Measuring Electricity

● Voltage—force or pressure caused by

the separation of electrons and protons.
– Unit of measurement: Volts (V)
● Current—the path provided for the free
flow of electrons in an electrical circuit.
– Unit of measurement: Ampere (amp)
● Resistance—impedance or opposition
to the flow of electrons: conductor=low
resistance;
insulators=high resistance.
– Unit of measurement: ohms (Ω)
Parts of An Atom

e le c tr o n
●Proton

●Neutron
n e u tro n

●Electron
p ro to n
 Flowing Electrons
● Electrons are negatively charged
● Protons are positively charged
● Opposite charges attract
● Velocity of electrons keep them in
orbit around nucleus
● Electrons pulled free from the atom
is what we call electricity!
 “Dynamic” Electricity
● Electricity can be viewed as a
dynamic process.
● Dynamic means “changing.”
● Electrons are changing—moving
from one atom to another.
● This flowing of electrons is called an
“electrical current.”
 Static Electricity
● “Static” means stationary or unchanging.
● Electrons have been “loosened” from
the atom and stay in one place.
● The electrons have “voltage” but lack a
“current.”
● A conductor supplies the current—or
path—for static electricity to discharge.
 Conductors

● Conductors have a large number of

loosely attached electrons.
● These electrons can easily be freed
from the nucleus of the atom when
voltage is applied.
Examples of Conductors
●Metals
– Gold
– Silver
– Copper (Cat 5 Cable)

●Water

●Humans
 Insulators
● Material with a high resistance to
electrical current.
● Electron orbits are very close to the
nucleus.
● Examples:
– Plastic
– Glass
– Wood
– Air and other gases
Multimeter Basics
● A Multimeter is used to measure:
– Voltage
– Resistance
– Continuity (level of resistance)
● When using a Multimeter, you
must properly set it to either AC
or DC, depending on the voltage
you’re trying to measure.
 Current
● Thisis the flow of electrons
which is electricity
● Measured in amps (a)
● Algebraic Symbol -- I = intensity
● Graphic Symbol A = 1 coulomb/s

A
 Voltage
● This is the Force or Push of
electricity, aka. Electro-Motive
Force(EMF); amount of work or
energy potential (joules/coulombs)
● Measured in volts (v)
● Algebraic Symbol -- E or V
_
● Graphic Symbol
~
+
 Resistance
● Thisis the property of matter which
opposes the flow of electrons
● Measured in ohms ( Ω )
● Algebraic Symbol -- R
● Graphic Symbol
 Capacitance
● Thisis the property of matter which
opposes the change in voltage
● Measured in farads (F)
● Algebraic Symbol is C
● Graphic Symbol
 Capacitance - cont’d.
●A capacitor acts like a battery. It is
also a DC filter, depending on the
frequency of the voltage. The
dielectric between plates
determines the flow of electrons
between the plates and the
charging capacity of the device.
 Capacitance-cont’d
● Capacitive reactance resists DC
flow
Xc = 1/2π ƒC
Xc

frequency
 Inductance
● Thisis the property of matter which
opposes the change in current
● Measured in henrys (H)
● Algebraic Symbol is L
● Graphic Symbol
 Inductance-cont’d
● Allows DC, filters AC
● Electromagnetic
XL

frequency

XL = 2π ƒL Inductive Reactance
 Inductance - cont’d.
● An inductor acts like an AC filter,
again related to frequency. The
inductance increases as the
frequency increases (which is
inverse to that of capacitance’s
relationship to frequency).
 Power
● This is the ability of electricity to
perform work
● Measured in watts (W)
● Algebraic Symbol -- P
● No graphic symbol
 Relationships
● Ohm's
Law E
E=IxR
I R

● Power Law P
P=IxE
I E
 Power - cont’d.
● Ohm’s Law is linear when
temperature is at a constant --
ranges are affected by both low
and high temps. The hotter the
device, the greater the resistance.
 A Circuit
● For
electricity to flow, one must
have a complete path.

