Electricity

-basic notions-
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

Dr. Anca Popescu

Dr. Adrian Iftime
Dr. Octavian Călinescu
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--sTgWzfv---/187bzswqhpil0jpg.jpg
 Electrostatics

Electrical force (Coulomb)

Is the force of
attraction/repulsion between
electrical charges.

Depends on the value of the

charges and decreases with
the square of the distance :
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

"CoulombsLaw" by I, Dennis Nilsson. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CoulombsLaw.svg#mediaviewer/File:CoulombsLaw.svg
 Electrical field
Appears around an electrical
charge.

Shows the „influence” that

this charge exerts on other
charges.

The field lines show the

direction in which a positive
charge that is placed in the
field will move.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VFPt_image_charge_plane_horizontal.svg#me
diaviewer/File:VFPt_image_charge_plane_horizontal.svg

Electrical field (V/m)

Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

Charge that generates the field (C)

Electrical permitivity of the medium
vacuum permitivity relative permitivity

Distance to the source

Versor vector (has a magnitude of 1, gives the direction and
sense)
 Electrical potential

Scalar, gives the energy of an unity charge placed in a certain point of

the electrical field.

This energy is equal to the work done by the field to bring a positive
charge from infinity to that point.
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

Electrical potential (V)

Charge that generates the field (C)
Electrical permitivity of the medium
vacuum permitivity relative permitivity

Distance to the source

 Interconnections

• The force that acts upon a charge q in the electrical field E:

• The electrical potential in a point of the field E:

• Difference in potential between two points (electrical tension):

Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015
 Questions

• What force is exerted between two charges q1 = +10 C și q2 = -10 C

that are 1 cm away? What if the charges are 10 cm away? (εε0 =
8,85·10-12 F/m, εr = 1).

• What is the electrical potential of a point situated at 10 cm from a

charge of 10 C?

• What is the value of the potential in a point situated at 20 cm from

the source of an electrical field if the field at that point is 1 V/m?
What is the charge that generates this field?
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015
 Electrical conduction

• Electrical conduction = ordered movement of charge carriers

(electrons/ions) in an electrical field, under the action of electrical
forces.

• Electrical current = flux of charges.

• Intensity of the electrical current = the speed of variation of the

Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

electrical charge:
 Direct / alternating current

• If the charge carriers move in a single direction – direct current.

• If the charge carriers periodically change the sense of their

movement – alternating current.
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015
 Resistance / resistivity

• Rezistance = property of an object to oppose the passage of an

electrical current. [R] = 1 Ω

• Resistivity = property of a material to oppose the passage of

electrical current. [ρ
ρ ] = 1 Ωm

• For a linear conductor:

࢒
ࡾ=࣋
ࡿ
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015
 Conductance / conductivity

• Conductance = property of an object to allow the passage of

electrical current. [G] = 1 S.

• Conductivity = property of a material to allow the passage of

electrical current. [σ
σ] = 1 S/m

• Connection to resistance / resistivity:

૚
ࡾ=
ࡳ
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

૚
࣋=
࣌
 Ohm’s law
• Relation between tension, resistance and intensity:
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

http://www.electronics-micros.com/img/figure/ohms-law2.jpg
 Capacitance, capacitors
• Two electrically charged surfaces between which there is a
dielectric (non-conducing) medium form a capacitor.

• The capacitance of a capacitor:

[C] = 1 F

• Capacitance of a plane capacitor: Wikimedia Commons

Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

charge stored by plates

applied electrical tension
permitivity of dielectric
surface of the plates
distance between plates
 Capacitors under direct current

Current
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Tension
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015

Serial and parallel connections

 ... and in biology:
• A lipid bilayer:

For most biological membranes:

Cs = 1 µF/cm2

http://michaeldmann.net/pix_3/f3-9.gif

• A cell membrane:
(also contains ion
channels for K+, Na+,
Cl-)
Dep. I Științe Funcționale UMF C. Davila 2015