CHAP #13

ELECTRIC CURRENT
Electric Current: The amount of charge flowing per unit area per second across any
cross-section of cunductor is called Electric Current.e.g If a charge passes across any Q cross-section of a conductor in time then t Where represents electric current. It is a scalar quantitiy ad has SI unit Ampere.

Ampere: If a charge of one coulom passes across any cross-section of a conductor in

one second then the current is one Ampere. 1 ampere=

Conventional Current: A current which is due to the flow of postive charges. It is

supposed to flow from the +ve terminal of a battery to the ve terminal.

Electronic Current: After the discovery of an electron it is confirmed that current is

due to the flow of electrons, such a current is called electronic current. It flows from the ve terminal to the +ve terminal of the battery.

Drift Velocity: In a conductor , there are a large no. of free electros, which are in
random motion as shown in the figure.

The no. of electrons crossing to right across any crosssection is equal to the o. of electrons crossing to left, hence there is no net current in the conductor. When a battery is connected across the conductor a field is set up in the conductor. The electrons start to drift in a deirection of E. The electrons acquire a constant drift velocity due to which a net current begins to flow through it . The drift velocity is of the order of 10-3ms-1.

Sources of Current: A device which provides constant current through a conductor is

called source of current. There are many types of sources of current 1) Cells ; which convert chemical energy into electrical energy.

2) Electric generators; which convert mechanical energy into electrical energy . 4) Sloar cells ; which convert sun-light into electrical energy.

Effect of Current: The presence of electric current can be detected by various effects
which it produces.e,g 1) Heating effect 2) Magnetic effect 3) Chemical effect

Heating effect: When current is passed through a conductor the electrons collide with the atoms of the conductor and transfer energy to atoms. This energy increases the
motion of atoms which appears as the heat energy of the conductor. Hence electrical energy of the conductor. Hence electrical energy of the battery goes to the heat energy.

Magnetic effect: When current is passed through a conductor , a magnetic field is

generated arround the conductor in a circular path as shown in the diagram. The magnitude of the magnetic field is given by Ampere law The direction of B is given by Right Hand Rule.

Chemical Effect:

When an electrolyte is dissolved into ions i , e Cu H2O Cu+++So4 .When the current is passed through such a solutioncontaining Cu++ ions and SO4 ions as shown in fugure. The Cu++ go to the cathod and take 2 e charge from the cathode and are deposited on it Cu++ + 2 e Cu

The SO4 ions go to the anode and take a Cu++ from the anode and form CuSO4 Cu++ + So4 CuSO4

In this way the CuSO4 molecule is regenerated. In this process a Cu atom is deposited on the cathode . Such a process is named Electrolysis or Electroplating.

Electroplating: A process of coating a thin layer of expensive metal on a cheap metal is

called electroplating.

Voltameter: A avessel in which the process of electrolysis takes place is called

voltametere. Electrolyte: A substance which when dissolved in H2O dissociates into ions is called an Electrolyte . Cus4 H2oO C+u+ + So4 .

Electrolysis: When current is passed through a soloution of electrolyte, a metal is

continuously deposited on eathode while an equal amount of the same metal is dissoloved in the solution, such a process is called Electrolysis.

OHMS Law: The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the
potential differene across its end provided the physical state of the conductor doesnt change. V V= R . Where R is a constant of proportionality which depends upon physical state of the conductor, Dimensions of the conductor & Nature of the conductor. It is called resistance of the conductor.

Resistence: The opposition of the conductor of current is called resistance . It has SI

unit ohm.

OHM: It is the unit of resistence and is defined as The resistence of a conductor is 1

ohm if a current of 1 ampere passing through it produces a p.d. of 1 volt across its ends R= 1ohm=

OHMIC Materials :
I O V

The materials which abey ohms law are called ohmic materials . If the resistance of a material is constant then the V- I graphis a st.line and ohms law holds.

Non-OHMIC Materials : The materials which dont obey ohms law are called nonohmic materials. Lighted Bulb : When current I flows through the fillament of a bulb, heating begins and R does not remain constant, and goes on increasing. The current does not increas with the increase of p.d. as shown in the figure . So graph is not a st.line. I V

Semi-Conductor: The resistance of semi conductors deceases with the inceas of temp.
hence current increase rapidly with the increase of voltag. Series Combination of Resistors: If the resistors are so vonnected that there is only one path for the flow of curent then such a combination is callled seies combination. Consider 3 conductors R1 ,R2 & R3 connected in the series as shown in the fig.

