APPLIED PHYSICS II - MODULE III – Part I

ELECTROMAGNETISM
CO3 : Convert galvanometer into ammeter and voltmeter.

Electromagnetism involves the study of electric and magnetic effects. Both the
electric and magnetic effect has its origin in electric charge. An electric charge
at rest produces electric effect, where as an electric charge in motion produces
magnetic effect in addition to electric effect.
Electric charge:
Electric charge is the property of certain elementary particles due to which it
experiences a force when placed near another charge. There are two types of
charges found in nature - positive charge and negative charge. The force
between a positive charge and a negative charge is attractive and the force
between two positive charges or between two negative charges is repulsive. The
SI unit of charge is Coulomb (C).

The smallest charge is the charge of an electron or a proton. The charge of an

electron is negative and the charge of a proton is positive. Its value is 6×10−19C.
This charge is also called the elementary charge. All other charges are integral
multiples of this elementary charge.
Coulomb’s Law:
Coulomb’s law states that the force of interaction between two electric
charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between the two charges. Let 𝑞1 and
𝑞2 be two charges placed at a distance 𝑟 between them. According to Coulomb’s
law, the electrostatic force between the charges 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 is given by
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹∝
𝑟2
 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹=𝑘
𝑟2

where k is the proportionality constant depends on the nature of the medium in

which the charges are situated. If SI unit system is used, the value of k is given
by,
1
𝑘 =
4𝜋𝜀0

where 𝜀0 is called the permittivity of the free space. Generally the force between
two charges is expressed as,
𝟏 𝒒𝟏 𝒒𝟐
𝑭=
𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝒓𝟐

The value of 𝜀0 is 8.854 x 10 -12 C2/N m2. If the charges are placed in air or
vacuum, 𝑘 has a value 9 x 109 Nm2C -2.
Electric field:
An electric charge placed at a point exerts a force on another charge even if
there is no contact between them. This interaction at a distance can be seen as
a two step process. The charge produces some kind of field around it and this
field exerts a force on any other charge placed in it. The region of space around
a charged particle within which another charge experiences an electric force is
called electric field.
If a charge q experiences a force F when placed at a point in an electric field,
then the electric field intensity or the electric field (E ) at that point is defined as
the force experienced by unit positive charge placed at that point and is given
by,
𝑭
𝑬= or 𝑭 = 𝒒𝑬
𝒒

The SI unit of electric field intensity is N/C (newton/coulomb) which can also
be expressed as volt/meter.
Electric Potential:
Consider an electric field produced by a positive charge. Another positive
charge placed in this electric field experiences a repulsive force. To move the
second charge against this repulsive force, work has to be done on it. This
amount of work is stored as potential energy of the charge.
 The electric potential at a point in an electric field is defined as the work done
in moving a unit positive charge from infinity to that point. The unit of electric
potential is volt (V). If we consider two points , then the difference in electric
potential is called the potential difference or voltage between the two points.
The potential difference between two points is one volt if one joule of work is
done in moving one coulomb of charge from one point to the other. Thus
1volt=1joule/coulomb. Electric charges always flows from higher potential to
lower potential.

Capacitor:
A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge. Capacitor is a system of
two conductors placed close to each other with an insulating medium in
between them. One of the conductor is given a positive charge (+Q) and the
other conductor is given an equal negative charge (-Q).The charge on the
positively charged conductor is called the charge of the capacitor.
The potential difference between positively charged conductor and the
negatively charged conductor is called potential of the capacitor (V).

For a given capacitor, the charge Q on the capacitor is proportional to the

potential difference V between the two conductors.
Q ∝ V
Q = CV
The proportionality constant C is called the capacitance of the capacitor. The
capacitance C of a capacitor depends on the shape, size, separation between the
conductors and the nature of the insulating medium between the conductors.
The capacitance of a capacitor is the measure of how much charge a capacitor
can store.
The SI unit of capacitance is farad(F). Farad is a very large unit, so submultiples
of Farad namely microfarad(μF) or picofarad (pF) are generally used for practical
purposes.
1 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 1 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏/𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡
1 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 10−6 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑
1 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑜 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑 = 10−12 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑

Electric current:
The rate of flow of charges is called electric current. If q quantity of charge
flows across an area in t seconds, then electric current is given by
𝒒
𝑰=
𝒕

The SI unit of electric current is Ampere (A).

