48510 LEC 1

Basic concepts of electrical circuit

DR CAN DING
Lecturer
[email protected]

UTS CRICOS PROVIDER CODE: 00099F uts.edu.au

ELECTRIC CHARGE
Electricity is the movement of electric charge.
Each atom contains protons taking positive charge and electrons taking negative
charge.
PS: each electron take -1e charge, each proton take +1e charge,
where e is elementary charge = 1.6 × 10-19 coulombs (C).

Conductors are materials that permit

electrons to flow freely from particle to
particle, while isolators impede free flow of
electrons from atom to atom and molecule to
molecule. (Note that the protons in the
nucleus are not movable.)

uts.edu.au
ELECTRIC CHARGE
Considering an extremely thin conducting wire

Current I

– – – –
– + – + – + – + –

uts.edu.au
ELECTRICAL CHARGE
Knowing the electrical charge will help us to understand the very basic three
principles including Current (I), Voltage (V) and Resistance (R).

Current (I) is the rate at which charge is flowing.

Voltage (V) is the difference in charge between two points.

Resistance (R) is a component’s tendency to resist the flow of charge (current).

uts.edu.au
CURRENT
Definition of current: Electrical current is the time rate of flow of electric charge
through a metallic wire (conductor) or transferred through a circuit element.
Current I

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

Current I

+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +

uts.edu.au
CURRENT
The magnitude of the current can be calculated using this formula.
Current I

+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +
+ + + + + +

The unit of current is the ampere

(A), which is equivalent to coulomb
per second (C/s).

uts.edu.au
CURRENT
The magnitude of the current can be calculated using this formula.

𝑑𝑞 𝑡 The unit of current is the ampere

𝑖 𝑡 = (A), which is equivalent to coulomb
𝑑𝑡 per second (C/s).

On the contrary, if the current 𝑖 𝑡 is known, you are able to find out the amount
of charges that pass through the cross section of a metallic wire in a period of
time.
𝑡2
𝑞 𝑡 = න 𝑖 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑡1

uts.edu.au
VOLTAGE
Electrical current is generated when charges are moving towards a certain
direction. But why the charges decide to move?

Voltage is the reason that there is a current flow. It generates the “force” pushing
or pulling the charges.

Current I

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

uts.edu.au
VOLTAGE
Electrostatic force exists between charges. A basic rule is that, like charges
repeal each other and dislike charges attract each other.

– –

+ +

– +

uts.edu.au
VOLTAGE
If we have a large amount of positive charges at one end and negative charges
at the other end of a wire, the electrostatic force will drive the electrons to move,
leading to current.

Current I
+ + + + – – – –
– – – – – –
+ + + + – – – –
– – – – – –
+ + + + – – – –
+ – – – – – – – – – –
+ + +

uts.edu.au
VOLTAGE
Considering a battery connected to a wire, we have positive charges stored at the anode and negative
charges stored at the cathode. When connecting the two poles of a battery to a conducting wire, it
provides voltage and drives current. (Note that the current always flows from Anode to Cathode.)
Battery
+ + – –
Current I cathode
+ + – –
+ + – –
Anode

Current I

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

– – – – – –

The presence of electrostatic force gives potential difference. Like gravity potential will
drive water flow from higher height (more gravity potential energy) to lower height (less
gravity potential energy), electrical current flows from point with higher electric
potential to point with lower electric potential.

uts.edu.au
VOLTAGE
We define voltage as the amount of potential energy between two points on a circuit. It
is measured in volts (V). The potential difference or voltage can be calculated from the
distribution of electrical charges, but it is out of the scope of this subject. (If you are
interested, you can google “electric potential difference”.)

Battery We usually label the node with higher

Current I
+ +
+ +
– –
cathode potential with “+” and the node with lower
potential with “–”. The current flows from
– –
+ + – –
Anode “+” to “–”.

Current I V

– – – – – – + –
– – – – – –

– – – – – –

uts.edu.au
RESISTANCE
Considering two wires with different diameter shown as below.
V V
+ – + –

Current I1
Current I2
– – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – –

Even with the same voltage, the resultant currents in the two cases are different.
The wire with larger diameter allows more charges to pass through the cross
section at a time than that of the wire with smaller diameter, meaning that I1 is
larger than I2.

uts.edu.au
RESISTANCE
Resistance is a component’s tendency to resist the flow of charge (current). And
apparently, the wire in Case 1 has a smaller resistance than that in Case 2.
V V
+ – + –

Current I1
Current I2
– – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – –

where R is the resistance in Ω

(Ohm), ρ is the resistivity of the
Specifically, the resistance of 𝐿
a wire can be calculated via 𝑅 =𝜌× material in (Ω*m), L is the length of
𝐴 the wire and A is the cross-sectional
area of the wire.

uts.edu.au
RESISTANCE
Resistance is a component’s tendency to resist the flow of charge (current).
𝐿
𝑅 =𝜌×
𝐴
where R is the resistance in Ω (Ohm), ρ is the resistivity of the material in (Ω*m),
L is the length of the wire and A is the cross-sectional area of the wire.

Note that conductance (G) is the reciprocal of resistance (R) and its unit is
siemens (S); conductivity (σ) is the reciprocal of resistivity (ρ) and its unit is S/m.
As can be concluded from the equation, the resistance of a wire depends on its
dimensions and its material.
The longer the wire, the larger the resistance;
The wider the wire, the smaller the resistance;
The better the conductivity of the material, the smaller the resistance. (A wire
made of gold has smaller resistance than the wire made of copper with the
same dimensions.)
uts.edu.au
OHM’S LAW
Georg Ohm found that, at a constant temperature, the electrical current flowing
through a fixed linear resistance is directly proportional to the voltage applied
across it, and also inversely proportional to the resistance. This relationship
between the Voltage, Current and Resistance forms the basis of Ohms
Law and is shown below.

𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅
where V is voltage in volts, I is current in amps and R is resistance in ohms.

Alternatively, it also can be expressed as

𝑉 𝑉
𝐼= 𝑅=
𝑅 𝐼
uts.edu.au
OHM’S LAW 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝐼=
𝑉
𝑅=
𝑉
𝑅 𝐼
Example 1: See the figure below, if a voltage source of 10 V is connected to a
resistor of 2 Ω, please determine the value and direction of the current in the
circuit.
Vs = 10V
+ –
I

R=
One can easily determine using Ohm’s The direction of current is
law that the current go through the from the larger potential
resistor is I = V/R = 5 A. point to lower potential point
(from “+” sign to “–” sign).

uts.edu.au
OHM’S LAW 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝐼=
𝑉
𝑅=
𝑉
𝑅 𝐼
Example 1: What if the voltage changed to -10 V?

You can always assume a

Vs = -10V reference direction and
conduct calculation. If the
+ –
result is negative, then the
I real current direction is
opposite.
R=

One can easily determine using Ohm’s The direction of current is

law that the current go through the from the larger potential
resistor is I = V/R = -5 A. point to lower potential point
(from “+” sign to “–” sign).

uts.edu.au
OHM’S LAW 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝐼=
𝑉
𝑅=
𝑉
𝑅 𝐼
Example 2: See the figure below: a current of I = 2 A passes through a resistor or
2 Ω, what is the voltage? Which side of the resistor has a higher voltage?
VR = 4V
+ –

I = 2A R=

According to Ohm’s law, one can easily found that the voltage is V = R*I = 4 V.
As mentioned before, current always flow from higher potential (voltage) to lower potential (voltage).
Follow the current direction, there is always a voltage drop. The value of voltage drop can be
calculated using Ohm’s law.

uts.edu.au
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT
An electric circuit is a closed path in which electrons move to produce electric
currents. A typical circuit is shown as below:

Voltage source provide constant

Switch Resistor Inductor voltage output but we don’t know
the current passing through it.
Va Current source provide constant
current output but we don’t know
Voltage Current the voltage across it.
+

– Vs Is
source source We usually assume the voltage at
Capacitor
ground is 0.
Vb
The voltage difference between
Ground two nodes is Vab = Va – Vb.
VGND = 0V

uts.edu.au
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT 𝑉 𝑉
Short circuit: 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝐼= 𝑅=
𝑅 𝐼
If the circuit is “short”, the total resistance is 0. According to Ohm’s law, the
current is infinitely large. (Although in reality, the current will not reach infinity, the
resultant large current might damage the circuit or source. )

Vs = 10V
+ –
I

R=0

uts.edu.au
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT 𝑉 𝑉
Open circuit: 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 𝐼= 𝑅=
𝑅 𝐼
If the circuit is left “open”, the resistance between the two nodes are infinitely
large, therefore the current is 0. The voltage difference between the two nodes
are 10 V.
Follow the current
direction, there is
Vs = 10V always a voltage drop.
The value of voltage
+ – drop can be calculated
10V 0V
I using Ohm’s law.

10V R=ꝏ 0V

uts.edu.au
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT
Open circuit:

Question: If we have a resistor connected to the voltage source in the open

circuit, what is the voltage across the resistor? What is the voltage difference
between the two nodes?
Vs = 10V
+ –
I

The voltage across the resistor is 0 because the current is 0.

Since there is no voltage drop on the resistor, the voltage difference
between the two nodes is the same as the source voltage, which is 10 V.

uts.edu.au
POWER AND ENERGY
We can define electrical energy (E) as the energy generated by the movement
of electrons from one point to another. When current flows through an element
and voltage appears across the element, energy is transferred.
In any given time interval, the energy consumed (or provided, depending on your
perspective) is given by E = qV, where E is the electric energy, V is the voltage,
and q is the amount of charge moved in the time interval under
consideration. The unit of energy is Joule (J).

Electric power is the rate, per unit time, at which electrical energy is transferred
by an electric circuit. The unit of power is the watt (W), one joule per second. It
can be calculated as

𝑑𝐸 𝑑𝑞
𝑃= = 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑉
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

uts.edu.au
POWER AND ENERGY
Electric power is the rate, per unit time, at which electrical energy is transferred
by an electric circuit. The unit of power is the watt (W), one joule per second. It
can be calculated as
Specifically, for the power dissipated on a resistor, it can also be written as
2
𝑉
𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = 𝐼2 𝑅 =
𝑅
On the other hand, to calculate the energy E delivered to a circuit element
between time instant t1 and t2, we can integrate power:
𝑡2
𝐸 = න 𝑝𝑑𝑡
𝑡1
If the power is constant, it can be simplified as 𝐸 = 𝑃𝑡

uts.edu.au
POWER AND ENERGY
For the circuit shown below, calculate the electrical power delivered to the
resistor. How much energy is delivered to the resistor in 1 minute?
Vs = 10V
+ – 𝑉 2

I 𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = 𝐼2 𝑅 =
𝑅

R=

I = Vs/R = 5 A
P = VI = 10 * 5 = 50 W.
E = Pt = 50*60 = 3000 J

uts.edu.au