Basic Electrical Theory
What does electricity make possible
for you?
Electricity completely surrounds us -- For most of
us, modern life would be impossible without it.
Here are just a few examples:
•Throughout your house, you probably find
electrical outlets where you can plug in all sorts of
electrical appliances.
•Most portable devices contain batteries, which
produce varying amounts of electricity depending
on their size.
•During a thunderstorm, there are huge bolts of
electricity called lightning that shoot down from
the sky.
•On a much smaller scale, you can get a shock
from static electricity on dry winter days.
•It is easy to create electricity from sunlight using
a solar cell; or you can create electricity from the
chemical energy in hydrogen and oxygen using a
fuel cell.
So what is this mysterious stuff that we call
electricity?
Where does it come from, and why is it able to do
so many different things?
The electricity that we get from power outlets and
batteries can power all different kinds of devices.
The fact is that electricity can be used in a
thousand different ways. For example:
•Electric motors turn electricity into motion.
•Light bulbs, fluorescent lamps and LEDs turn
electricity into light.
•Computers turn electricity into information.
•Telephones turn electricity into communication.
•TVs turn electricity into moving pictures.
•Speakers turn electricity into sound waves.
•Stun guns turn electricity into pain.
•Toasters, hair dryers and space heaters turn
electricity into heat.
•Radios turn electricity into electromagnetic waves
that can travel millions of miles.
•X-ray machines turn electricity into X-rays.
It is hard to imagine
modern people living without electricity. In
electricity's absence, we end up reverting back to
fireplaces for heat, wood-fired stoves for cooking,
candles for light and the slide rules for
computation. To talk over long distances we are
left with smoke signals and postcards.
Let's find out what's going on behind the power of
electricity.
Electricity Basics
Electricity starts with electrons. Every atom
contains one or more electrons. Electrons have a
negative charge.
Simplest model
of an atom
Atoms will have the same number of
Electrons in the orbit as there are
Protons in the center.
Electrons (29 total)
Valence Ring Protons (29 total)
(Outer Ring)
A Copper Atom
In many materials, the electrons are tightly
bound to the atoms. Wood, glass, plastic,
ceramic, air, cotton ... These are all examples of
materials in which electrons stick with their
atoms. Because the electrons don't move, these
materials cannot conduct electricity very well, if
at all. These materials are electrical insulators.
Elements with More than 4 Electrons in
their outer rings make good insulators
5 7
Because the Electrons remain in the outer rings
when electromotive force ( Voltage) is present.
But most metals have electrons that can detach
from their atoms and move around. These are
called free electrons. Gold, silver, copper,
aluminum, iron, etc., all have free electrons. The
loose electrons make it easy for electricity to
flow through these materials, so they are known
as electrical conductors. They conduct
electricity. The moving electrons transmit
electrical energy from one point to another.
Elements with less than 4 Electrons in their
outer rings make good conductors
1 2 3
Because the Electrons are easily dislodged from
their orbit and pushed to the atom next to them.
(Electron flow)
Electricity needs a conductor in order to
move. There also has to be something to
make the electricity flow from one point to
another through the conductor. One way to
get electricity flowing is to use a generator.
Generators
•A generator uses a magnet to get electrons
moving.
•There is a definite link between electricity and
magnetism.
•If you allow electrons to move through a wire,
they will create a magnetic field around the
wire.
•Similarly, if you move a magnet near a wire,
the magnetic field will cause electrons in the
wire to move.
Electromagnetism
Magnetic Field (Surrounds the wire)
Wire
Magnetic Field (Surrounds the wire)
12.6 Volt
Electromagnetic Induction
Magnetic Field
Magnetic Field (Surrounds the wire)
Wire
Wire
Magnetic Field (Surrounds the wire)
Back
A generator is a simple device that moves a
magnet near a wire to create a steady flow of
electrons.
One simple way to think about a generator is to
imagine it acting like a pump pushing water
along. Instead of pushing water, however, a
generator uses a magnet to push electrons along.
This is a slight over-simplification, but it is
nonetheless a very useful analogy.
There are two things that a water pump can do
with water:
A water pump moves a certain number of
water molecules.
A water pump applies a certain amount of
pressure to the water molecules.
In the same way, the magnet in a generator can:
push a certain number of electrons along
apply a certain amount of "pressure" to the
electrons
In an electrical circuit, the number of electrons
that are moving is called the amperage or the
current, and it is measured in amps. The
"pressure" pushing the electrons along is called
the voltage and is measured in volts. So you
might hear someone say, "If you spin this
generator at 1,000 rpm, it can produce 1 amp at
6 volts." One amp is the number of electrons
moving (1 amp physically means that 6.24 x
1018 electrons move through a wire every
second), and the voltage is the amount of
pressure behind those electrons.
Electrical Circuits
Whether you are using a battery, a fuel cell or a
solar cell to produce electricity, there are three
things that are always the same:
•The source of electricity will
have two terminals: a positive
terminal and a negative terminal.
•The source of electricity (whether it is a
generator, battery, etc.) will want to push
electrons out of its negative terminal at a certain
voltage. For example, a AA battery typically
wants to push electrons out at 1.5 volts.
•The electrons will need to flow from the negative
terminal to the positive terminal through a copper
wire or some other conductor. When there is a
path that goes from the negative to the positive
terminal, you have a circuit, and electrons can
flow through the wire.
You can attach a load of any type (a light bulb,
a motor, a TV, etc.) in the middle of the circuit.
The source of electricity will power the load, and
the load will do its thing (create light, spin a
shaft, generate moving pictures, etc.).
Electrical circuits can get quite complex. But at
the simplest level, you always have the source
of electricity (a battery, etc.), a load (a light
bulb, motor, etc.), and two wires to carry
electricity between the battery and the load.
Electrons move from the source, through the
load and back to the source.
Moving electrons have energy. As the electrons
move from one point to another, they can do
work. In an incandescent light bulb, for
example, the energy of the electrons is used to
create heat, and the heat in turn creates light. In
an electric motor, the energy in the electrons
creates a magnetic field, and this field can
interact with other magnets (through magnetic
attraction and repulsion) to create motion. Each
electrical appliance harnesses the energy of
electrons in some way to create a useful side
effect.
Basic Electrical Circuits
Conductor
(Wire)
Battery Resistor
(Voltage Source) (Light Bulb)
Conductor
How does electricity flow?
What causes electrons to move from atom to atom?
- - - - - - - -
Voltage ++
+ ++
+ ++
+ ++
+
(Pressure)
(Electromotive Force) - - - -
Voltage Voltage
Pushes Voltage
the
Pushes
electrons
Voltage
Pushes
the electrons
Voltage
Pushes
the electrons
Pushes
the electrons
the electrons