Complete Circuit

Open Circuit

Short Circuit
 A Circuit - cont’d.
● Wire (a medium for transmission)
● Source (power -- e.g. battery)
● Load (resistance)
● Control (switch, dial, phone)
 Required Parts
of an Electrical Circuit
Source or Battery Complete Path
Resistance
 Circuits
● Series -- A single path for current to
flow
● Parallel -- A single voltage shared
by multiple loads
● Complex -- Combinations of series
and parallel
 A Series Circuit
R1

_
I
E R2

+
R3
 Series Circuit - Total Value

Rtotal = R1 + R2 + …Rn
R1 = 5Ω , R2 = 15 Ω , and R3 = 7 Ω

What is the total resistance of the circuit?

Simple Parallel Circuit
I

_ I1 I2

E R1 R2

+
Simple Parallel Circuit - cont’d

R 1 R2
R 1 + R2
A More Complexed Parallel
Circuit
I

_ I1 I2 I3

E R1 R2 R3

+
 Complexed Parallel Circuit

1
1/R1 + 1/R2 + …+ 1/Rn

Total resistance for a complex parallel

circuit.
 A Complex Circuit

R1

R2 R3 R4 R5

_
E

+ R7 R8

I R9
 Diodes
● Diodesallow the flow of current
through it in only one direction

Current flow
 Diodes-cont’d
● Other types of diodes
– Zener
– High frequency
– Light emitting
– Photodiodes
– Shockley
– etc.
 Two Types of Current
● Alternating Current (AC)—electrical
current flows in both directions; positive
and negative terminals continuously
trade places (polarity)
– Example: Electricity provided by Vectren
● Direct Current (DC)—electrical current
flows in one direction; negative to
positive
– Example: Electricity provided by batteries
Alternating VS Direct Current
● Why AC?
● Where AC?
● How AC to DC?
 Direct Current (DC)
R1

_
I
E R2

6 E
volts

4
2

time
 Alternating Current (AC)
R1

I
E ~ R2

6
volts

4 E
2
0
time
-2 E
-4
-6
 Characteristics of AC
● Amplitude
– Peak
– Peak-to-peak
– Root Mean Square (RMS)
● Frequency/Period
● Phase 6
volts

4 E
2
0
time
-2 E
-4
-6
 AC to DC
● AC
E
6
volts

4
2
0
-2 time
-4
-6

I
E ~ R
 AC to DC
● Half Wave E
6
volts

4
2
0
-2 time
-4
-6
I

E ~ R
 AC to DC
● RC Filter E
6
volts

4
2
0
-2 time
-4
-6
I

E ~ R
 AC to DC
● Full Wave E
6
volts

4
2
0
-2 time
-4
I
-6

~
E
R
 AC to DC - cont’d.
During positive half-cycle of the input

~
R
 AC to DC - cont’d
During the negative half-cycle of the input

~
R
 AC to DC
● Filtered Full Wave
E
6
volts

4
2
0
-2 time
-4
I
-6

~
E
R
 Resonance
● Each system has a frequency or set of
frequencies that it is in tune with
● Tank Circuit
_
E

+
 Resonance - cont’d
● In a parallel LC circuit maximum
voltage at the resonant ƒ
● In a series LC circuit maximum
current at the resonant ƒ
 Filters
Signal Power

Signal Power
Frequency Frequency
Low Pass High Pass
Signal Power

Signal Power

Frequency Frequency
Notch Band Pass
 Filters-cont’d
● Capacitor in parallel shorts out high
frequencies
● Inductors in series block high
frequencies
● Capacitors in series allow high
frequencies
● Inductors in parallel allow high
frequencies
 Impedance
● Structure
– Impedance is the composite AC load
that a circuit or transmission line
presents to the input/output
– Treat impedance as resistance
● Common values
– 8 Ω , 50 Ω , 75 Ω , 100 Ω ,150 Ω ,
300 Ω , 600 Ω , 900 Ω , & 1000 Ω