Misurata University
Faculty of Information Technology
Department of Telecommunications and Networks
electric/electronic circuit
1st
AFIF S.ABUGHARSA
Charge and Current
• A basic understanding of the fundamental
concepts of current and voltage requires a
degree of familiarity with the atom and its
structure.
• the free electron is the charge carrier in a copper wire or any
other solid conductor of electricity.
• With no external forces applied, the net flow of charge in a
conductor in any one direction is zero.
• Let us now connect copper wire between two
battery terminals and a light bulb, as shown
below:
• The chemical activity of the battery will absorb the
electrons at the positive terminal and will maintain a
steady supply of electrons at the negative terminal.
• The flow of charge (electrons) through the bulb will heat
up the filament of the bulb through friction to the point
that it will glow red hot and emit the desired light.
• Electric charge is a physical property of matter
that causes it to experience a force when near
other electrically charged matter. There exist
two types of electric charges, called positive
and negative.
• Electric current is a flow of electric charge
through a conductive medium.
Electric current
• The current in amperes can now be calculated
using the following equation:
I amperes (A)
Q coulombs (C)
t seconds (s)
• EXAMPLE : The charge flowing through the
imaginary surface is 0.16 C every 64 ms.
Determine the current in amperes?
VOLTAGE
• A potential difference of 1 volt (V) exists between two
points if 1 joule (J) of energy is exchanged in moving 1
coulomb (C) of charge between the two points.
If the energy required to move the 1 C of charge increases to
12 J due to additional opposing forces, then the potential
difference will increase to 12 V.
Resistance
• The flow of charge through any material encounters an opposing force
similar in many respects to mechanical friction. This opposition, due to
the collisions between electrons and between electrons and other
atoms in the material, which converts electrical energy into another
form of energy such as heat, is called the resistance of the material.
• The unit of measurement of resistance is the ohm, for which the
symbol is
• The circuit symbol for resistance appears below with the graphic
abbreviation for resistance (R).
• Conductors that permit a generous flow of
charge with little external pressure will have
low resistance levels, while insulators will
have high resistance characteristics.
• Resistance is directly proportional to length
and inversely proportional to area.
Ohm’s Law
• Every conversion of energy from one form to another can be
related to this equation. In electric circuits, the effect we are trying
to establish is the flow of charge, or current. The potential
difference, or voltage, between two points is the cause
(“pressure”), and the opposition is the resistance encountered.
This equation is known as Ohm’s law in honor of Georg Simon Ohm. The
law clearly reveals that for a fixed resistance, the greater the voltage (or
pressure) across a resistor, the more the current, and the more the
resistance for the same voltage, the less the current.
Power
• Power is an indication of how much work can be done in
a specified amount of time, that is, a rate of doing work.
• Since converted energy is measured in joules (J) and
time in seconds (s), power is measured in joules/second
(J/s). The electrical unit of measurement for power is the
watt (W), defined by
• By direct substitution of Ohm’s law, the equation for
power can be obtained in two other forms:
SERIES CIRCUITS
• The network is called a series circuit when all the elements are in
series.
• The current is the same through series elements.
• The total resistance of a series circuit is the sum of the resistance
levels.
VOLTAGE SOURCES IN SERIES
KIRCHHOFF’S VOLTAGE LAW
• Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) states that the algebraic
sum of the potential rises and drops around a closed
loop (or path) is zero.
VOLTAGE DIVIDER RULE
In a series circuit:
the voltage across the resistive elements will divide as the
magnitude of the resistance levels.
