L2 - Current, E-Field, Electric Flux and Capacitors

NFE2158 Electrical
Principles 1
L2 - Current, Electric Field,
Electric Flux and Capacitors
Dr Robert Harrison
R.W.Harrison@Hud.ac.uk
NFE2158 Electrical Principles
Lecture 1 recap
 Like charges repel, unlike charges attract
 Charge is quantised
 The charge on an electron is -1.602×10-19 C
 Permittivity of free space is 8.854×10-12 F/m
 A point charge is one for which all charge is concentrated at a
single point
 charges can be approximated as point charges if their extent is small
compared to the distances between them
 Coulombs law states the forces between two point charges
are;
 Directly proportional to the size of the charges
 Inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
 Electrical forces are very large
 much larger than gravitational forces for example
2
Objectives
 To relate electric current to a movement of charge
 To define the unit of electric charge (i.e. the coulomb)
 To describe what is meant by a capacitor
 To describe how charge is stored in a capacitor
 To define electric field
 To understand the concepts of electric flux and flux density
 To know how flux density is related to electric field
 To know what is meant by permittivity and relative
permittivity and dielectric constant
 To appreciate the speed of charge movement for typical
currents in typical conductors
 To appreciate a hydrological analogy for current
3
Electric field strength - revisited
 The electric field strength at point in space is the force

felt by a unit positive electric charge
 Consider collection of charges - all different magnitudes,
some positive some negative
4
 The electric field strength at point in space is the force

felt by a unit positive electric charge
 Consider collection of charges - all different magnitudes,
some positive some negative
 Electric field at A is force on +1.0 C charge located at A
5
 Electric field at B is force on +1.0 C charge located at B
6
 Electric field at C is force on +1.0 C charge located at C
7
 Electric field at D is force on +1.0 C charge located at D
8
 This results in a vector field where each point in space

has a vector force associated with it
9
 Joining up the arrows gives an electric field line
10

 Repeating this force ‘measurement’ exercise for all
points in space gives the total electric field
11

 Field patterns for a pair of unlike and like charges
with equal magnitude
Unlike charges Like charges

Source: Adapted from::
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Electri http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy122/Lecture_Note
c_dipole_field_lines.svg/454px-Electric_dipole_field_lines.svg.png s/Chapter23/Chapter2326.gif 12

 In electrostatics field lines emanate from positive charge
and terminate on negative charge
 Sometimes terminating charge must be assumed at infinity
 Field of an isolated point charge (or spherical charge)
 This is a hypothetical case

 because if charge was truly isolated there would be no
‘test’ charge to establish the existence of the electric
13
field!
Source: http://cognizantwire.net/HTMLKHSL/ELECTRON/ELECTROS/ELECTROSTATIC2F.jpg

 Field around charges with different magnitudes
 Note the intuitive insight that ‘flow of fluid flux’ can give
14
Source: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/u8l4c16.gif
Current
 Free electrons are the Valence
charge carriers in a electron – this
conducting material gives rise to
electrical
 With enough thermal conductivity!
energy the valence
electron becomes
delocalised from the
atom
 These delocalised electrons move randomly
 However, if an external +ve charge is applied to one end of a
piece of conducting material, then the electrons will be attracted
by the +ve charge and will drift towards the charge
15
Current
 Free electrons are the
charge carriers in a Valence
electron – this
conducting material gives rise to
 With enough thermal electrical
energy the valence conductivity!
electron becomes
delocalised from the atom
Delocalised e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e-
e- e-
electrons
Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+ Cu+
Cu ions
Cu wire
16
Current
 With no external forces applied, the net flow of charge in any
one direction is zero
 If an external +ve charge is applied to one end of a piece of
conducting material, then the electrons will be attracted by the
+ve charge
 The +ve ions simply oscillate in their position (too big to move)
Cu
wire
Cu -ve +ve
wire
Potential
difference 17
Current is rate of flow (C/s) of charge

Direction of electron flow
e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e-
-ve +ve
Direction of current flow
q
I avg  [C/s or A]
t
• Instantaneous current is therefore time derivative of charge
dq
I [C/s or A]
dt
• Direction of current flow defined as direction of +ve charge
flow
• We give the units coulomb/second the special name
ampere or amp for short (symbol A) 18
Current is rate of flow (C/s) of charge

Direction of electron flow
e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e- e-
-ve +ve
Direction of current flow
q Current is number of coulombs

I avg  [C/s or A] of charge per second passing
t any point on the wire
• Instantaneous current is therefore time derivative of charge
dq
I [C/s or A]
dt
• Direction of current flow defined as direction of +ve charge
flow
• We give the units coulomb/second the special name
ampere or amp for short (symbol A) 19
Hydrological analogy for current

