacitors in an AC circuit

To understand the behaviour of a capacitor

connected to an AC source, as shown on the
diagram to the left, we first consider how a
capacitor will behave to a DC current.

When a capacitor is connected to a DC source,

when the switch is closed, the voltage across
the capacitor will increase gradually
depending on the time constant RC, and after
some time the voltage across the capacitor
will be equal to that of the source and hence
will prevent further flow of the current.
When current flows in one direction a capacitor will thus impede the flow of the current,
now lets look at what happens when the current is constantly changing direction as is the
case with an AC source.

The variation of the voltage and current for the capacitor above is shown in the figure
below.

It is observed that the voltage lags the current by an angle of 90o. This is different from the
case of a resistor were the current and voltage were always in step. A measure of how a
capacitor impedes the current is known as capacitive reactance Xc, defined as

1
X c=
2 πfc

Where C is the capacitance measured in Faraday (F) and f is the frequency of the source in
hertz (Hz). Capacitive reactance is analogous to resistance and hence there is an analogous
Ohms law relation for the capacitive reactance with rms Voltage and current.

V c rms =I rms X c

Class Exercise
An 8 µF capacitor is connected to the terminals of an AC generator with an rms voltage of
1.5 x 102 V and a frequency of 60 Hz. Find the capacitive reactance and the rms current in
the circuit.

Inductors in an AC circuit

When an inductor is connected to an AC circuit as shown below.

For now, lets ignore the resistance of the wires that connect the inductor to the AC source.
The changing current from the AC generate will produce a back emf that impedes the
current in the inductor due to the law of induction. The back emf is equal to:

∆I
v L =L
∆t

Just like the Capacitor, an Inductor has an effective resistance which is called the Inductive
reactance,

X L =2 π f L

Where f is the frequency in Hertz and L is measured in Henries, which gives X L in Ohms.
From the above equation it is clear that the frequency and inductance are directly
proportional to the reactance.
The relationship between the current and voltage through and across an inductor
respectively is shown above. It is noticed that the voltage across an inductor always leads
the current by 90o. It is the opposite to what happens in the capacitor. This relationship can
be expressed mathematically as:

V Lrms =I rms X L

To see why there is a phase relationship between voltage and current, we notice a few
points on the curves. At point a on the current curve, the current is beginning to increase in
the positive direction, at this instant the rate of change of current to voltage will be
maximum as the voltage will also be at maximum which is point c. At point b on the current
curve, the opposite is true.

Class exercise

In a purely inductive AC circuit as the one shown above, when L = 25 mH and the rms
voltage being 1.5 x 102 V. Find the inductive reactance and rms current in the circuit if the
frequency is 60 Hz.
The RLC series Circuit

Having looked at how individual components, a resistor, capacitor and inductor behave in
an AC circuit, we now look at a series combination of the three.

Since it is a series circuit, the current at any instant is the same at all points in the circuit and
is written mathematically as:

i=I max sin 2 πft

From earlier discussions, the instantaneous voltage across the three components has
different phases. (a) For the resistor the voltage is in phase with the current, (b) For the
inductor the voltage leads the current by 90 o and (c) For the capacitor the voltage lags the
current. This relationship is depicted in graphs below.
To determine the total voltage in the circuit, we apply the principle of vectors to account for
the different phases of the voltages. The voltage across each component is expressed as a
rotating vector and this representation is known as a phasor diagram. The total voltage is
expressed mathematically as:

V total =V max sin(2 πft + ᴓ)

Where ᴓ is the phase angle between the phasor and the positive x-axis when t = 0. The
other symbols have their usual meanings.

Illustration of a rotating vector to represent the voltage of different phases. For the
voltages of the three components the phasor diagram will be as shown below.

Phasor diagram for 3 components Phasor diagram for the total voltage in the
circuit.
Mathematical the total voltage will be:

V total= √ ¿ ¿ ¿

And the phase can be calculated from:

V L−V c
tan∅ =
VR

Similarly using Ohms law, the impedance (Z) in the circuit can also be calculated using a
phasor diagram or mathematically.