The equivalent resistance is the algebic sum of all the resistances Re = R1+ + R2 + R3 .+ Rn Re =

Parallel combination of resistors: If the resistors are so connected that there are
more than one path for flow of current then such a combinatio nis called a parallel combination. Consider 3 resistors of resistences R1, R2and R3 connected parallel as shown in fig.

The equivalent resistance in this case is If there are more than three conductors then =

The reciprocal of the equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of all the resistances connected in parallel In this case I= I1+I2+I3

Resistivity and Its Dependence up to temp:

Ther resistance of a unit cube of a substance is called its resistivity or specific resistance .e.g. Consider a conductor of length Land area of cross-section A then its resistance R L and R or R or R=

Where

is a constant of proportionality and is called resistivity of the material . =ohm.m2m-1 = ohm.m

The SI unit of is ohm.m . If A = 1m2 and L = 1m then = R i,e The resistance of unit cube of the substance. Conductance: The reciprocal of resistance is called conductance and its units are (ohm)-1 or mho. i,e Conductance = C=1/R = 1/ohm = ohm-1 Conductivity: The reciprocal of resistivity is called conductivity and its SI unit is ohm-1m-1 or mho.m-1 C=1/ = 1/ohm.m = ohm-1.m-1 = mho.m-1 .

Temperature Coefficient of Resistance:

Change in resistance per unit resistance per degree rise in temp. is called temp. coefficient of resistance. . The unit of is 1/ Co or K-1

Temperature Coefficient of resistivity: Change in resistivity per unit resistivity per degree rise in temp is called temp. Coefficient of resistivity and is denoted by . and unit of Now = = = = = is 1/Co = K-1

There are some materials like Germanium and Silicon whose resistance decreases with the increase of temp. Therefore , is negative for them. For all other conductors the resisitivity increases with the rise of temp.

Ex#13.1:
1.0x107 electrons pass through a conductor in 1.0 s. Find the current in ampere flowing through the conductor . Electronic charge is 1.6x10-19c. Sol: # of electrons n = 1.0x107 Charge on an electron e = 1.6x10-19c Total Charge Q = ne + 1.0x107 x 1.6x10-19 =1.6x10-12c Time t =1.o =1.0x10-6s

I=Q/t = 1.6x10-12/1.0x10-6 =1.6x10-6A Ex#13.2:

0.75 A current flows through an iron wire when a battery of 1.5v is connected across its ends. The length of the wire is 5.0m and its cross-section area is 2.5 x 10-7 m2. Calculate the resistivity of iron. Sol: R= V/I =1.5/0.75 = 2.0 But Ex#13.3: A platinum wire has resistance of 10 at 0oc and 20 at 273oc . Find the value of temp Coefficient of resistance of platinum. Sol: = = = = =3.66x10-3co-1 ==3.66x10-3K-1 = RA/L = 2.0 x 2.5 x 10-7/ 5.0 = 1.0 x 10-7 m

Color Code for Carbon Resistances:

Carbon resistors are most common in electronic equipments. They consist of a high grade ceramic rod or cone called substrate on which is deposited a thin resistive film of carbon. The numerical value of their resistance is indicated by a color code which consists of bands of different colors used in this code and the digits represented by them are given in the table ; Color Value black 0 brown 1 red 2 orange 3 yellow 4 green 5 blue 6 violet 7 gray 8 white 9 x x

Usually the code consists of 4 bands from left to right represented as follows;

The first band indicates the first digit in the numerical value of resistance. The second band gives the second digit. This gives the no. of Os. after the second digit. The fourth band gives the resistance tolerance. If it is Gold then 5%, if silver then 10% . If there is no fourth band then 20%.

Tolerance : The possible variation from the marked value is called resistance tolerance .
e,g 1000 with 10% will have 900 to 1100.

RHEOSTAT: A wire wound variable resistance consisting of a bare magnum wire

wound over an insulting cylinder and having 3 terminals is called rheostat. A rheostat can be used as a variable resistance and as potential divider.

