BASIC CONCEPTS

Introduction
• Branches of electrical engineering, such as power, electric machines, control,
electronics, communications, and instrumentation, are based on electric
circuit theory.
• In electrical engineering energy is communicated or transferred from one
point to another which requires an interconnection of electrical devices.

• Such interconnection is referred to as an

electric circuit, and each component of
the circuit is known as an element.
• A simple electric circuit consists of three
basic elements: a battery, a lamp, and
connecting wires.
• Such a simple circuit can exist by itself; it has the applications of a flashlight
or a search light.
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 SYSTEMS OF UNITS

• Electrical engineers deal with measurable quantities which must be

communicated in a standard language understandable by all professionals.
• International measurement language is the International System of Units (SI),
adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960.
• In this system, there are six principal units from which the units of all other
physical quantities can be derived.
• Its great advantage is use of prefixes based on power of 10 e.g. kilo (k), centi
(c), milli (m), micro (μ).

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 TYPES OF ELECTRICAL MATERIALS

 The Structure of Matter

• Matter is made of atoms and each atom
consists of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
• An atom has a nucleus and one or more
electrons rotating around it.
• The nucleus contains one or more positively
charged particles called protons. .
• The positive charge of proton is opposite to the negative charge of the
electron in the sense that the net charge of the combination is zero.
• An atom that has the same number of electrons in orbit, as it has protons
in its nucleus, is electrically neutral.
• Nucleus of every atom except that of hydrogen contains one or more
neutrons which contain no electrical charge.
• The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines the element it
represents – iron, copper, oxygen etc.
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 TYPES OF ELECTRICAL MATERIALS (Contd.)

 Conductors
• Outermost shell of an atom is called the valence shell, and the number of
electrons it contains strongly influence the electrical properties of the
element that the atoms represents.
• Electrons in the valence shell of the metals like copper are the farthest from
nucleus, hence, experience least force of attraction to the nucleus.
• These electrons are easily dislodged from their shell.
• The electron breaks away from its parent atom is called free electron.
• In copper, there is enough heat energy at room temperature to liberate a
vast number of the weakly held valence electrons.
• Presence of a large number of free electrons in copper makes it a good
conductor of electricity.
• The best conductors are silver, copper and gold.

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 TYPES OF ELECTRICAL MATERIALS (Contd.)

 Insulators
• Materials whose valence electrons are tightly held to their parent atoms
produce a few free electrons.
• Such materials like plastics, ceramics, rubber, paper etc. are poor electrical
conductors and are called insulators.
 Semiconductors
• Special class of materials - neither good conductors nor good insulators.
• In these materials electrons in the valence shell of every atom are
simultaneously (shared) in the valence shells of all neighboring atoms.
• Free electrons are produced lesser than in conductors.
• By controlling impurity concentrations no. of free electrons can be changed

• Semiconductors behave more like a conductor or more like an insulator.

• Silicon and germanium are the common semiconductor materials.
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 CHARGE AND CURRENT

• The most basic quantity in an electric circuit is the electric charge.

• We experience the effect of electric charge in the form of sparks &
chattering sound when we remove our wool sweaters and have it stick to
our body.
• Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles, measured in
coulombs (C).
• Charge e on an electron is ‒ ve and equal in magnitude to 1.602 x 10 -19 C,
while a proton carries a + ve charge of the same magnitude as electron.
• Due to presence of equal numbers of protons and electrons an atom is
neutrally charged.
• In 1 C of charge, there are 1/ (1.602 x 10 -19) = 6.24 x 1018 electrons.
• Naturally occurring charges are integral multiples of the electronic charge
e = ‒ 1.602 x 10 -19 C.

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 CHARGE AND CURRENT (Contd.)

• law of conservation of charge states

that charge can neither be created nor
destroyed, but only transferred.
• Hence, algebraic sum of the electric
charges in a system does not change.
• When a conducting wire is connected to a battery (a source of electromotive
force), the charges are compelled to move.
• Positive charges move in one direction while negative charges move in the
opposite direction.
• Motion of charges creates electric current.
• According to Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), the American scientist and
inventor, it is conventional to take the current flow as the movement of
positive charges opposite to the flow of negative charges.