• The flow of electrons in a conductor is similar to water
molecules flowing in pipe
• Thus we often picture current as water flowing in a pipe
• But the water in the analogy flows in the opposite direction
to the current
-ve
High
gravitational Current
potential
Low
gravitational e- +ve
potential
20
Source: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resistance-and-ohms-law/voltage
Side note - current can be due to flow of

positive charge
• In semi-conductors the flow of charge can be either due to
electron flow or a flow of positive charge;
• E.g. Silicon doped with boron

• Electron from Si is accepted by B (so its not free to move)
• The positive charge on the Si can move (called positive hole)
+ve Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si Si -ve
e- e-
21

positive charge

• Electron from Si is accepted by B (so its not free to move)
• The positive charge on the Si can move (called positive hole)
+ve Si Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si -ve
22

positive charge

• Electron from Si is accepted by Boron (so its not free to
move)
• The positive charge on the Si can move
+ve Si Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si -ve
Direction of +ve charge flow
Direction of current flow 23

Definition of Ampere
– The Ampere is defined as the constant current which when
flowing in two infinitely long, straight thin parallel conductors
spaced 1 m apart in a vacuum produces a specific force of
2×10-7 N/m between the conductors
Andre-Maria Ampere
24
Demonstration – force between currents
• MIT Physics Demo -- Forces on a Current-Carrying Wire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43AeuDvWc0k (49 s) 25
Definition of electric charge
• Then electric charge is defined as the time integral of current

T Note: it is current that is the
q   I t  dt [A s or C] fundamental electrical quantity
and the ampere that is the
0
fundamental electrical unit
• If current is constant (i.e. referred to as direct current or DC):
q  I t Charge is defined in terms of
current and the coulomb (C) is
defined in terms of the ampere
• Unit of charge (coulomb, C) is the charge passing a point
when one ampere flows for one second
26
Amperes and Coulombs
 Unit of charge is the Coulomb (C)

 qe= -1.602 x 10-19 C
 -1 C is the charge of 6.242 x 1018 electrons
q  I t
 Hence, if 1 C (6.242 x 1018 electrons) flows through
a cross section line of a conductor in one second,
then there is one ampere (A) flowing in the
conductor
27
Storage of charge
 Imagine flow of electrons (current) interrupted by a gap in
the wire with parallel plane plates attached
+ve
+
- - - -
-ve
 Excess free electrons gather on bottom plate charging the

plate negative
 Excess electrons on bottom plate repel free electrons on top
plate resulting in deficiency of electrons and charging right
plate positive 28
Storage of charge
 Deficit of negative charge is equivalent to excess of positive

charge
 This device is called a capacitor because it has the capacity
to store charge
+ve
+
- - - -
-ve
29
Storage of energy
 Positive charge and negative charge create an electric field
(E) between plates _
E +
 E-field is the force on a unit of charge (C)

 Since E-field can accelerate a charge placed between the
plates (and the mass carrying the charge) then it has
capacity to do work
 Work done (J) = Voltage(V) x Charge (C)
 Capacitors thus store energy in their E-fields 30
Definition of electric field, E

 Force on point charge defines E-field
 E-field therefore has units of newtons/coulomb
_ (N/C)
E +
 Force on point charge is:

F  qE point charge
 newtons/coulomb is same as volts/metre (see later)

 volts/metre (V/m) is the more traditional (but less intuitive)
unit of electric field
31
Capacitor as a source of current

 Consider conducting circuit constructed to connect capacitor
plates
Electrons move to left Electrons move to left
- +
repelled by negatively attracted by positively
charged plate charged plate
I I
I Electrons move to right
 Current decays as -ve charge from one plate cancels +ve

charge on other
32
ICP 1.3.1
• A current supplying an initially discharged capacitor

increases linearly (from zero) at a rate of 1.5 A/s. What is
the charge on the capacitor after 24 ms?
T
q   I t  dt
0
33
ICP 1.3.1 - Solution

I
T
q   I t  dt
36 mA
[A s or C]
0
0 t
24 ms
• After 24 ms current is 1.5×24×10-3 = 36×10-3 A = 36 mA
• Charge after 24 ms (integral of current) is:

1
q   24  36  432 (mA ms)  432 A s  432 10-6 As  4.32 10-4 C
2
34
ICP 1.3.1 – More generic solution

