Department of Electromechanical Engineering

Course Title: Fundamentals of Electrical Circuits

1 / 33
Chapter-1: Review of Electromagnetic Phenomenon and
Variables
1 Coulomb’s Law
2 Electrostatics
3 Voltage
4 Current
5 Resistance
6 Conductance
7 Ohm’s Law
8 Energy and Power
9 Magnetic Field Lines

2 / 33
 Coulomb’s Law

Nature of Electricity

Most of the atoms are made up of three basic particles, the neutron,
proton and the electron.

The nucleus of an atom is consisting of proton and neutron.

The orbiting electron carries a negative charge that is equal in mag-

nitude to the positive charge of the proton.

In all neutral atoms the number of electrons is equal to the number

of protons.

It has been determined by experimentation that unlike charges at-

tract, and like charges repel.

3 / 33
 Coulomb’s Law

Coulomb’s Law

The force of attraction or repulsion between two charged bodies Q1

and Q2 can be determined by Coulomb’s law
Q1 Q2
F =k
r2
As the distance between the nucleus and the orbital electrons in-
creases, the binding force diminishes until it reaches its lowest level
at the outermost subshell (largest r)

In one cubic inch of copper at room temperature, there are approx-

imately 1.4 ∗ 1024 free electrons.

4 / 33
 Electrostatics

Electrostatics

Electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with the phenomena

and properties of stationary or slow moving electric charges.

Electric field is the region of space surrounding electrically charged

particles.

The direction of the field is taken to be the direction of the force it

would exert on a positive test charge.

The electric field is radially outward from a positive charge and

radially in toward a negative point charge.

5 / 33
Electrostatics

These lines are supposed to emanate from a positive charge and end
on a negative charge

Electric field intensity at any point within an electric field may be

defined as the force experienced by a unit positive charge placed at
that point.
Force F Q
E= = =K 2
Charge q r
1
Where K = 4π 0
= 9 ∗ 109 N/m and 0 is permittivity of space =
8.85 ∗ 10−12 Farads/meter
6 / 33
 Electrostatics

Electric field potential

The electric potential is a scalar quantity denoted by V which is equal

to the electric potential energy (measured in joules) of a charged par-
ticle at that location divided by the charge (measured in coulombs)
of the particle.

The electric potential is independent of the test particle’s charge

rather it is purely location dependent.

The electric potential created by a point charge Q, at a distance r

from the charge (relative to the potential at infinity), can also be
given by
Q
V =E ∗r =K
r

7 / 33
Electrostatics

Forces acting on a charge q between two plates, A and B, which

have an electric field E between them.

The electric force F exerted by the field on the positive charge is F

= qE. To move the charge from plate A to plate B, an equal and
opposite force (F 0 = -qE) must be applied.

The electric potential that is, the work W done in moving the positive
charge through a distance d is W = F 0 d = -qEd.

8 / 33
 Voltage

Voltage

Voltage is a representation of the electric potential energy per unit

charge.

If a unit of electrical charge were placed in a location, the voltage

indicates the potential energy of it at that point.

In other words, it is a measurement of the energy contained within

an electric field, or an electric circuit, at a given point.

9 / 33
 Current

Current
Electrical current is a measure of the amount of electrical charge
transferred per unit time.
dq
I =
dt
where I is the current flow through the conductor

The figure shows the flow of electrons through a conductive

material.
10 / 33
Current

Without external forces applied, the net flow of charge in a conductor

in any one direction is zero.

A coulomb (C) of charge was defined as the total charge associated

with 6.242 ∗ 1018 electrons.

The charge associated with one electron can then be determined

Charge/electron = Qe = 1C /(6.242 ∗ 1018 ) = 1.6 ∗ 10−19 C

The current in amperes can now be calculated using the following

equation:

11 / 33
Current

Example: When a current of 2 A flows for 3 micro-seconds in a

copper wire, estimate the number of electrons crossing the cross-
section of the wire.

12 / 33
 Resistance

Resistance
The opposition, due to the collisions between electrons and other
atoms in the material, which converts electrical energy into another
form of energy such as heat, is called the resistance of the material.

The unit of measurement of resistance is the ohm, for which the

symbol is Ω, the capital Greek letter omega.