Direct current(DC) and Alternating current(AC):

A cell or a battery connected to a conducting wire produces a current in the
wire. The current goes from the positive terminal to the negative terminal of the
cell through the wire. The direction and magnitude of the current remains
constant. The current whose direction and magnitude remains constant is called
direct current or DC.
If the current in a circuit changes its direction alternately, the current is called
alternating current or AC. The most common alternating current in use is the
sinusoidally varying current which is the electricity powering our homes and
industries.
Ohm’s Law:
Ohm’s law states that the current flowing through a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference across its ends, provided the
temperature is constant.
𝑉 ∝ 𝐼
𝑉
or = 𝑅, a constant
𝐼
The constant R is called the resistance of the conductor. Its unit is ohm denoted
by Ω. The resistance represents the opposition offered by the conductor to the
flow of current through it.
For a good conductor, the value of resistance is low. The reciprocal of
resistance is called conductance (S). The SI unit of conductance is ohm-1 (mho).
1 𝐼
𝑆 =
𝑅
= 𝑉

Conceptual Learning 1:
Find out the following
i) The voltage of our household electricity supply …………….
ii) The voltage required for a TV remote ………………….
iii) The output voltage of a mobile phone charger……………..
iv) The voltage required for an ordinary battery powered wall clock………
v) The output voltage of a car battery………………..
Verification of Ohm’s law:
Ohm’s law can be verified using the circuit shown below. A conducting wire
of resistance R is connected to a cell of emf E through a key K and rheostat Rh.
The ammeter A measures the current through the circuit and the voltmeter V
measures the potential difference across the resistance R.

When the key K is closed, current flows through the circuit. The rheostat is
adjusted to get a particular value of potential difference across the resistance.
The corresponding ammeter reading is also noted. The rheostat is adjusted for
different value of potential differences and the corresponding value of current
through the resistance is obtained from the ammeter. In each case the ratio of
V/I is calculated and found to be constant. This constant value gives the
resistance R of the conductor.
Specific resistance (Resistivity):
The resistance of a conductor depends on the dimensions and its material. It
is found that the resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to the length
of the conductor and inversely proportional to the area of cross section of the
conductor. If L is the length and A is the area of cross section of a conductor,
then its resistance
𝐿
𝑅 ∝
𝐴

ρ𝐿
𝑅 =
𝐴
 The proportionality constant 𝜌 is called the specific resistance or resistivity of
the material of the conductor. It the measure of the opposition to the flow of
current through a material.
R𝐴
ρ =
𝐿
The unit of resistivity is ohm m (Ω m).

Specific conductance:
The reciprocal of specific resistance is called the specific conductance ( 𝜎 ) or
conductivity of a material.
𝟏
𝝈=
𝝆

𝐋
or 𝝈 =
𝑹𝑨
The unit of specific conductance is ohm-1m-1 (Ω-1m-1).
Factors affecting the resistance of a conducting wire:
The resistance of a wire depends on the material of the wire, the length of the
wire and the thickness of the wire. In addition to these factors, the resistance of
a conducting wire depends on the temperature. The resistance of conducting
wires increases with increase in temperature. The factors affecting the
resistance of a wire can be summarized as below.
Carbon resistors:
Resistors have extensive use in electrical and electronic circuits as voltage
dividers, voltage droppers and to limit the passage of current through various
parts of the circuits. The most commonly used type of resistors are carbon
resistors. They are made from a mixture of fine carbon fragments and a non-
conducting ceramic powder to bind it all together. Carbon resistors are small in
size and are inexpensive.
Carbon resistors are cylindrical in shape with their resistance values are given
using colour codes. It has a set of co-axial coloured rings, with each colour
assigned a particular value. The first two rings gives the first two significant
figures of the resistance value in ohms and the colour of the third ring indicates
the decimal multiplier. The last ring represents the variation of the resistor value
in percentage.
Kirchhoff’s laws:
Electrical circuits generally contains a number of resistors and cells. The
potential difference and the current in different parts of the circuit varies.
Kirchhoff’s laws are very useful in analysing these complex circuits. It consists of
two laws.
1. Kirchhoff’s first law or Current law (Junction rule):
Kirchhoff‘s first law states that the algebraic sum of the currents meeting at a
junction is zero. In other words, the sum of all currents directed towards a
junction is equal to the sum of all the currents directed away from the junction.
The first law follows from the fact that there is no accumulation of charges at
any point in a circuit - the total charges flowing in unit time towards a point
should be equal to the total charges flowing out in unit time. The current flowing
towards the junction is taken as positive and current flowing away from the
junction is taken as negative. In the figure, 𝑖1 and 𝑖3 are the currents flowing
towards the junction and 𝑖2 and 𝑖4 are the currents flowing away from the
junction. Hence according to the first law,
 𝑖1 − 𝑖2 + 𝑖3 − 𝑖4 = 0
𝑖1 + 𝑖3 = 𝑖2 + 𝑖4
Total current coming to the junction = Total current going out of the junction
Or, in general ∑𝑖 = 0