I • Total charge accumulated:
36 mA 24103
q  1.5 t dt
0
0 t 24103
24 ms
 1.5  t dt
0
24103
t  2
 1.5 
This will always work and is  2 0
necessary when the area under
the curve cannot be easily 
1. 5
2
 2
24 10 3  0 2  
calculated from simple
 0.75  24 2 10 6
geometry
 4.32 10  4 C
35
Electric flux, ψ

-1 C of charge 1 C of flux +1 C of charge
Electric flux lines
36
Surface charge density, σ

 Now assume each red dot is 1 μC of charge (and each green
dot is -1 μC of charge) and the plates are squares of side 1 cm
1 cm
 Surface charge density, σ, on +ve plate is:
 
Q 4  110 
-6
0.04
 C/m 2
A 
110 -2 2

 Surface charge density of -ve plate is:   0.04 C/m 2
37
Electric flux density, D

 Total flux flowing between plates is   q  4 μC
 Amount of flux per square metre (measured perpendicular to
flux flow) is called flux density, D (C/m2)
Surface charge density, σ,
1 cm on plate of area A
q
  C/m2
A
 Magnitude of flux density between plates is:

q ψ 4 10- 6
D      0.04 C/m 2

A A 110- 2 2 
38
Electric flux density and electric field

 Relationship between D and E (electric field strength) is:
D E
 ε is the permittivity of the material in which the field exists and

is a property of the material
 When the field exists in free space (i.e. a vacuum) the
permittivity is that of free space:  0  8.854 10
12
F/m 39
Relative
permittivity/dielectric
constant


r 
0
D   r 0 E
40
Electric flux density and electric field


(ε is the permittivity of the material)

41
Definition of electric field, E (revisited)

_ +
E
point charge
 Force on point charge is:
F  qE
 Force acting on point charge in newtons/coulomb
 volts/metre (V/m) is the more traditional (but less intuitive)
unit of electric field 42
Coulomb’s law
1C -ve 1C2 -ve

V 1C -ve
1V
+ve -ve
1J
2
Work done (J) = Voltage(V) x Charge (C)
W
V
Q
43
Capacitance, C Voltage (potential difference)

- +
E
2 1
 In the case of a constant electric field when movement is

against the field work is done.
 The voltage (potential difference) is increased
 Relationship between voltage and E field is;

V V
V  Ed E 
d m 44
Capacitance, C Voltage (potential difference)

- +
E
 Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to store charge on its

plates
 A capacitor has a capacitance of 1 F if 1 C of charge is stored
on its plates by a potential difference of 1 V across the plates
Q
C (C/V or F)
V 45
Capacitance, C
plates
 Need to be careful – if we put too strong an E field across a
capacitor then it will breakdown!!
 Need to check the electric field strength of the material
between the plates (vacuum, air, ceramic etc.)
Voltage (potential difference)
- +
E
Vacuum
46
Capacitance, C
plates
- +
E
Vacuum
47
Capacitance, C
plates
- +
E electrons
current
Vacuum
48
How fast do charges comprising

currents move?
• First consider random motion due to thermal energy
• Energy of an electron at (absolute) temperature T (kelvin):
3
E  kT (J) Accept this for now
2
Absolute zero (0 K = -273.15 °C) is
T (K)  T ( C)  273.15

temperature at which all motion stops
• k is Boltzmann’s constant in joules/kelvin = 1.381×10-23 J/K

− relates temperature scale (°C or K) to the average particle’s energy (J)
from thermal energy
49

currents move?
• Kinetic (thermal) energy at ‘room temperature’) is:
3 3
E kT  1.38110  23  300  6.215 10  21 J
2 2
1 2
• Kinetic energy related to velocity by: E  mv
2 2
2E
• So mean (average) value of squared velocity is: 
v
m
• And root mean square (RMS) velocity is:
2E 2  6.215 1021
vRMS      m/s ( 117 km/s)
2 5
v 9.109 10 31
1.168 10
me
Just from thermal energy!
50

currents move?
• Now consider systematic (i.e. average or drift) velocity due to
current of 1 A in a copper wire with a diameter of 1 mm
• Electron line density (number of electrons per metre in wire, λe):
e  e A  electrons/ m
where ρe is electron volume density (electrons/m3) and A is wire
cross-sectional area (m2)
• Current is:
I  e qe v (electrons m -1  C electron 1  m s -1  C s -1  A)
51

currents move?
• Substituting electron line density into expression for current:
I  e Aqe v
• Since each copper atom contributes 1 conduction electron then

volume density of conduction electrons = volume density of
copper atoms = number of copper atoms in 1 m3 of copper
• To summarise:
density of electrons = number of atoms in 1 m3 of Cu
52