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 CHARGE AND CURRENT (Contd.)

• Although the current in metallic conductors is due to negatively charged

electrons, yet we will follow the universally accepted convention that current
is the net flow of positive charges.
• Electric current is time rate of change of charge, measured in amperes (A).
• Andre-Marie Ampere (1775–1836), a French mathematician and physicist,
defined electric current and developed a way to measure it in the 1820s.
• Mathematically, the relationship between current i, charge q, and time t is
i =
where current is measured in amperes (A), and
1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second
• The charge transferred between time t0 and t is obtained by integrating both
sides of above equation.
Q=

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 CHARGE AND CURRENT (Contd.)

• If the current does not change with time, but remains constant, we call it a
direct current (dc).
• By convention the symbol I is used to represent such a constant current.

• A time-varying current is represented by the symbol i.

• A common form of time-varying current is the sinusoidal current or
alternating current (ac).
• Such current is used in the household, to run air conditioner, refrigerator,
washing machine, etc.

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 CHARGE AND CURRENT (Contd.)

Problem 1(a)
How much charge is represented by 4,600 electrons?
Solution:
Each electron has ‒ 1.602 x 10 ‒19 C.
Hence 4,600 electrons will have ‒ 1.602 x 10 ‒19 C/electron x 4,600 electrons
= ‒ 7.369 x 10 ‒16 C
Problem 1(b)
Calculate the amount of charge represented by four million protons.
(Answer = + 6.408 x 10 ‒13 C)

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 VOLTAGE

• To move the electrons in a conductor in a particular direction requires some

work or energy transfer.
• This work is performed by an external electromotive force (emf), known as
voltage or potential difference, can be represented by a battery.
• The voltage between two points a and b in an electric circuit is the energy
(or work) needed to move a unit charge from a to b; mathematically,
υ ab =
where w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulombs (C).
• The voltage or simply υ is measured in volts (V), named in honor of the
Italian physicist Alessandro Antonio Volta (1745–1827), who invented the
first voltaic battery.
• From above equation it is evident that
1 volt = 1 joule/coulomb = 1 newton-meter/coulomb

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 VOLTAGE (Contd.)

• Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy

required to move a unit charge through an element,
measured in volts (V).
• The voltage across an element, represented by a
rectangular block, is connected to points a and b.
• The plus and minus signs are used to define reference direction or voltage
polarity.
• The υab can be interpreted in two ways:
‒ point ‘a’ is at a potential of υab volts higher than point ‘b’, or
‒ the potential at point a with respect to point ‘b’ is υab.
• It follows logically that in general υab = ‒ υba

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 VOLTAGE (Contd.)

(a) (b)

• In Fig. (a), point a is + 9 V above point b

• in Fig. (b), point b is ‒ 9 V above point a
• We may say that in Fig. (a), there is a 9 V voltage drop from a to b or
equivalently a 9-V voltage rise from b to a.

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 POWER AND ENERGY

• We need to know how much power an electric device can handle.

• A 100-watt bulb gives more light than a 60-watt bulb.
• When we pay our bills to K- Electric company, we are paying for the electric
energy consumed over a certain period of time.
• Thus, power and energy calculations are important in circuit analysis.
• Power is time rate of absorbing energy, measured in watts (W).
• This relationship is shown as
p =
where p is power in watts (W), w is energy in joules (J), and t is time in
seconds (s).
• From the equations of current and voltage
p = = . = υi

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 POWER AND ENERGY (Contd.)

• The power p being a time-varying quantity is called the

instantaneous power.
• If the power has a + sign, power is being absorbed by the element.
• If the power has a ‒ sign, power is being supplied by the element.
• Current direction and voltage polarity determines the sign of
power.
• Voltage polarity and current direction must conform with those
shown in figures in order for the power to have a positive sign,
known as passive sign convention.
• By the passive sign convention, current enters through the positive
polarity of the voltage.
• In this case p = + υ i, or υ i ˃ 0 implies that the element is
absorbing power
• If p = ‒ υ i, or υ i ˂ 0 , the element is supplying power.
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 POWER AND ENERGY (Contd.)