2. Kirchhoff’s second law or voltage law (loop rule):

Kirchhoff‘s second law states that the algebraic sum of the potential
differences around any closed loop in a circuit is zero.
∑𝑖𝑅 + ∑𝐸 = 0
In applying the rule, one starts from a point on the loop and goes along the loop,
either clockwise or anti-clockwise to reach the same point again. The potential
difference across a resistance (iR) is taken positive when traversed in the
direction of the current and potential difference across a cell is taken positive
when traversed from the positive terminal to negative terminal inside the cell.
Consider the circuit shown in fig 3.8. Applying Kirchhoff ‘s law,
For the loop PQRSTUP, start from the point P and going in the clockwise
direction gives
𝐼1𝑅1 + 𝐼3𝑅3 + 𝐼4𝑅4 − 𝐸 = 0
For the loop PQTUP,
𝐼1𝑅1 + 𝐼2𝑅2 + 𝐼4𝑅4 − 𝐸=0
For the loop QRSTQ,
𝐼3𝑅3 − 𝐼2𝑅2=0

Application of Kirchhoff’s laws : Wheatstone’s Bridge

The Kirchhoff’s laws can be used to find the balancing condition of a
Wheatstone’s bridge. Wheatstone’s bridge is a network of four resistances
which can be used for the measurement of resistance. To measure a resistance,
it is connected as one of the four resistances in the bridge. The resistances are
connected as shown in fig 3.9. P , R and S are the known resistances whose value
can be varied and X is the unknown resistance. A cell is connected between the
opposite points A and C. To detect the flow of current along the path BD a
galvanometer of resistance G is connected as shown. The current through
various branches is shown in the figure.
Applying junction rule at the junctions, B and D gives
At junction B: 𝑖1 - 𝑖2 - 𝑖𝑔 = 0
or 𝑖1 = 𝑖2 + 𝑖𝑔 ------------ (1)
At junction D: 𝑖3 + 𝑖𝑔 - 𝑖4 = 0
or 𝑖3 + 𝑖𝑔 = 𝑖4 ------------- (2)
Applying Kirchhoff’s second law (loop rule) in the closed loop ABDA
𝑖1𝑃 + 𝑖𝑔𝐺 − 𝑖3𝑅 = 0
𝑖1𝑃 + 𝑖𝑔𝐺 = 𝑖3𝑅 ------------ (3)
Similarly in the closed loop BCDB
𝑖2𝑋 − 𝑖4𝑆 − 𝑖𝑔𝐺 = 0
𝑖2𝑋 = 𝑖4𝑆 + 𝑖𝑔𝐺 ………… (4)
By varying the values of the resistances of the bridge , the current through the
galvanometer can be made zero , 𝑖𝑔 = 0. This condition is called the balanced
condition of the bridge.
Using this condition 𝑖𝑔 = 0 in equation (1) and (2)
𝑖1 = 𝑖2 ------------ (5)
𝑖3 = 𝑖4 ------------ (6)
Similarly putting 𝑖𝑔 = 0 in equation (3) and (4)
𝑖1𝑃 = 𝑖3𝑅 ------------ (7)
𝑖2𝑋 = 𝑖4𝑆 ………… …...(8)
Dividing equation (7) by (8) gives,
𝑖1 𝑃 𝑖3 𝑅
=
𝑖2 𝑋 𝑖4 𝑆
𝑃 𝑅
Using equations (5) and (6) gives, =
𝑋 𝑆
This is the balancing condition of Wheatstone’s bridge. Using the balancing
condition, we can calculate the value of the unknown resistance ‘X’ by knowing
the values of P, R and S. This principle is used in the resistance measuring devices
like meter bridge.
Meter Bridge:
Meter bridge is a practical arrangement of Wheatstone’s bridge used to
measure unknown resistance. It consists of a wire AB of length 1m connected
between two L-shaped copper strips. The unknown resistance X and the
resistance box R are connected between the L-shaped strips and a straight
copper strip as shown in fig. 3.10.
A galvanometer is connected between the point C and jockey J. The jockey J
can be moved along the wire AB. The whole arrangement is fixed on a wooden
base. A cell of emf E is also connected as shown. Current flows through the
circuit and the galvanometer shows deflection. The jockey J is moved along the
wire and its position is adjusted such that galvanometer shows zero deflection.
Now the bridge is balanced. Let 𝑙 be the balancing length in centimetre as
measured from the point A.