currents move?
 e  number of moles in 1 m3 of Cu  Avagadro' s number
mass in grams of 1 m3 of Cu
  Avagadro' s number
molecular weight of Cu
mass density of Cu (kg/m 3 )  1000
  6.022  10 23
63.5
8.96 103 1000
  6.022  10 23
63.5
 8.497 10 28 electrons/ m3 Current is number of coulombs of
charge per second passing any point
on the wire
53

currents move?
• Mean velocity of electrons given by:
I I
v 
 e Aqe  er 2 qe
1

28

8.497 10   0.5 10  1.602 10
3 2 19
 9.354 10 5 m/s (0.094 mm/s  5.64 mm/min)
Current is number of coulombs of

charge per second passing any point
on the wire
54
Precision (in arithmetic)
 Precision is the number of significant figures

 3.11 (3 sig. fig)
 3.10 (3 sig. fig., zero is significant)
 3.1 (2 sig. fig.)
 0.031 (2 sig. fig.)
 3.100 (4 sig, fig.)
 Dart board – precise but not accurate

55
Significant figures revision

 Leading zeros are not significant but trapped or
tailing zeros are;
 0.032 (2 s.f.)
 3.200 (4 s.f.)
 3.020 (4 s.f.)
 Example – measurement of distance is 0.01 m

 Only has 1 s.f. as the zero is a place holder
 Can report the value as 1x10-2 m or 1 cm which still has
1 s.f. and is still just as accurate – that is why they are
insignificant
 We never report numbers with 0’s as place holders in
scientific notation (see later)
56
Accuracy (in arithmetic)

 Accuracy is number of decimal places (d.p.)
 3.11 (2 d.p)
 3.10 (2 d.p.)
 3.1 (1 d.p.)
 0.031 (3 d.p.)
 3.100 (3 d.p.)
 Dart board - accurate but not very precise

57
Accuracy and precision

(in science and engineering)
 Experimental readings are always subject to
noise and are therefore an approximate value
 Accuracy is the degree
of closeness of a
measurement to the
measured quantity’s
true value
 Precision is the degree
of reproducibility or
repeatability of a
measurement 58
Calculations using quantities having precision

and accuracy defined by experimental errors
 For addition and subtraction least accurate (lowest

number of d.p.) determines accuracy of result
 13.1245 + 1.20 = 14.32 (i.e. 2 d.p., not 14.3245)
 In multiplication/division, least precise (lowest number

of sig. fig.) determines precision of result
 132.36 × 2.1 = 28 (i.e. 2 sig. fig., not 277.956)
59
Dr. P. Mather
Calculations using quantities having precision
and accuracy defined by experimental errors
 Examples of appropriate precision and rounding

 532.6 + 4.02 + 0.036 = 536.7 (not 536.656)
 0.04 + 0.003 + 0.0064 = 0.05 (not 0.0494)
 3.051 × 802 =2450* (not 2446.902)
*this assumes 802 is an experimental result, not an exact integer. (Be careful
with exact integers – sometimes infinite accuracy/precision is implied
60
Dr. P. Mather
Powers of 10
Number Power of 10
1 100
10 101 1/10n = 10-n
100 102
1/10-n = 10n
1000 103
1/10 = 0.1 10-1
1/100 = 0.01 10-2
1/1000 = 0.001 10-3
1/10000 = 0.0001 10-4
 To convert a number to its equivalent 10 to a power:

count the decimal places after the first digit
 10000.0 = 104
 0.0000001 = 10-7
Dr. P. Mather 61
Fixed/floating point and scientific notation

 Fixed point: precise to a specific number of decimal
places
 e.g. 100th : 0.01
 Floating point: not specified but limited by the display
 e.g. 12 digit display: 0.0000000001
 Scientific notation: normalised position of decimal
point and expressed as a power of 10
Example Fixed (e.g. 2 dp) Floating Scientific
1/3 0.33 0.3333333333 3.333333x10-1
1/16 0.06 0.0625 6.25x10-2
2300/2 1150.00 1150 1.15x103

Dr. P. Mather 62
Express the following values as powers of 10

(i.e. in Scientific Notation)
Example Scientific Notation

1,000,000 ohms 1 x106 ohms
100,000 metres 1 x105 metres

0.0001 seconds 1 x10-4 seconds
0.000001 farads 1 x10-6 farads
Dr. P. Mather 63
Table of SI unit prefixes