Z=√ ¿ ¿

X L −X c
tan∅ =
R

The physical significance of the phase angle will become clear in the next section when we
discuss power in AC circuits.

The table below summaries the discussion above.

Class exercise

A series RLC circuit has resistance R = 2.5 x 10 2 Ω, inductance L = 0.6 H, capacitance C = 3.5
µF, frequency f = 60 Hz, and maximum voltage V max = 1.5 x 102 V. Find (a) the impedance of
the circuit, (b) the maximum current in the circuit, (c) the phase angle, and (d) the maximum
voltage across the elements.

Power in an AC circuit

An ideal Capacitor and Inductor have no resistance associated with them and therefore it
would be expected that there is no power lose in an ideal capacitor or inductor. To
understand the power dissipated in an AC circuit we analyse the circuits of capacitor,
inductor and a resistor separately.

(i) For the case of a capacitor: when current increases in one direction in an AC
circuit, charge accumulates on the capacitor and a voltage drop appears across it.
When the voltage reaches its maximum value, the energy stored in the capacitor
is
1 2
EC = V max
2
This energy is only momentary, when the current reverses direction, the charge
leaves the capacitor plates and returns to the voltage source. So in short, the
capacitor is charged during one-half of each cycle and discharged during the
other half cycle. So the average power supplied by the source is zero, i.e. no
power losses occur in a capacitor in an AC circuit.
(ii) For case of an Inductor: a similar analysis can be applied, the source will do work
against the back emf of an inductor, when the current reaches its maximum
value, the energy stored is:
1 2
E L = L I max
2
When the current decreases, this stored energy is returned to the source, so the
average power lose for an inductor is also zero.
(iii) For the case of a resistor, the average power delivered is
 2
Pav =I max R
This is because for a resistor, when the current changes direction, in either half cycle, there
is energy lost in the resistor as was explained earlier.

Another way to look at the power dissipated in an AC circuit is to use Ohms law

Pav =I rms V R rms Since it is only in the resistor that power is dissipated.

The voltage drop across can be rewritten in in terms of the source voltage, which will take
into account the phases of the voltages across the capacitor and inductor.
V R rms =V S rms cos ∅
From the above equation the average power dissipated in series RLC circuit
Pav =I rms V S rms cos ∅

The quantity cos ∅ is called the Power factor.

The last equation shows that the power delivered by an AC source to any circuit depends on
the phase difference between the source voltage and the resulting current. The implications
of this fact is that in factories which use motors and transformers that have large
inductance due to the windings, excessive high voltages will be required but to avoid this
technicians introduce capacitances in the circuits to shift the phase.

Class exercise
Calculate the average power delivered to the series RLC circuit in the previous example.

Resonance in a Series RLC circuit

In a series RLC circuit the current in the circuit is given by

 V rms V rms
I rms = = 2
Z √ R +¿ ¿ ¿

From this equation it is evident that when the frequency is varied the current is maximum
when the impedance is minimum. The impedance is minimum when X L =X C and when this
happens the impedance Z will be equal to R. The frequency at which X L =X C is called the
resonance frequency. This frequency can be determined by equating the inductive
impedance to the capacitive impedance.

1
2 π f o L=
2 π f oC

1
f o=
2 π √ LC

A plot of current versus frequency is shown below, and at resonance the current is
maximum.

The resonance principle is used in tuning the radio stations, in radio receivers.
Another application of resonance is the making of metal detectors, which are normally used
to detect dangerous weapons when one enters protected places. A metal detector is a
resonant circuit, in which the portal you pass through is a big inductor, and the whole circuit
is tuned to the resonance frequency. When a person enters the portal, carrying a metal
object, it will result in a change in the inductance, resulting in a change of the resonance,
this change is detected by the electronic circuit, which sounds an alarm.

