CBSE Class-12 Physics Quick Revision Notes

Chapter-03: Current Electricity

• Electrical Conductivity:
It is the inverse of specific resistance for a conductor whereas the specific resistance is
the resistance of unit cube of the material of the conductor.
1 ne 2τ
σ= =
ρ m
Where σ is the conductivity and ρ is resistivity.
• SI Unit of Conductivity:

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The SI unit of conductivity is mhom-1.
• Current through a given area of a conductor:
It is the net charge passing per unit time through the area.

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• Current Density Vector:
The current density vector J gives current per unit area flowing through area ∆A when
it is held normal to the direction of charge flow. Note that the direction of J is in the
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direction of current flow.
• Current Density:
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Current density j gives the amount of charge flowing per second per unit area normal to
the flow.
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J = nqVd
where n is the number density (number per unit volume) of charge carriers each of
charge q and vd is the drift velocity of the charge carriers. For electrons q = –e. If j is
normal to a cross – sectional area A and is constant over the area, the magnitude of the
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current I through the area is neVd A .

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Mobility:

Mobility is defined to be the magnitude of drift velocity per unit electric field.
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V 
µ = d 
E

qτ E
Now, Vd =
mq

where q is the electric charge of the current carrier and mq is its mass.
q 
∴µ =  τ 
 mq 
 
Thus, mobility is a measure of response of a charge carrier to a given external electric
field.
• Resistivity:
Resistivity ρ is defined to be reciprocal of conductivity.
1
ρ=
σ
It is measured in ohm-metre (Qm ) .
• Resistivity as a function of temperature:
It is given as,
ρT = ρ0 [1 + α (T − T0 )]
Where α is the temperature coefficient of resistivity and ρT is the resistivity of the
material at temperature T.
• Ranges of Resistivity:

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a) Metals have low resistivity: Range of ρ varies from 10–8 Ω m to 10–6 Ω m.
b) Insulators like glass and rubber have high resistivity: Range of ρ varies from 1022 to

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1024 times greater than that of metals.
c) Semiconductors like Si and Ge lie roughly in the middle range of resistivity on a
logarithmic scale.
•
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Total resistance in Series and in Parallel
(a) Total resistance R of n resistors connected in series is given by R = R1 + R2 + … + Rn
(b) Total resistance R of n resistors connected in parallel is given by
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1 1 1 1
= + + ...... +
R R1 R2 Rn
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• If the mass of a charge carrier is large, then for a given field E , its acceleration will be
small and will contribute very little to the electric current.
• Electrical Conductivity:
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When a conducting substance is brought under the influence of an electric field E , free
charges (e.g. free electrons in metals) move under the influence of this field in such a
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manner, that the current density J due to their motion is proportional to the applied
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electric field.
J =σ E
where σ is a constant of proportionality called electrical conductivity. This statement is
one possible form of Ohm’s law.
• Consider a cylindrical material with cross
sectional area A and length L through which a
current is passing along the length and normal to
the area A, then, since J and E are in the same
direction,
J =σE
JAL = σ ELA
Where A is cross sectional area and L is length of
 the material through which a current is passing along the length, normal to the area A.
But, JA = I, the current through the area A and EL = V1 - V2, the potential difference across
the ends of the cylinder denoting V1-V2 as V,
IL
V= = RI
σA
L
Where R = is called resistance of the material. In this form, Ohm's law can be stated
σA
as a linear relationship between the potential drop across a substance and the current
passing through it.
• Measuring resistance:
1V
R is measured in ohm ( ( Ω ) ), where 1Ω =
A

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• EMF:
Emf (Electromotive force) is the name given to a non-electrostatic agency. Typically, it is

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a battery, in which a chemical process achieves this task of doing work in driving the
positive charge from a low potential to a high potential. The effect of such a source is
measured in terms of work done per unit charge in moving a charge once around the
circuit. This is denoted by ∈ .
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• Significance of Ohm’s Law:
Ohm’s law is obeyed by many substances, but it is not a fundamental law of nature. It
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fails if
a) V depends on I non- linearly. Example is when ρ increases with I (even if
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temperature is kept fixed).

b) The relation between V and I depends on the sign of V for the same absolute value of
V.
c) The relation between V and I is non- unique. For e.g., GaAs
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An example of (a) & (b) is of a rectifier

When a source of emf ( ( ε ) ) is connected to an external resistance R, the voltage Vext
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across R is given by
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ε
Vext = IR = R
R+r
Where r is the internal resistance of the source.
• Kirchhoff's First Rule:
At any junction of several circuit elements, the sum of currents entering the junction
must equal the sum of currents leaving it.
In the above junction, current I enters it and currents I1 and
I2 leave it. Then,
I = I1 + I2
This is a consequence of charge conservation and
assumption that currents are steady, that is no charge piles
up at the junction.
• Kirchhoff's Second Rule:
The algebraic sum of changes in potential around any closed resistor loop must be zero.
This is based on the principle that electrostatic forces alone cannot do any work in a
closed loop, since this work is equal to potential difference, which is zero, if we start at
one point of the loop and come back to it.

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This gives: (R1 + R2) I1 + R3 I3 + R4 I4 = 0
• In case of current loops:
i) Choose any closed loop in the network and designate a direction (in this example
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counter clockwise) to traverse the loop.
ii) Go around the loop in the designated direction, adding emf's and potential
differences. An emf is counted as positive when it is traversed (-) to (+) and
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negative in the opposite case i.e., from (+) to (-). An IR term is counted negative if
the resistor is traversed in the same direction of the assumed current, and
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positive if in the opposite direction.

iii) Equate the total sum to zero.
• Wheatstone Bridge:
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Wheatstone bridge is an arrangement of four resistances R1, R2, R3, R4. The null point
condition is given by,
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R R
∴ 1 = 3
R2 R4
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This is also known as the balanced condition. If

R1, R2, R3 are known, R4 can be determined.
R 
R4 =  2  R3
 R1 
• In a balanced condition of the meter bridge,
R P σ l1
= =
S Q 100 − l1
Sl1
∴R =
(100 − l1 )
 Where σ is the resistance per unit length of wire and l1 is the length of wire from one
end where null point is obtained.
• Potentiometer:
The potentiometer is a device to compare
potential differences. Since the method
involves a condition of no current flow, the
device can be used to measure potential
differences; internal resistance of a cell and
compare emf’s of two sources.
• Potential Gradient:
The potential gradient of the wire in a

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potentiometer depends on the current in the
wire.
• If an emf ∈1 is balanced against length l1 , then

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∈1 = ρ l1
Similarly, if ∈2 is balanced against l2 , then
∈2 = ρ l2
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The comparison of emf’s of the two cells is given by,
∈ l
∴ 1 = 1
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∈2 l2
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