The four resistances of the bridge are – (1) resistance X , (2) resistance box R ,
(3) resistance of length AD of the wire, and (4) resistance of wire DB of the wire.
Using the balancing condition of Wheatstone’ s bridge,
𝑿 𝑹𝒆𝒔ⅈ𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝑫 (𝒍 𝒄𝒎)
=
𝑹 𝑹𝒆𝒔ⅈ𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝑩 (𝟏𝟎𝟎−𝒍 𝒄𝒎)

Let r be the resistance per unit length of the wire AB then

𝑿 𝒍𝒓
= (𝟏𝟎𝟎−𝒍)𝒓
𝑹
The unknown resistance is then,
𝒍
𝑿 = (𝟏𝟎𝟎−𝒍)
𝑹

The experiment is repeated for different values of R and the mean value of X is
calculated.

Series and Parallel combination of resistors:

Electrical circuits usually contains network of resistances. These
combination of resistances can be replaced by a single effective resistance. The
effective resistance or equivalent of a combination of resistors is that single
resistance which produces the same effect of the combination of the
resistances. The effective resistance draws the same current as drawn by the
resistor combination from the power source. The combination of resistors can
be classified into two types as (a) Series combination and (b) Parallel
combination.
Series combination of resistances:
A combination of resistors is said to be series combination if same current (𝐼)
flows through all the resistors. The effective resistance (R s) of a series
combination is that single resistance which draws the same current (𝐼) from the
source of potential difference V.
𝑉
𝑅𝑆 = −−−−−−(1)
𝐼

In the above circuit, the resistances R1 and R2 are connected in series. The
current through the resistors is 𝐼
Applying Kirchhoff’s second law (loop rule) in the closed circuit ABCDA
𝐼𝑅1 + 𝐼𝑅2 = 𝑉
 𝑉 = 𝐼(𝑅1+ 𝑅2)
𝑉
= 𝑅1+ 𝑅2 --------- (2)
𝐼
From equation (1) and (2) 𝑅S = 𝑅 1 + 𝑅 2
If there are ‘n’ number of resistors connected in series, then the effective
resistance is
𝑅S = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2+ 𝑅3+ −−−− +𝑅𝑛
Thus the equivalent resistance in series connection is the sum of individual
resistances.
Parallel Combination of resistances:
The combination of resistors is said to be a parallel combination if same
potential difference exists across all the resistors. The equivalent resistance (RP)
of a parallel combination is that single resistance which draws the same current
(𝐼) from the source of emf V.
𝑉
𝑅𝑃 = −−−−−−(1)
𝐼

The resistors R1 and R2 are connected in parallel. The combination is connected

to a power supply of potential difference V.
Applying Kirchhoff’s first law (junction rule) at junction A,
we get 𝐼 = 𝐼 1+ 𝐼 2
Voltage across each resistance is V, therefore using Ohm’s law,
𝑉 𝑉
𝐼= +
𝑅1 𝑅2
 1 1
𝐼 = 𝑉( + )
𝑅1 𝑅2
𝐼 1 1
Or = + ---------------(2)
𝑉 𝑅1 𝑅2

From equation (1)

𝐼 1
=
𝑉 𝑅𝑃

Then equation (2) becomes

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐
= + or 𝑹𝑷 =
𝑹𝑷 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟏 +𝑹𝟐

If there are ‘n’ number of resistors in parallel, the effective resistance is given by
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + + + + ………….+
𝑹𝑷 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝟒 𝑹𝒏

Thus when a number of resistances are connected in parallel, the reciprocal

of the equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of reciprocals of individual
resistances. It may be remembered that the equivalent resistance of
combination of parallel resistances is always less than that of the least resistance
in the group.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….