Factor Name Symbol
Factor Name Symbol
1018 Exa E
10-1 deci d
1015 Peta P
10-2 centi c
1012 tera T
10-3 milli m
109 giga G
10-6 micro 
106 mega M
10-9 nano 
103 kilo k
10-12 pico p
102 hecto h
10-15 femto f
101 deka da
Dr. P. Mather 64
Express the following numbers in the units indicated
Example In SI units
1,000,000 ohms in kilo-ohms 1,000x103 = 1000 k
1,000,000 ohms in mega-ohms 1x106 = 1 M
100,000 metres in kilometres 100x103 = 100 km
0.0001 seconds in milliseconds 0.1x10-3 = 0.1 ms
0.000001 farads in microfarads 1x10-6 = 1 F
Dr. P. Mather 65
Tutorial session 2
 Tutorial sheets should be (at least)
attempted at home before the tutorial
 Notes you make yourself in lecture
 Lecture slides
 Lecture capture
 Specimen answers
 Textbooks or good internet sources
 Arrive at tutorial to check and seek help!

66
Summary
 Current is flow (the time-derivative) of charge
 Charge is the time-integral of current
 The coulomb is 1.0 ampere second
 Capacitors are conductor plates with a insulating gap on
which charge can be stored
 An electric field exists between any +ve and -ve charge
 Electric field is defined by the force per coulomb (N/C) on
a small point charge (but conventional units are V/m)
 Capacitors store energy in their electric field
 Electric flux is thought of as a fluid like substance that
flows from +ve charge to -ve charge
 The amount of electric flux (in C) that flows is equal to the
charge (in C) that it emanates from and flows into 67
Summary (2)
 Electric flux density (in C/m2) is electric flux divided by
the perpendicular area through which is flows
 Flux density and electric field are related via the material
or substance that gives rise to ε
 Permittivity is an electrical property of a material
 Relative permittivity (or dielectric constant) is its
permittivity divided by the permittivity of free space (or a
vacuum)
 Electrons at room temperature move randomly and fast
due to their thermal energy
 The average velocity (or drift) of electrons for typical
current in typical wires is surprisingly slow
 Water flowing in a pipe is analogous to current flowing in
a wire 68
Important formulas
T
q   I t  dt  q E
3
kT
0 2
ψ
I
dq D
dt A T (K)  T ( C)  273.15

F  qE D  Du 0 K = -273.15 °C
D E I  e qe v
q
 C/m2
A
 e  e A
r 
0
69

L2 - Current, E-Field, Electric Flux and Capacitors

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L2 - Current, E-Field, Electric Flux and Capacitors

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NFE2158 Electrical

Electric field strength - revisited

 The electric field strength at point in space is the force

Electric field strength - revisited

 The electric field strength at point in space is the force

Electric field strength - revisited

 Electric field at B is force on +1.0 C charge located at B

Electric field strength - revisited

 Electric field at C is force on +1.0 C charge located at C

Electric field strength - revisited

 Electric field at D is force on +1.0 C charge located at D

Electric field strength - revisited

 This results in a vector field where each point in space

Electric field strength - revisited

 Joining up the arrows gives an electric field line

Electric field strength - revisited

Electric field strength - revisited

Unlike charges Like charges

Electric field strength - revisited

 This is a hypothetical case

Electric field strength - revisited

Current is rate of flow (C/s) of charge

Direction of current flow

Current is rate of flow (C/s) of charge

Direction of current flow

q Current is number of coulombs

Hydrological analogy for current

Side note - current can be due to flow of

• E.g. Silicon doped with boron

+ve Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si Si -ve

Side note - current can be due to flow of

• E.g. Silicon doped with boron

+ve Si Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si -ve

Side note - current can be due to flow of

• E.g. Silicon doped with boron

+ve Si Si+ Si Si Si Si+ Si Si -ve

Direction of +ve charge flow

Direction of current flow 23

Demonstration – force between currents

• MIT Physics Demo -- Forces on a Current-Carrying Wire

Definition of electric charge

• Then electric charge is defined as the time integral of current

Amperes and Coulombs

 Unit of charge is the Coulomb (C)

 Excess free electrons gather on bottom plate charging the

 Deficit of negative charge is equivalent to excess of positive

 E-field is the force on a unit of charge (C)

Definition of electric field, E

 Force on point charge is:

 newtons/coulomb is same as volts/metre (see later)

Capacitor as a source of current

I Electrons move to right

 Current decays as -ve charge from one plate cancels +ve

• A current supplying an initially discharged capacitor

ICP 1.3.1 - Solution

• After 24 ms current is 1.5×24×10-3 = 36×10-3 A = 36 mA

• Charge after 24 ms (integral of current) is:

ICP 1.3.1 – More generic solution

-1 C of charge 1 C of flux +1 C of charge

Electric flux lines

Surface charge density, σ

 Surface charge density, σ, on +ve plate is:

Electric flux density, D