Class Exercise
Consider a series RLC circuit for which R = 1.5 x 10 2 Ω, L = 20 mH, V rms =¿ 20 V, and f = 796 s -
1
. (a) Determine the value of the capacitance for which the rms current is a maximum. (b)
Find the maximum rms current in the circuit.

The Transformer
A transformer is a device that converts small AC voltages to large voltages or vice versa. It is
made of two coils of wire wound around a core of soft iron as shown below.

The side of the transformer that is connected to the AC source is called the primary coil and
the other side is the secondary coil. The soft iron core is used to increase the magnetic flux
and provide a medium in which nearly all the flux through one coil passes through the other.
A transformer uses the principle of induction, if the voltage from the source is V p , the
induced voltage across it will be:
∆ ФB
V p=−N 1
∆t
Where ∆ Ф B is the magnetic flux through each turn. Assuming no flux leaks from the iron
core, then the flux through each turn of the primary coil equals the flux through each turn
on the secondary coil. As a result, the voltage across the secondary coil is:
∆ ФB
V s =−N 2
∆t
Since the change of the flux is the same in both cases, it follows that
N2
V s= V
N1 p
The ratio of the number of turns, determines, whether the secondary voltage is greater or
smaller than the primary voltage. When V s > V p the transformer is called a step-up
transformer, and when V s < V p it is called a step-down transformer. A transformer is a
device that only works using the principle of induction and therefore it works when there is
a changing current in the primary coil. It must be noted that the power input to the
primary coil equals the power output at the secondary i.e.:
I p V p =I s V s
This equation means that, when the voltage increases at the secondary coil, the current will
be very small, such that energy is conserved. This is true for an ideal transformer. Real
transformers are however not very far from this ideal situation as their efficiency is around
99 %. The 1% will be due to power losses due to eddy currents in the transformer cores.

For this reason (high efficiency), transformers are widely used in the transmission of
electrical power from the generation plant to the households. From the generation plant, a
step-up transformer is used to raise the voltage and lower the current, so as to minimise
power lost in the cables (transmission lines), at the sub-stations it is stepped down to lower
the voltage and increase the current.

Class Exercise
A generator at a utility company produces 1.00 x 102 A of current at 4.00 x 103 V. The voltage
is stepped up to 2.40 x 10 5 V by a transformer before being sent on a high-voltage
transmission line across a rural area to a city. Assume the effective resistance of the power
lines is 30.0 Ω and that the transformers are ideal. (a) Determine the percentage of power
lost in the transmission line. (b) What percentage of the original power would be lost in the
transmission line if the voltage were not stepped up?

Maxwell’s Predictions
The subject of electricity and Magnetism have been studied since the early 18 th century, and
at first it was thought that the two are not related. But in 1865 James Maxwell provided a
mathematical theory that showed that the two were very closely related. He further showed
electric fields and magnetic fields can move through space as waves. His predications were
born after noticing four facts about electricity and magnetism, which are namely:
1. Electric fields lines originate on a positive charge and terminate on negative charges.
2. Magnetic fields lines always form closed loops, they don’t begin or end anywhere
3. A varying magnetic field induces an emf and hence an electric field.
4. Magnetic fields are generated by moving charges (or currents) as summarized in
Ampere’s law.

The first facts could be experimental demonstrated during Maxwell’s time, but the fourth
one it could not at that time. To justify his hypothesis, Maxwell sought for other phenomena
that might explained by it. He thus looked at the motion of rapidly oscillating charges, e.g. a
conducting rod connected to an alternating voltage. When such charges are accelerated,
they cause a changing electric and magnetic disturbances that travel away from the
source as waves, according to Maxwell’s prediction. Maxwell, called these electromagnetic
waves, from this Maxwell, calculated the speed of the waves and it was equal to the speed
of light c = 3 x 10 8 m/s, after this discovery, Maxwell, predicted that visible light was an
electromagnetic wave that consists of fluctuating electric and magnetic fields. This was
one of the greatest discoveries of the 19th century.
Production of Electromagnetic waves by an Antenna

In our discussion of LC circuits, we saw that energy is constantly being transferred from
electric energy in the capacitor to magnetic energy in the inductor. This process can happen
many times if the AC current is changing slowly, if it changes very fast, some of this energy is
lost in the form of electromagnetic waves. The mechanism responsible for this radiation is
the acceleration of a charged particle. Whenever a charged particle accelerates, it radiates
energy.

