Basic Concepts

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Basic Concepts

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Introduction
Systems of Units
Charge and Current
Voltage
Power and Energy
Circuit Elements

Introduction
An electric circuit is an interconnection of circuit elements

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Complicated Circuits
Electric circuit of a radio receiver.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

System of Units

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Units in Circuit
Physic Term

Unit

Symbol

Charge

Coulomb

Voltage

Volt( )

V(v)

Current

Ampere( )

Power

Watt

Energy (Work)

Joule

Resistance

Ohm( )

Inductance

Henry( )

Capacitance

Fara( )

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Andre-Maria Ampere (1775-1836)

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Alessandro Antonio Volta

(1745-1827)

Ch01_Basic Concepts

1A = 10 6A

1nA = 10 9A
1pA = 10 12A

Ch01_Basic Concepts

Charge and Current

Atoms contain electrons
An electron carries a negative charge of magnitude
1e = 1:602 10 19C

The charge is measured in Coulombs (C).

1C has6:24 1018 electrons

The charges occurring in nature are integral multiples of

the electron charge
The law of conservation of charge: the charge can neither
be created nor destroyed, but only transferred

Ch01_Basic Concepts

10

 Characteristics of electric charge are:

It is bipolar.
It exists in discrete quantities.
Electrical effects are attributed to both the
separation of charge and charges in motion.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

11

Current
Definition: Electric current is the time rate of
change of charge, measured in amperes and
expressed as

dq i = current in amperes (A),

i
q = charge in coulombs (C)
dt t = time in seconds (s)

So q (t ) i ( ) d
Also, 1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second
Ch01_Basic Concepts

12

Electric current due to flow of electronic charge in a conductor.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

13

 Although current is made up of discrete

moving electrons, we consider i to be a
continuous variable as there are so many of
them.
Thus, current is defined as the rate of flow of
positive charge.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

14

 A direct current (dc) is a current that remains

constant with time.
An alternating current (ac) is a current that
varies sinusoidally with time.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

15

Two Common types of current:

(a) Direct current (dc).
(b) Alternating current (ac).

Ch01_Basic Concepts

16

Conventional current flow:

(a) Positive current flow,
(b) Negative current flow.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

17

Example 1.1
Each electron has -1.60210-19 C.
4600 electrons will have
-1.60210-19 4600 = -7.36910-16 C

Ch01_Basic Concepts

18

Example 1.2
q 5t sin 4t mC
dq d
i
(5t sin 4t ) mC/s
dt dt
(5 sin 4t 20t cos 4t ) mA
At t 0.5,
i 5 sin 2 10 cos 2 0 10 31.41 mA

Ch01_Basic Concepts

19

Example 1.3

Q t 1 idt 1 (3t 2 t )dt

t
t
2

Ch01_Basic Concepts

(8 2) 1 5.5 C
2

20

Voltage
Definition: The voltage (potential difference)
between two points a and b is the energy (work)
required to move a unit charge from a to b.
v
= voltage in volts (V),

dw
vab
w = energy in joules (J)
dq q
= charge in coulombs (C)
1 V=1 Joule/Coulomb.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

21

Polarity of voltage vab.

vab vba

Ch01_Basic Concepts

22

Two equivalent representations of the same voltage vab:

(a) point a is 9 V above point b,
(b) Point b is -9 V above point a.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

23

Power and Energy

Definition of power: Power is the time rate of
expending or absorbing energy, expressed as:
p = power in watts (W),
dw
p
w = energy in joules (J)
dt
t = time in seconds (s)

Ch01_Basic Concepts

24

 Power is associated with the flow of charge:

follows from the definition of voltage and
current
dw dw dq

p

vi
dt dq dt
p = power in watts (W),
v = voltage in volts (V)
t = current in amperes (A)
Ch01_Basic Concepts

25

 p(t)=v(t)i(t); power is usually time-varying and p(t)

is called the instantaneous power
A large power does not mean a large energy; only
under a large power with a duration a large energy
can be obtained
t

W (t )

p
(

)
d

Ch01_Basic Concepts

26

Reference Polarity and Reference

Direction
Polarity reference for voltage (v)
Reference direction for current (i)
Assignment of reference polarity for v and
reference direction for i is entirely arbitrary

Ch01_Basic Concepts

27

Reference polarities for power using the positive sign convention:

(a) absorbing power, (b) supplying power.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

28

Passive Sign Convention

Definition: Whenever the reference direction
for the current in an element is in the direction
of the reference voltage drop across the
element, use a positive sign in any expression
that relates the voltage to the current.
Otherwise, use a negative sign.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

29

Two cases of an element with an absorbing power of 12 W:

(a) P = 43 = 12 W, (b) p = 43 = 12 W.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

30

 A positive power p=vi means that the element

is absorbing (consuming) energy; conversely
an element with a negative power means that it
supplies (provides) energy.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

31

Figure 1.10
Two cases of an element with a supplying power of 12 W:
(a) P = 43 = 12 W, (b) p = 43 = 12 W.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

32

Power and Energy (II)

Law of conservation of energy: The algebraic
sum of power in a circuit, at any time instant,
must be zero:

p0
Total power supplied to a circuit must balance
the total power absorbed.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

33

 Definition of energy: Energy is the capacity to

do work, measured in joules (J).
The energy obtained in the interval [t0, t] is
given by
t

w t pdt t vidt

0
0
The electric power utility companies measures
energy in watt-hours (Wh), where:
1Wh = 3600J
Ch01_Basic Concepts

34

1884 Exhibition

Ch01_Basic Concepts

35

Ideal Basic Circuit Element

Attributes:
Has only 2 terminals.

The elements can be divided into the passive

and the active elements
An active element is capable of generating
energy while a passive element is not

Ch01_Basic Concepts

36

Circuit Elements
Three passive circuit elements are considered:
Resistors (R)
Inductors (L)
Capacitors (C)

Two active circuit elements are considered:

Voltage source (V)
Current source (I)

Ch01_Basic Concepts

37

 Each source (voltage or current source) is

divided into the independent and the
dependent source.
An independent voltage (current) source is an
active element that provides a specified
voltage (current) which is completely
independent of other circuit variables.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

38

Symbols for independent voltage sources:

(a) used for constant or time-varying voltage,
(b) used for constant voltage (dc).

Ch01_Basic Concepts

39

Symbol for independent current source.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

40

Dependent Sources
A dependent (or controlled) source is an
active element in which the source (voltage or
current) quantity is controlled by another
voltage or current in the circuit.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

41

Symbol for:
(a) dependent voltage source, (b) dependent current source.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

42

 Four types of ideal dependent sources:

Voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS)

Current-controlled voltage source (CCVS)
Voltage-controlled current source (VCCS)
Current-controlled current source (CCCS)

Ch01_Basic Concepts

43

The source on the right-hand side is a current-controlled

Voltage source.

Ch01_Basic Concepts

44

Example 1.7

Ch01_Basic Concepts

45

Example 1.7
p1 20(5) 100 W
p2 12(5) 60 W
p3 8(6) 48 W
p4 8(0.2 I ) 8(0.2 5) 8 W
p1 p2 p3 p4 100 60 48 8 0

Ch01_Basic Concepts

46

Homework 1: Due Feb 8, 2010

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Problem 1.7
Problem 1.9
Problem 1.15
Problem 1.18
Problem 1.20
Problem 1.26
Problem 1.35

Ch01_Basic Concepts

47