ABEN80: AB Electrification and Control Systems

Basic Electrical
Engineering Concepts
Prepared by: Daniel G. SIerra
COURSE OUTLINE
● Nature of Electricity
● Electric Current
● Electric Potential
● EMF and Potential Difference
● Potential Rise and Potential Drop
● Resistance
● Ohm’s Law
● Non-ohmic Conductors
● Electric Power
● Electrical Energy
NATURE OF ELECTRICTY

● If the number of protons is equal to the number

of electrons in a body, the resultant charge is
zero and the body will be electrically neutral.
● If from a neutral body, some electrons are
removed, there occurs a deficit of electrons in
the body. Consequently, the body attains a
positive charge.
● If a neutral body is supplied with electrons, there
occurs an excess of electrons. Consequently,
the body attains a negative charge.
 UNIT OF CHARGE

1 coulomb = Charge on 625 × 1016 electrons

1 −19
Charge on electron = 16 = 1.6 × 10 C
625 ×10
 ELECTRON

● Subatomic particles that is negatively charged.

● Important properties:
○ Charge on an electron, 𝑒 = 1.602 × 10−19 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏
○ Mass of an electron, 𝑚 = 9.0 × 10−31 𝑘𝑔
○ Radius of an electron, 𝑟 = 1.9 × 10−15 𝑚
 VALENCE ELECTRON
● The electrons in the outermost orbit of an atom
are known as valence electrons.
● The outermost orbit can have a maximum of 8
electrons
● When the number of valance electrons is less than
4, it is usually a metal and a conductor.
● When the number of valence electrons of an atom
is more than 4, the material is usually a non-metal
and an insulator.
● When the number of valence electrons of an atom
is 4 , the material has both metal and non-metal
properties and is usually a semi-conductor.
 FREE ELECTRONS
● Those valence electrons which are very loosely attached to the nucleus of an
atom are called free electrons.
● Conductors has a large number of free electrons at room temperature. The
best conductors are silver, copper and gold in that order.
● Insulators has very few free electrons. It is commonly used as insulator
materials for wires. Most substances including plastics, ceramics, rubber,
paper and most liquids and gases fall in this category.
● Semi-conductors are neither conductors nor insulators. Most common semi-
conductors are silicon, germanium, and carbon.
 ELECTRIC CURRENT

● The directed flow of free electrons (or charge) is

called electric current.
● Current is flow of electrons and electrons are
the constituents of matter. Therefore, electric
current is matter (i.e. free electrons) in motion.
● The actual direction of current (i.e. flow of
electrons) is from negative terminal to the
positive terminal through that part of the circuit
external to the cell.
ELECTRIC CURRENT
 ELECTRIC CURRENT
● Electric current is a scalar quantity
● The strength of electric current I is the rate of flow of electrons i.e. charge flowing per
second.
Current, 𝑰 = 𝑸/𝒕
The charge Q is measured in coulombs and time t in seconds.
● 1 Coulomb = charge on 625 ×1016 electrons. If the current through a wire is 1 A, it means
that 625 ×1016 electrons per second flow past any cross-section of the wire.
● One ampere of current is said to flow through a wire if at any cross section one coulomb
of charge flows in one second. Thus, if 5 amperes current is flowing through a wire, it
means that 5 coulombs per second flow past any cross section of the wire.
𝑰 = 𝑸Τ𝒕 = 𝒏𝒆Τ𝒕
where 𝑒 = 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶; 𝑛 = number of electrons
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
● If a charge of 25 C passes a given point in a circuit at a time of
125 ms, determine the current of the circuit.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 2
● A 60 W light bulb has a current of 0.5 A flowing through it. Calculate (a)
the number of electrons per second passing through a cross-section of
the filament and (b) the number of electrons that pass the cross-
section in one hour.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
● The current in a certain conductor is 40 mA.
a. Find the total charge in coulombs that passes through the
conductor in 1.5 s.
b. Find the total number of electrons that pass through the
conductor in that time.
 TYPES OF ELECTRIC CURRENT
● Steady current (Direct Current). When the magnitude of current does not
change with time, it is called a steady current.
● Varying current. When the magnitude of current changes with time, it is called
a varying current.
● Alternating current. An alternating current is one whose magnitude changes
continuously with time and direction changes periodically.
 ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
● The capacity of a charged body to do work is called its electric
potential.
● The greater the capacity of a charged body to do work, the greater is its
electric potential.
𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑾
Electric potential, 𝑽 = =
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝑸

● If 𝑊 = 1 joule and 𝑄 = 1 coulomb, then 𝑉 = 1 𝐽Τ𝐶 or 1 𝑉

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

● The difference in the potentials of two

charged bodies is called potential
difference (p.d.).
● If the potential difference between
two points is 1 volt if one joule of work
is done or released in transferring 1
coulomb of charge from one point to
the other.
 ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE

● The electromotive force (e.m.f.) represents

the driving influence that cause the current
to flow.
● It is not a force but represents the energy
expended during the passing of a unit charge
through the source.
 CONCEPT OF EMF AND PD
● EMF maintains potential difference while PD
causes current to flow.
● Here battery has an e.m.f. of 4 volts. It
means battery supplies 4 joules of energy to
each coulomb continuously. As each coulomb
travels from the positive terminal of the
battery, it gives up its most of energy to
resistances (2 Ω and 2 Ω in this case) and
remaining to connecting wires. When it
returns to the negative terminal, it has lost
all its energy originally supplied by the
battery.
POTENTIAL RISE & POTENTIAL DROP
● A potential rise occurs when the electric
potential (voltage) increases as current flows
through a circuit element such as a battery or
a voltage source.
● A potential drop occurs when the electric
potential (voltage) decreases as current flows
through a circuit element such as a resistor,
capacitor, or inductor.
 ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE
● The difference in the potentials of two charged bodies is called
potential difference.
● If the potential difference between two points is 1 volt if one
joule of work is done or released in transferring 1 coulomb of
charge from one point to the other.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 4
● A charge of 4 coulombs is flowing between points A and B of a
circuit. If the potential difference between A and B is 2 volts,
how many joules will be released by part AB of the circuit ?
SAMPLE PROBLEM 5
● How much work will be done by an electric energy source with a
potential difference of 3 kV that delivers a current of 1 A for 1
minute ?
SAMPLE PROBLEM 6
● The potential difference across a battery is 9 V. How much
charge must it deliver to do 50 J of work ?
 RESISTANCE
● The opposition offered by a substance to the
flow of electric current is called its
resistance.
● Resistance is the electric friction offered by
the substance and causes production of heat
with the flow of electric current.
● The practical unit of resistance is ohm and is
represented by the symbol Ω.

𝑹 = 𝑽/𝑰
 OHM’S LAW
● Ohm's Law describes the relationship between voltage (V), current (I), and
resistance (R) in an electrical circuit.
● It states that the current flowing through a conductor between two points is
directly proportional to the voltage across the two points and inversely
proportional to the resistance of the conductor.
𝑉 𝑉
𝐼= 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝑅=
𝑅 𝐼
● It takes one volt to push one amp through one ohm.
 NON-OHMIC CONDUCTORS
● Non-ohmic conductors are conductors which do not obey Ohm’s law vacuum tubes,
transistors, electrolytes, etc.
● A non-ohmic conductor may have one or more of the following properties:
○ The V-I graph is non-linear i.e. V/I is variable.
○ The V-I graph may not pass through the origin as in case of an ohmic conductor.
○ A non-ohmic conductor may conduct poorly or not at all when the p.d. is
reversed.
● The non-linear circuit problems are generally solved by graphical methods.
 ELECTRIC POWER
● The rate at which work is done in an electric circuit is called its electric power
Work done in electric circuit
Electric power =
Time
● Electric Power Formulas
𝑷 = 𝑽𝑰
𝑷 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹
𝑽𝟐
𝑷=
𝑹
● 1 W = 1 J/s ; 1 kW = 1000 W ; 1 MW = 106 W or 103 kW ; 1 hp = 746 W or 0.746 kW
 ELECTRICAL ENERGY
● The total work done in an electric circuit is called electrical energy

Electrical Energy = Electric power × Time

● Electrical Energy Formulas

𝑾 = 𝑽𝑰𝒕
𝑾 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝒕
𝑽𝟐 𝒕
𝑾=
𝑹
● One kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electrical energy is expended in a circuit if 1 kW (1000
watts) of power is supplied for 1 hour.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 7
● A 100 V lamp has a hot resistance of 250 Ω. Find the current
taken by the lamp and its power rating in watts. Calculate also
the energy it will consume in 24 hours.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 8
● A heating element supplies 300 kilojoules in 50 minutes. Find
the p.d. across the element when current is 2 amperes.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 9
● A 10 watt resistor has a value of 120 Ω. What is the rated current
through the resistor ?
SAMPLE PROBLEM 10
● What is the maximum voltage that can be applied across a 100 Ω, 10 W
resistor in order to keep within the resistor’s power rating?
SAMPLE PROBLEM 11
● The following are the details of load on a circuit connected
through a supply meter :
○ Six lamps of 40 watts each working for 4 hours per day
○ Two fluorescent tubes 125 watts each working for 2 hours
per day
○ One 1000 watt heater working for 3 hours per day
○ If 1kWh of energy costs Php 15.00, what will be the
electricity bill for the month of June?