When an alternating voltage is applied to the wires of an antenna as shown in (a) above it
forces electric charges in the antenna to oscillate. This acceleration of charged particles is
the source of the radio waves emitted by the broadcast antenna of a radio stations. The
schematic diagram above demonstrates this phenomenon. As the electric current oscillates
between the rods, a magnetic field is also oscillating but in a circular fashion according to
the right-hand rule. The resulting effect is an electromagnetic wave shown below. Where
the electric field is perpendicular to the magnetic field.
Both the magnetic and electric fields are perpendicular to the direction of the wave, and
hence EM waves are called Transverse waves.

Current and Resistance

In the previous chapter we have been discussing the behaviour of electric components to
alternating current. In the section we look at direct current (DC). This is current that is
flowing in one direction, and batteries are some of the sources of direct current. Before we
discuss in detail on how electric components behave to DC current, we first discuss what
Current and Resistance are at microscopic level.

Electric Current:

Current is defined as the rate at which electric charge flows through a surface, the total
charge is made of many electrons. We then define the average current as

∆Q
I av = , units C/s which is called the Ampere (A)
∆t

This is the amount of charge carriers passing through a specific cross-sectional area per
given time.
Schematic illustration of current flow in a conductor.

Since current is the flow of billions of charge carriers, it makes sense to define instantaneous
current I, which is the limit of the average current as the time interval goes to zero:

∆Q
I = lim I av = lim
∆ t →0 ∆ t →0 ∆t

The units are still Amperes.

When the average current and instantaneous current are equal, the current is called
steady current, and batteries are the best source of steady current. When charge flow
through a surface as shown in the previous page, they can be positive and negative or both.
The electrons which are negative will move from the negative terminal of the battery to the
positive terminal. On the other hand we will have holes ( or positive ions in electrolytes),
which will move in the opposite direction, the movement of holes, is known as the
conventional current, i.e. the movement of positive charge carriers from the positive
terminal to the negative terminal. In this study we will use this direction of current for our
analysis. It is however important to know that in most common conductors current is due to
the flow of the negative charge carriers (electrons) and these move in the opposite direction
to conventional current. In gases and electrolytes, the current is due to both negative and
positive carriers.

In our earlier studies of electrostatics, we saw that when charges are stationary, the electric
potential is the same everywhere. However, in conductors when charge is moving the
electric potential is continually decreasing (except for superconductors). This means the
moving charge is losing energy according to U =q ∆ V , and to keep the charges moving
more energy must keep being supplied.

Microscopic View

At microscopic view the current depends on the average speed of the charge carriers, in the
direction of the current, the number of charge carriers per unit volume, and the charge by
each charge carrier. If we consider current moving on a short segment of a wire of length
∆ x , with n mobile carriers, the total charge for that small segment will be

∆ Q=(nA ∆ x )q

Where A is the cross-sectional area of the wire and q is the charge on each carrier, assuming
they are identical.

If the charges move with an average speed called drift speed / velocity ( v d), the distance
they move in the time interval ∆ t will be ∆ x=v d ∆ t

Therefore, the charge can be re-written as ∆ Q=( nA v d ∆ t ) q

Since current is charge per unit time,

∆Q
It follows that the current I = =nq v d A
∆t
Take note we used the term drift speed, this is because charge carriers when they move,
they do not move all in a straight line, but instead move following a random path as they
collide with each other and other lattice points in the material as depicted below. For our
analysis however, we then consider overall speed from one side to the other.

Class exercise

1)The amount of charge that passes through the filament of a certain light bulb in 2 s is 1.67
C. Find (a) the average current in the lightbulb and (b) the number of electrons that pass
through the filament in 5 s. (c) If the current is supplied by a 12 V battery, what total energy
is delivered to the light bulb filament during 2 s? What is the average power?

