University of Aberdeen School of Engineering

EG1008 PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONICS

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF DC CIRCUITS

Charge, current, voltage, power. Ohm's law. Resistors. Voltage sources.

1.1. Fundamental definitions (using SI units)

Charge. Symbol: Q. Charge is quantity of electricity, and can be both positive and negative.
Unit: the coulomb - note lower case "c". This is correctly abbreviated as C. Definition: One electron has a
charge of -1.610-19C, so that charge of -1C is carried by 6.21018 electrons.

Current. Symbol: I. Current is flow of electrical charge carriers. Unit: the ampere, frequently
abbreviated to amp (correct abbreviation A). Definition: a current of 1 ampere flows when a charge of 1
coulomb passes through any cross-section of a conductor in 1 second.

Note that a flow of negative charge in one direction (say left to right) is in almost all respects equivalent
to a flow of positive charge in the opposite direction (say right to left) - same net transfer of charge, same
magnetic field produced. In metallic conductors, charge is carried by electrons, but in electrolytes it is
carried by a mixture of positive and negative ions, usually travelling in opposite directions, whose current
carrying effects add. A convention for current flow is therefore required. Convention: conventional
current is considered to flow in the direction of an equivalent flow of positive charge, i.e. opposite to the
direction of electron flow. A conventional current of 1A therefore flows from left to right if 6.21018
electrons per second move from right to left past any point in a metallic conductor. Note that current is
said to flow through a circuit, or component, or device - like water through a pipe.

Voltage. Symbol: V. When charges of opposite sign are separated, they attract each other. When
such a separation occurs, there is therefore a possibility of extracting work as the charges move towards
each other. The electrical potential difference between two points represents the possibility of extracting
work by allowing charge to move between the points. Unit: the volt (abbreviated V). Definition: A
potential difference of 1V exists when transfer of 1C of charge dissipates 1 joule of energy or,
equivalently, when current of 1A dissipates one joule per second or 1 watt of power.

The ability of an electrical power source (such as a battery, generator or solar cell) to drive current
through a circuit, and hence to deliver power, is referred to as electro-motive force (e.m.f.) and is also
measured in volts. Definition: A source has an e.m.f. of 1V if, when it drives 1A of current through a
circuit, a power of 1W is dissipated in the circuit. Both potential difference and e.m.f. are commonly
described as voltage. Note that a voltage appears across a component or device - like pressure in a
pumping system - so that it is always incorrect to refer to "voltage through" a component.

Ohm's law. Consider two points in an electrical circuit, with current I flowing and potential
difference V between them. The ratio of potential difference to current is defined as the resistance of the
corresponding part of the circuit. Symbol: R. Unit: the ohm (abbreviated - Greek upper case "omega") .
Definition: a circuit or device has a resistance of 1 ohm if a current of 1A flows when a potential
difference of 1V exists across it. Statement: Ohm's law states that the ratio of potential difference to
current is a constant (for a particular material under constant physical conditions such as temperature).

This is an extremely important law but it is not universal. For a device obeying Ohm's law, a graph of
voltage against current is a straight line, and the component is said to be linear or sometimes ohmic. A
device designed to obey Ohm's law is referred to as a linear resistor or more usually simply as a resistor.
There are many devices (e.g. diodes) which have a non-linear current-voltage relation. In many others,
variation in temperature causes variation in resistance, and so resistance changes as current increases,
dissipating heat.

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Note that "bad" conductors, or insulators, which tend to block flow of current have a high resistance and
low conductance; "good" conductors have a high conductance and low resistance. Examples of good
conductors are copper, aluminium, gold and other pure metals; examples of poor conductors or insulators
are plastics, ceramics and glasses. Semiconductors are a special class of materials with intermediate
conductivity which can, moreover, be altered by relatively small quantities of impurity. Not all materials
with intermediate conductivity count as semiconductors: some metal alloys have high resistance, but are
certainly not semiconductors.

1.2 Fundamental relationships

These definitions lead directly to the following relationships.

Relation of voltage, current and resistance:

R = V/I (definition of resistance)

V = IR (loosely referred to as Ohm's law)
I = V/R

Note that the expression V = IR can be considered a correct statement of Ohm's law if the statement
"where R is a constant (for many materials under constant physical conditions)" is added.

Electrical power:

P = VI (power dissipated in a resistor with voltage V across it and current I

through it or power delivered by an electrical power source of e.m.f. V driving a current I)
2
P=I R
2
P = V /R (power dissipated in a resistor or other component with
resistance R - using V = IR and I = V/R respectively)

Note that, in a resistor, this electrical power is dissipated as heat.