The resistance of any material with a uniform cross-sectional area is

determined by the following four factors:
Material
Length
Cross-sectional area
Temperature
13 / 33
Resistance

At a fixed temperature of 20◦ C (room temperature), the resistance

in ohm (Ω) is related to the other three factors by
L
R=ρ
A
Where ρ (rho) is a characteristic of the material called the resistivity,
L is the length of the sample, and A is the cross-sectional area of
the sample.
Example: Calculate the resistance of 100m length of a wire having
a uniform cross-sectional area of 0.1 mm2 if the wire is made of
manganin having a resistivity of 50 ∗ 10−8 Ω − m. If the wire is
increased to three times its original length, by how many times would
you expect its resistance to be increased?

Example: A cube of a material of side 1cm has a resistance of 0.001Ω

between its opposite faces. If the same volume of the material
has a length of 8cm and a uniform cross-section, what will be the
resistance of this length? 14 / 33
 Conductance

Conductance

It is the reciprocal of the resistance of a material, conductance

the measure of how well the material will conduct electricity. It

has the symbol G, and is measured in Siemens (S). In equation of
conductance is
1 A
G= =
R ρL
Indicating that increasing the area or decreasing either the length or
the resistivity will increase the conductance.

Example: What is the relative increase or decrease in conductivity of

a conductor if the area is reduced by 30% and the length is increased
by 40%? The resistivity is fixed.

15 / 33
 Conductance

Effect of temperature on resistance

Temperature has a significant effect on the resistance of conductors,
semiconductors, and insulators.

For good conductors, an increase in temperature will result in an

increase in the resistance level. Consequently, conductors have a
positive temperature coefficient.

For semiconductor materials, an increase in temperature will result

in a decrease in the resistance level. Consequently, semiconductors
have negative temperature coefficients.

Like semiconductors, Insulators increase in temperature will result in

a decrease in the resistance of an insulator. The result is a negative
temperature coefficient.
16 / 33
Conductance

R20 as the resistance of the sample at 20◦ C , the resistance R1 at a

temperature T1 is determined by

R1 = R20 (1 + α20 (T1 − 20◦ C ))

where α20 is temperature coefficient of the conductor at a temper-

ature of 20◦ C

Example: A tungsten lamp filament has a temperature of 2, 050◦ C

and a resistance of 500Ω when taking normal working current. Cal-
culate the resistance of the filament when it has a temperature of
25◦ C . Temperature coefficient at 20◦ C is 0.005/◦ C .

Example: It is found that the resistance of a coil of wire increases

from 40 ohm at 15 ◦ C to 50 ohm at 60 ◦ C . Calculate the resistance
temperature coefficient at 20 ◦ C of the conductor material.
17 / 33
 Conductance

Color Coding and Standared Resistor Values

There are three types of resistor colour coding. They have different
number of colour bands and hence provide different information.

And finally here is the complete colour codes table

18 / 33
Conductance

Examples: Find the range in which a resistor having the following

color bands must exist to satisfy the manufacturer’s tolerance:

19 / 33
 Ohm’s Law

Ohm’s Law
The ratio of potential difference (V) between any two points on
a conductor to the current (I) flowing between them, is constant,
provided the temperature of the conductor does not change.

I
V =
R
where R is the resistance of the conductor between the two points
considered.

Example: A coil of copper wire has resistance of 90Ω at 20◦ C and

is connected to a 230-V supply. By how much must the voltage be
increased in order to maintain the current constant if the tempera-
ture of the coil rises to 60◦ C? Take the temperature coefficient of
resistance of copper as 0.00428 from 0◦ C.
20 / 33
 Energy and Power

Power
Power is an indication of how much work (the conversion of energy
from one form to another) can be done in a specified amount of
time, that is, a rate of doing work.

In equation form, power is determined by

W
P=
t
The power is given in watts, W, or joules/second, J/s

The power delivered to, or absorbed by, an electrical device or system

can be found in terms of the current and voltage
W Q V2
P= = V = IV = I 2 R =
t t R
21 / 33
 Energy and Power

Energy
For power, which is the rate of doing work, to produce an energy
conversion of any form, it must be used over a period of time.

The energy (W) lost or gained by any system is therefore determined

by
W = Pt
energy is given in watt seconds, Ws, or joules

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

The electric power utility companies measure energy in watt-hours

(Wh), where
1Wh = 3600J

22 / 33
 Magnetic Field Lines

Magnetic Field Lines

In the region surrounding a permanent magnet there exists a mag-

netic field, which can be represented by magnetic flux lines.

Magnetic flux lines, however, do not have origins or terminating

points but exist in continuous loops, as shown in the Fig.

23 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

The number of flux lines per unit area is called the flux density, is
denoted by the capital letter B, and is measured in teslas.