2) A copper wire of cross-sectional area 3 x 10 -6 m2 carries a current of 10 A. (a) Assuming

each copper atom contributes one free electron to the metal, find the drift velocity of the
electrons in this wire. (b) Use the ideal gas model to compare the drift speed with the
random rms speed and electron would have at 20 oC. The density of copper is 8.92 g/cm3,
and its atomic mass is 63.5 u.

Current and Voltage measurements

How to make accurate current and voltage measurements, is important to understand the
subject of current electricity. To do this, electric components are connected together
making a closed loop called a Circuit e.g.: (a) Sketch of actual circuit (b) Schematic diagram
of the circuit using symbols to represent the components. (c) Picture of a digital multmeter.

From the circuit above, it is shown that to measure current in a device, the Ammeter is
connected in series with the device in question. To measure voltage, the voltmeter is
connected in parallel with the device in question. For accurate measurements, the
ammeter must have almost zero resistance so that no energy is lost in the ammeter. And
other hand the voltmeter must have infinity resistance so that it does not draw current
away from device being measured. Current will only flow in closed loop, which has a source
of current.

Resistance and Resistivity

When a voltage is applied across a metallic conductor, it is found that the amount of current
that flows in the conductor is proportional to the voltage difference.

I∝∆V

The constant of proportionality between the two is called Resistance

∆ V =IR

∆V
R=
I
The SI units for resistance is volts per ampere, called ohms (Ω).

Resistance in a material arises due to collisions between the electrons and the atoms
making the material. It was discovered that for many materials the resistance remains
constant over a wide range of applied voltage or currents and this is known as Ohm’s law.

V =IR

In electric circuits a resistor is shown or symbolized by a zigzag line as shown below:

or

Materials that obey Ohm’s law are said to be Ohmic, while those that do not obey Ohms law
such as bulb filaments or a diode, are said to be non-ohmic. The graph in the next page
shows the I-V diagram for a non-ohmic material.

Resistivity

As we have already seen the resistance of a material is due to the collisions of the electrons
with the material atoms or other electrons. It follows that if the material is longer, the
resistance will also be higher because the collisions will be more. If the material is thicker
i.e. has a larger cross-sectional area, they will be less collisions and hence the resistance will
be smaller. This can be expressed mathematically as:

l
R=ρ
A

Where the constant of proportionality, ρ is called the resistivity of the material, Ɩ is the
length of the material and A is the cross-sectional area. The units for resistivity are Ω.m.

Resistivity is a property of the material which does not depend on the dimensions, but it
depends on the electronic structure and temperature of the material.

Class exercise

(a) Calculate the resistance per unit length of a 22-gauge Nichrome wire of radius 0.32
mm. (b) If a potential difference of 10 V is maintained across a 1 m length of the
Nichrome wire, what is the current in the wire? (c) The wire is melted down and
recast with twice its original length. Find the new resistance R N as a multiple of the
old resistance Ro .

Temperature variation of Resistance

Resistivity which we have said is a property of a material, is dependent on several factors,

but in this course, we will only look at one of these factors, which is temperature. In general,
for most metals, resistivity increases with increasing temperature. This is because increase
in temperature results in the atoms of the metal gaining more kinetic energy and hence will
vibrate more at their respective positions, this makes the movement of charge carriers more
difficult because of increased scattering.

For a limited temperature range, the resistivity of most metals has linear depended with
temperature according to the expression

ρ=ρo ¿]
Where ρ is the resistivity at some temperature T (in Celsius degrees), ρo is the resistivity at
some reference temperature T o (usually taken to be 20o C), and α is the temperature
coefficient of resistivity.

Since resistivity is directly proportional to resistance it follows that the resistance has the
same temperature variation as resistivity.

R=R o ¿]

Electrical energy and Power

Electrical energy source like batteries have stored chemical energy which gets transferred
into kinetic energy in the electrons as they move within the material, this kinetic energy is
converted into thermal energy as the atoms vibrate about their fixed positions.