The statement that "good" conductors have low resistance, while "bad" conductors have high resistance is
slightly loose . The property which distinguishes "good" from "bad" conductors is, more properly,
resistivity or its reciprocal conductivity. The resistivity of a material (Greek lower case "rho") is defined
as the resistance of a unit cube of the material - the SI unit is m. The resistance R of a cylinder of
material of length l and cross-sectional area A is then

R = l/A

Moreover, it was stated that for Ohm's law to hold, physical conditions such as temperature should be
constant. In fact, temperature is almost always the dominant influence, and its effect is usually expressed
by:

R(T) = R(T0)[1 + a(T-T0)]

Most metals have a positive temperature coefficient of resistance (a) i.e. the resistance of a resistor made
of such a metal increases with temperature. Semiconductors tend to have a negative a.

EXAMPLE A resistor carrying a current of 5A has a voltage of 6V across

it. What is its resistance and what power does it dissipate? Check your
answer using at least one other alternative expression for the power
dissipated.
R = V/I = 6/5 = 1.2
P = VI = 65 = 30W

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also
P = I R = 5 1.2 = 251.2 = 30W
2 2

or
2 2
P = V /R = 6 /1.2 = 30W

1.3 Voltage sources and simple circuits

An ideal voltage source is defined as a source in which the potential difference appearing across its
terminals (its "terminal potential difference") is equal to its e.m.f. whatever current is drawn. Figure 1
shows an ideal voltage source connected to a resistor. Note the notations for the components, and the sign
convention: conventional current flows in the direction of the applied e.m.f.

Figure 1. (a) Ideal battery of e.m.f. VS connected to load resistor R. (b) Same circuit as (a), but using an
ideal voltage source of unspecified type (e.g. ideal battery, generator, solar cell). (c) Real battery
modelled as an ideal battery in series with a resistor RS - the internal resistance.

In a real voltage source, there is usually a tendency for the terminal potential difference to fall if the
current is increased. This can be modelled by including a resistor in series with an ideal voltage source, as
also shown in Figure 1. If such a voltage source is connected to a load resistor R, and a current I flows
round the circuit, there will be a voltage drop IRS across the resistor RS modelling the internal resistance
of the source, hence its terminal potential difference will be VB = VS - IRS. Note that when I = 0, VB = VS
i.e. the terminal potential difference is equal to the e.m.f. when no current is drawn, or when the source is
open-circuited. This gives a means of measuring the e.m.f.

EXAMPLE A battery is found to have a terminal potential difference of

14V when open-circuited, and a terminal potential difference of 12V

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when connected to a 4 load. What is the internal resistance of the

battery? What current will flow if an 8 load is connected?

The e.m.f. VS of the battery is equal to its open circuit terminal

potential difference, or 14V. When connected to the 4 load, the
current flowing is I = 12/4 = 3A. The voltage drop across RS is VS-VB
= 14-12 = 2V, so RS = (VS-VB)/I = 2/3 = 0.6667. Hence with an 8 load,
if the current is I, VB = IR = 8I and VB = VB - IRS = 14 - 0.6667I.
This means

8I = 14 - 0.6667I or I = 1.6154A

2. SIMPLE DC CIRCUITS

Resistors in series and in parallel. The voltage divider; the current divider. Voltage divider rule and
current divider rule. Voltage and current measurement.

2.1 Resistors in series and in parallel

Consider a number of resistors connected in series across an ideal voltage source, as shown in Figure 2.
Clearly, the same current flows through each resistor. Hence, using Ohm's law, if there are N resistors:

V1 = IR1
V2 = IR2
V3 = IR3
...
VN = IRN
and
VS = V1 + V2 + V3 + ... + VN
= IR1 + IR2 + IR3 +...+ IRN
= I(R1 + R2 + R3 +...+ RN)
or
VS = IR
where
R = R1 + R2 + R3 +...+ RN

This is the series resistor rule and R is the equivalent resistance of the N resistors.

Series resistor rule: the equivalent resistance of a set of resistors connected in series is the sum of the
individual resistances.

Note that the value of R is greater than the largest individual resistor value, and that if any resistor has a
value much higher than any of the others (say Rlarge), the equivalent resistance value is approximately
equal to this value:

R Rlarge

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Figure 2. Resistors in series (a) and resistors in parallel (b). Note that the head of the arrows denotes more
positive potential.

Now consider a number of resistors connected in parallel across an ideal voltage source (Figure 2).
Clearly, in this case, the voltage across each resistor is identical, and equal to VS (but the currents are
different). Using the rule relating current to voltage in the form involving conductance G = 1/R:

I1 = VSG1
I2 = VSG2
I3 = VSG3
...
IN = VSGN
and
I = I1 + I2 + I3 + ... + IN
= VSG1 + VSG2 + VSG3 +...+ VSGN
= VS (G1 + G2 + G3 +...+ GN)
or
I = VSG
where
G = G1 + G2 + G3 +...+ GN
or
1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 +...+ 1/RN

This is the parallel resistor rule and G is the equivalent conductance of the N resistors.

Parallel resistor rule: the equivalent conductance of a set of resistors connected in parallel is the sum of
the individual conductances or, equivalently: the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a set of
resistors connected in parallel is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances.