• Unless otherwise stated, we will follow passive

sign convention.
• Element in both circuits (a) & (b) has an absorbing
power of + 12 W as a positive current enters
positive terminal in both cases.
• In Fig. (c) & (d), the element is supplying power of
+ 12 W as a positive current enters the negative
(a) (b)
terminal.
• An absorbing power of ‒ 12 W is equivalent to a
supplying power of + 12 W or in general,
+ Power absorbed = ‒ Power supplied
• The energy absorbed or supplied by an element
from time to time t is
w = =
(c) (d)
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 POWER AND ENERGY (Contd.)

• Energy is the capacity to do work, measured in joules (J).

• The electric power utility companies measure energy in watt-hours (Wh),
where 1 Wh = 3,600 J

Problem 2(a)
An energy source forces a constant current of 2 A for 10 s to flow through a
light bulb. If 2.3 kJ is given off in the form of light and heat energy, calculate
the voltage drop across the bulb.
Solution:
The total charge is Δq = i Δt = 2 x 10 = 20 C

The voltage drop is υ = = = 115 V

Problem 2(b)

υ ab if: (a) q = 2 C, (b) q = ‒ 6 C. {Answer: (a) ‒ 15 V, (b) 5 V}

To move charge q from point a to point b requires ‒ 30 J. Find the voltage drop

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 POWER AND ENERGY (Contd.)

Problem 3(a)
How much energy does a 100-W electric bulb consume in two hours?
Solution:
w = p t = 100 (W) x 2 (h) x 60 (min/h) x 60 (s/min)
= 720,000 J = 720 kJ
This is the same as
w = p t = 100 W x 2 h = 200 Wh
Problem 3(b)
A stove element draws 15 A when connected to a 240-V line. How long does it
take to consume 60 kJ? (Answer: 16.667 s)

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 CIRCUIT ELEMENTS

• An element is the basic building block of a circuit.

• An electric circuit is an interconnection of the elements.
• Circuit analysis is the process of determining voltages across (or the
currents through) the elements of the circuit.
• There are passive elements and active elements in electric circuits.
• An active element is capable of generating energy such as generators and
batteries.
• A passive element does not generate energy such as resistors, capacitors,
and inductors.
• The most important active elements are voltage or current sources that
generally deliver power to the circuit connected to them.
• There are two kinds of sources: independent and dependent sources.

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 CIRCUIT ELEMENTS (Contd.)

• An ideal independent source is an active element that

provides a specified voltage or current that is completely
independent of other circuit elements.
• An ideal independent voltage source delivers to the circuit
whatever current is necessary to maintain its terminal
voltage.
• Physical sources such as batteries and generators may be
regarded as approximations to ideal voltage sources.
• Dependent sources are usually designated by diamond-
shaped symbols.

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 CIRCUIT ELEMENTS (Contd.)

• Since the control of the dependent source is achieved by a voltage or

current of some other element in the circuit, and the source can be voltage
or current, it follows that there are four possible types of dependent
sources, namely:
− A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS).
− A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS).
− A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS).
− A current-controlled current source (CCCS).

Problem 4
Calculate the power supplied or absorbed by
each element in following figure.

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 CIRCUIT ELEMENTS (Contd.)

Solution:
For p1, the 5-A current is out of the +ve terminal (into the –ve terminal);
hence, p1 = 20(‒ 5) = ‒ 100 W Supplied power
For p2 and p3, the current flows into the positive terminal of the element.
p2 = 12(5) = 60 W Absorbed power
p3 = 8(6) = 48 W Absorbed power
For p4, the voltage 8 V (+ve at the top), is same as the voltage for p3.
Since the current flows out of the positive terminal,
p4 = 8(‒ 0.2 I ) = 8(‒ 0.2 x 5) = ‒ 8 W Supplied power
20-V independent voltage source and 0.2 I dependent current source are
supplying power to the rest of the network, while the two passive elements
are absorbing power.
p1 + p2 + p3 + p4 = ‒ 100 + 60 + 48 ‒ 8 = 0
The total power supplied equals the total power absorbed. 22