Rheostat as a Variable resistor:

To use it as a variable resistor one of the fixed terminals say A and the sliding terminal C are inserted in the circuit. In this way r can be varied from O-R as shown in the fig.

As the contact c moves from A

B, r varies from O

R.

Rheostat as a potential divider:

A potential difference V is applied across the ends A and B of the rheostat with the help of a battery . If R is the resistance of wire AB, the current I passing through it is I= Ohms Law

The potential difference across the portion BC having resistance r is VBC= Current Resistance =V/R r = r/R V As r varies from O to R VBC varies from O to V with the movement of the cotact point C. Hence potential can be divided by Rheostat.

Thermistors:
A heat sensitive resistor is called a thermistor. Most thermistors have negative temp. Coefficient of resistance . the resistance of such thermistors decreases when the temp. Is increased . Thermistors with positive temp coefficient are also available. Thermistors are made by heating under high pressure, semiconductor ceramic, made from mixtures of metallic oxides of manganese , nickel, cobalt, copper, iron etc. These are pressed into desired shapes and then baked at high temp. They may be in the form of beads , rods or washers.

washer

Rod

Thermistors with high negative temp coefficient are very accurate for measuring low temp. Especially near 10k. The higher resistance at low temp. enables more accurate measurement possible. Thermistory have wide applications as temperature sensors.i,e they convert changes of temp. into electrical voltage which is dully processed.

Electrical power and power dissipation in resistors:

The power of a battery or cell is called electrical power and power consumed in a resistor is called power dissipation. Consider a circuit consisting of a battery E connected in series with a resistance R. A steady Current I flows through the circuit and a steady PD.V exists b/w terminals A and B. Of the resistor R. The work done in moving a charge Q up through the potential difference V is work done= V Q This is the energy supplied by the battery. Now Power=

=V

=VI = Current. According to ohms law V=IR = V2 /R

Where I =

P=IR I=I2 R = V

There are three equations for electrical power i,e P=VI, P=I2 R & P=V2/R Power is a scaler quantitiy and has SI unit watt.

Electromotive Force (emf) & Terminal potential Difference:

EMF: The PD across the terminals of a battery or cell when it is not connected in the external circuit is called electromotive force or emf of the battery or cell. Its SI unit is joule/coulomb or Volt OR

Energy supplied to unit positive by the battery or cell when it movies from negative terminal to the positive terminal of the battery i,e EMF=

Terminal P.D:
The Pd across the terminal of a battery when it is connected in the external circuit. When battery is connected across R then I current will flow through the external resistance R as well as through internal resistance r. Then accroding to ohms law

I=

; E=I(R+r) ; E= IR+Ir (eq1)

Eq1 shows that emf E is divided into two parts. Ir across the internal resistance and IR across the external resistance. Where IR is named Terminal potential differnce. Emf = terminal pd + Ir E= Ir+ IR ; E=Vt+Ir ; V = E-Ir

Example13.4
The pd b/w the terminals of a battery in open circuit is 2.2 V , when it is connected across a resistance of 5.0 , The potential falls to 1.8 V. Calculate the current and the internal resistance of the battery .

Sol:

E= 2.2V , R= 5.0, Vt=1.8V

Now Vt= IR or I = Vt/R= 1.8/5.0=0.36A Also E= Vt+Ir 2.2=1.8+0.36 r ; 2.2 - 1.8=0.36 r ; 0.4=0.36 r ; r = 0.4/0.36= 1.11

Maximum Power Output:

As the current I flows through the resistace R, The charges flow from a point of higher potential to a point of lower potential and as such they lose potential energy. If V is the pd across R then loss of pd per unit time is the poer delivered to R by current I . Pout =VI=I2R ; As I=E/R+r Pout = (E/R+r)2 R

= E2R/(R+r)2 = E2R/(R-r)2+ 4Rr Where R=r . Then R-r=0 and denominator becomes minimum and the Pout becomes maximum |Pout|= E2/4r

Kirchhoffs First Rule :

Sum of all the currents at a node is zero i,e or sum of all the currents flowing I=0 towards a node is equal to sum of all the currents flowing away from a node.

Consider a situation where four wires meet at a point called a node. The currents I1 and I2 are flowing toward N are takes as +ve and I3 and I4 are flowing away from a node and takes as ve I=0 I1+I2+ (-I3)+(-I4)=0 I1+I2=+ I3+I4 This law is a form of the law of conservation of charge i,e there is neither a sink nor a source at a node and incomming charge must be equal to outgoing charge.