Note that the value of R is smaller than the smallest of the individual resistor values, and that if any
resistor has a value much smaller than any of the others (say Rsmall), the equivalent resistance value is
approximately equal to this value:

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R Rsmall

A useful special case occurs for two resistors in parallel:

1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2

R +R
= R1 R 2A

1 2 E

or
R1R2
R=
R1+R2
A

It is frequently useful to use a symbol || to denote parallel connection. Thus R = R1||R2 means R is the
equivalent resistance of R1 connected in parallel with R2. The value of R is found as before i.e.
R = R1R2/(R1+R2) in this case.

EXAMPLES (i) In the parallel resistor circuit of Figure 2(b), R1 = 20k

, R2 = 20k and R3 = 10k. What is the effective resistance of the
circuit?

Using the general formula, 1/R = 1/20 + 1/20 + 1/10 = 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.1
= 0.2mS so that R = 5k. Alternatively, the parallel combination of two
20k resistors is obviously just half of 20k i.e. 10k, and the
parallel combination of this with the remaining 10k resistor is
obviously 5k. This argument can be re-expressed as follows:

R1||R2 = 20k||20k = 10k

R = R1||R2||R3 = (R1||R2)||R3 = 10k||10k = 5k

(ii) In the same circuit, R3 is replaced by a resistor of value 10.

What is the new effective resistance?
-3 -3
Using the general formula, 1/R = 0.0510 + 0.0510 + 0.1S = 0.1001S
so that R = 9.99. However, for many purposes, 10 << 20k and R
Rsmall = 10 is a satisfactory answer.

2.2 Voltage divider and current divider

Figure 3(a) shows a voltage divider. Applying Ohm's law, and using the fact that the same current flows
in each resistor:

V1 = IR1
V2 = IR2
hence
V2 IR2
A

V1 = IR1
E
A A

or
V2 R2
A

V1 = R1
E
A A

and
V2 R2
A

V1+V2 = R1+R2 E
A A

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Either of these last two equations can be referred to as the voltage divider rule - in words "voltages divide
in proportion to resistances". Note that, in the second form, V1 + V2 = VS and that VS can be considered
an input voltage and V2 can be considered an output voltage. This equivalent form is shown in Figure
3(b). The potential divider then acts as an attenuator whose output is a particular fraction of the input. A
device constructed as a variable voltage divider, in which the ratio R2/R1 is adjusted by moving a slider or
wiper over a resistor of total value R = R1 + R2 is referred to as a potential divider or pot.

Figure 3. (a) Voltage divider circuit. (b) Voltage divider circuit as an attenuator. (c) Current divider
circuit. (d) Current divider applied to meter "shunt".

Figure 3(c) shows a current divider circuit. Applying similar reasoning

I2 VSG2 G2
= =
I1 VSG1 G1
A A A A A

E E E

or
I2 R1
A

I1 = R2
E
A A

or
I2 G2 1/R2 R1
A = = =
I1+I2 G1+G2 (1/R1+1/R2) R1+R2
A A A A

E
A A

E E E

which is sometimes used as the current divider rule - "currents divide in proportion to conductances".

EXAMPLE Design a voltage divider which produces an output voltage equal

to one tenth of the input voltage. The divider must draw no more than
1mA from a 10V voltage source.

To give the required division ratio, we require

V2/VS = R2/(R1+R2) = 0.1. Also, the current drawn is I = VS/(R1+R2), so
we require R1+R2 >= 10k. Let us set R1+R2 = 10k. Then R2 = 0.110k
= 1k and R1 = 9k.

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2.3 Voltage and current measurement

Voltage and current are measured by instruments referred to as voltmeters and ammeters respectively.
Typically, each instrument has two terminals, with which it is connected to the circuit to be measured.
Clearly, if it is not to disturb the current it measures, an ammeter should ideally have zero resistance
between the terminals; while if it is not to disturb the voltage it measures, the voltmeter should ideally
have infinite resistance. Practical instruments will depart from these ideals to some extent. Considering
the effects of such departures is deferred until a discussion of Thvenin's theorem.

Instruments are specified by their "f.s.d.": full-scale-deflection for an analogue meter or full-scale-display
for a digital meter, accuracy (frequently expressed as a percentage of f.s.d. for analogue instruments), and
resistance. Sensitivity of voltmeters and ammeters may be adjusted using voltage dividers and current
dividers.

EXAMPLE An ammeter has a f.s.d. of 1mA and a resistance of 1. How

could this be converted to give a f.s.d. of 1A?

By use of a "shunt resistor", to give a current divider configuration -

Figure 3(d). At 1A f.s.d., Imeter = 1mA must flow through the basic
ammeter, and Ishunt = 999mA through the shunt. Thus Rmeter/Rshunt =
999/1 or Rshunt = 1/999 = 1.001m. Note that the equivalent
resistance of the meter has fallen to Rmeter||Rshunt = 1m (exactly).

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