As the charge carriers move in an electrical circuit, chemical energy from the battery gets
dissipated in resistive components, we can define the rate at which this energy is delivered
as electrical power equal to:

P=IV

Where I is the current in the circuit and V is the potential difference across the resistive
component in question.

Using Ohm’s law V = IR, we can express power differently as:

2
2 V
P=I R =
R

When I is in Amperes, R in Ohms and V in volts, Power will be in Watts.

Since power is the rate at which energy is being delivered it then follows that Electrical
energy can be expressed as:

Energy = Power x Time

Superconductors

Most well-known materials have a resistance to the flow of charge carriers, but there is a
class of materials whose resistance fall to zero below a certain critical temperature known
as the critical temperature. These materials are called superconductors. The resistance–
temperature graph for these materials is shown below.

Above the critical temperature the material resistance is typical of metals, but below critical
Tc it drops to zero. Mercury was the first material that was observed to show this behaviour
at a temperature below 4.1 K. Today, there are many other materials that have been
observed to show this behaviour at even higher temperatures especially compounds of
Copper called Cuprates. Surprisingly Copper, Silver and Gold, which are excellent conductors
do not show any superconductivity behaviour. Steady currents in superconducting loops can
persist for many years without decay.

Electrical Activity in the heart

The human body performs various actions of movement, at every movement is because of
the voltage signals in the body. These voltage signals or pulses are large enough to be
detected by sensitive voltmeters if attached to the skin. By measuring heart voltages pulses
from the heart and recording using an instrument called an electrocardiograph, and the
pattern recorded by this instrument is called an electrocardiogram. By analysis information
from an electrocardiogram, Doctors are able to detect possible heart failures.

Direct current Circuits

Most of the electrical gadgets we use for various applications from household, factory and
industrial work, educational and medical applications. The devices use Direct current at
some point of the circuit, in most of the devices AC is converted to DC. In this chapter we
look at DC circuits and analyse them using a few rules known as Kirchhoff’s rules. We begin
by first looking at the sources emf.

Sources of emf

To keep charge carriers moving in a circuit, there has to be energy that drives then or
pushes them to do so. This is energy is provided by a source of emf, which can be a battery
or generator. These sources of emf can be regarded as charge pumps, as they keep pushing
the charge carriers against the internal electric field of the source. EMF is therefore the
work done per unit charge, in driving the charge carrier through the circuit, its SI unit is the
volt. In most if not all, our analysis we will assume the connecting wires have zero
resistance.

Lets consider a simple circuit in which a battery is connected to a resistor R. Because the
battery has its internal resistance, a more accurate circuit for the above schematic is shown
below.

The voltage at the battery terminals, will not be equal to the emf of the battery, because
they will be a voltage drop across the internal resistor. The terminal voltage will be:
 V =Ɛ−Ir

The above equation shows that the terminal voltage is equal to the emf only when the
current is zero, and this called the open-circuit voltage. If we combine two resistors in the
circuit, we see that

Ɛ=IR−Ir

The resistor between d and c, is often called the load resistor. From the resistor above
equation we can find the current in the circuit to be:

Ɛ
I=
R +r

This shows that the current in the circuit depends on both the internal resistance and the
load resistance, if R is far much greater than r, r can be neglected.

Resistors in series

When resistors are connected one end to the other, they are said to be series. The resistors
could simple devices like lightbulbs or heating elements. When two resistors R 1 and R2 are
connected to a battery as shown below.
The current is the same in the two resistors because any charge that flows through R 1 must
flow through R2.

In this case the terminal voltage across the battery will be equal to:

V =I R1 + I R2=I (R1 + R2 )

Regardless of how many resistors we have in the series, the sum of the potential difference
across the resistors is equal to the potential difference across the combination. Applying
Ohm’s law

V =I Req

And

Req =R1 + R2 + R3 +…

The equivalent resistance is equal to the algebraic sum of all the resistors in series.