Its magnitude is determined by the following equation:

24 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

The permeability (µ) of a material, therefore, is a measure of the

ease with which magnetic flux lines can be established in the mate-
rial.

It is similar in many respects to conductivity in electric circuits. The

permeability of free space µ0 (vacuum) is

Wb
µ0 = 4π ∗ 10−7
A.m
Relative permeability (µr ): The ratio of the permeability of a mate-
rial to that of free space
µ
µr =
µ0
In general, for ferromagnetic materials, µr ≥ 100, and for nonmag-
netic materials, µr = 1.

25 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

The reluctance of a material to the setting up of magnetic flux lines

in the material is determined by the following equation:
l
Relactance = (rels, At/Wb)
µA
Example: Which section of Fig. (a), (b), or (c) has the largest reluc-
tance to the setting up of flux lines through its longest dimension?

26 / 33
 Magnetic Field Lines

Magnetomotive Force(M.M.F.)
It drives or tends to drive flux through a magnetic circuit. The
magnetomotive force is proportional to the product of the number
of turns around the core and the current through the turns of wire

M.M.I = NI (amper − turn, At)

The magnetomotive force per unit length is called the magnetizing

force (H). In equation form

M.M.I NI
H= = (amper − turn/m, At/m)
l l
The flux density and the magnetizing force are related by the fol-
lowing equation:
B = µH
27 / 33
 Magnetic Field Lines

Magnetic field due to an electric current

A magnetic field is present around every wire that carries an electric
current

Electromagnetic induction is created when a conductor cuts

magnetic flux, an e.m.f. and current is produced in the conductor.

The magnitude of the induced e.m.f. is equal to the rate of change

of flux-linkages.
dφ
e=N volt
dt
28 / 33
 Magnetic Field Lines

self Inductance and Mutual Inductance

When two inductors (or coils) are in a close proximity to each other,
the magnetic flux caused by current in one coil links with the other
coil, thereby inducing voltage in the latter. This phenomenon is
known as mutual inductance.

For a single inductor of N turns. When current i flows through the

coil, a magnetic flux is produced around it. According to Faraday’s
law, the voltage induced in the coil is proportional to the number of
turns N and the time rate of change of the magnetic flux
dφ
e=N
dt

29 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

But the flux is produced by current i so that any change in is caused

by a change in the current. Hence,the above eqn can be written as
dφ dφ di di
e=N =N =L
dt di t dt
which is the voltage-current relationship for the inductor. The in-
ductance L of the inductor is thus given by
dφ
L=N
di
This inductance is commonly called self-inductance, because it re-
lates the voltage induced in a coil by a time-varying current in the
same coil.

30 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

Now consider two coils with self-inductances L1 and L2 that are in

close proximity with each other. Coil 1 has N1 turns, while coil 2
has N2 turns. For the sake of simplicity, assume that the second
inductor carries no current.

The magnetic flux φ1 emanating from coil 1 has two components:

one component φ11 links only coil 1, and another component φ12
links both coils. Hence

φ1 = φ11 + φ12

31 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

Although the two coils are physically separated, they are said to
be magnetically coupled. Since the entire flux φ1 links coil 1, the
voltage induced in coil 1 is
dφ1 dφ1 di1 di1
v1 = N1 = N1 = L1
dt di1 dt dt
where L1 = N1 dφ 1
di1 is the self-inductance of coil 1. Similarly

Only flux φ12 links coil 2, so the voltage induced in coil 2 is

dφ12 dφ12 di1 di1
v2 = N2 = N2 = M21
dt di1 dt dt
where M21 = N2 dφ 12
di1

M21 is known as the mutual inductance of coil 2 with respect to coil

1. Subscript 21 indicates that the inductance relates the voltage
induced in coil 2 to the current in coil 1.
32 / 33
Magnetic Field Lines

therefore, M as the mutual inductance between the two coils. Like

self-inductance L, mutual inductance M is measured in henrys (H).

Keep in mind that mutual coupling only exists when the inductors
or coils are in close proximity, and the circuits are driven by time-
varying sources.

Mutual inductance is the ability of one inductor to induce a voltage

across a neighboring inductor, measured in henrys (H).

The transformer is an electrical device designed on the basis of the

concept of magnetic coupling. It uses magnetically coupled coils to
transfer energy from one circuit to another. Transformers are key
circuit elements. They are used in power systems for stepping up or
stepping down ac voltages or currents. They are used in electronic
circuits such as radio and television receivers for such purposes of
isolating one part of a circuit from another, and again for stepping
33 / 33