Node: A junction of two or more branches is called a node. Branch: Each resistance is called a branch. Kirshhoffs Second Rule: The algebric sum of potential changes for a complete circuit
or loop is zero E=0

Consider a closed mesh or loop or circuit ABCDA as shown in the fig.

Containing E1,E2 , R1 and R2 Suppose a current I flows anti-clockwise then according to kirchhoffs 2nd rule, E1-IR1-E2-IR2=0 Where E1 is taken as +ve because a charge flosing from A to B will gain energy and E2 is taken as ve because a charge flowing from B to C will lose energy. IR1 and IR2 are ve because a charge flowing them will lose energy. Kirchhoffs 2nd Rule is a particular form of law of conservation of enery.

Example 13.6

Wheatstone Bridge:
An electrical circuit consisting of four resistances R1,R2,R3 and R4 , a galvanometer of resistance Rg and a battery as shown in the FIG Condition for balancing the bridge

If the switch S is closed a current will flow through the galvanometer. We are to determine the condition under which no current flows through the galvanometer even if the switch remains closed . For this we analyze this circuit using kirchhoffs 2nd rule . We consider two loops ABDA and BCDB and assume that currents I1 and I2 flow clockwise in both the loops. For loop ABDA: -I1R1- (I1-I2)Rg-I1R3=0 (Eq1) For Loop BCDB: Applying kirchhoffs 2nd rule E=0 - I2 R1-I2 R4-(I2-I1)Rg=0 (Eq2) The current through the galvanometer will be zero if (I1-I2)=0 or I1=I2 with this condition Eq1 becomes -I1R1=I1R3 (eq3) And Eq2 becomes -I1R2=I1R4 (eq4) Dividing Eq3 by Eq4 R1/R2=R3/R4 Thus whenever this condition is satisfied , no current flows through galvanometer

Measurement of unknown resistance:

If three resistances are known in the equation R1/R2=R3/R4 ,the 4th can be calculated. For this purpose we connect the unknown resistance x between D and C . We close the switch and adjust the known resistances R1,R2 and R3 in such a way that galvanometer shows 0 deflection. Then or x =R3.R2/R1 Thus noting R1,R2 and R3 we can calculate x the unknown resistance.

Potentiometer:
An electrical device which draws no current from the source and measures correct voltage is called a potentiometer. Consider a battery of unknown voltage Ex which is to be determined is connected as shown in the circuit. Another battery of voltage E>Ex is connected across AB. If R is the resistance between AB which is a wire of length L having uniform resistance. Then current I through R is then according to ohms law V=IR

I=E/R where V=E If we slide the contact point c from A to B , at a certain point the galvanometer shows zero deflection then Voltage across Ac having resistance r is V=IR= , which is equal to the voltage Ex Ex=E Thus knowing E, l and L we can find Ex. AB=L ; AC= l +ve of both the batteries should be connected at point A. There are instruments called VTVM and CRO which draw no current from the source and measure correct voltage but These instruments are costly and difficult to operate. Therefore , potentiometer being cheaper and easy to operate is used.

Short Questions:
Ans: 1) If V is increased then E is increased and hence drift velocity will increas. 2) Decreasing the length and temp. resistance decrease and the drit velocity will increas. Ans: No, because the bends do not decrease the length of the conductor upon which resistance depends. Ans: a) R=15005% (b) 4900010% Ans: By increasing temp. the collision cross section of the atoms increases and resistance of the conductor in creases. Ans: When the bulb glows the temp. Goes on increasing and R does not remain constant. Therefore, Ohms law doesnt held. Ans(1) P=V2/R R=V2/P= (2)R=V2/P= =484/5 = 97 =484

I,e R 1/P the lesser power ,the great the resistance. Ans: As the contact point c goes from A to B , the potential difference goes on incerasing from O to E Ans: When current is increased, the voltage across the internal resistance (V=Ir)is increased and hence terminal pd. Decreases

Ans: An electric circuit sonsisting of four resistances a golvanometer a battery and a switch is called a wheatstone bridge . When the brdige is balanced then Rx/R3=R2/R1 Rx=R3.R2/R1