14.

HEATING EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT

Heating effect of electricity is one of the widely used effects in the world. When electric current is passed
through a conductor, it generates heat due to the resistance it offers to the current flow. The work done
in overcoming the resistance is generated as heat.

This is studied by James Prescott Joule and he enunciated various factors that affect the heat generated.
The heat produced by a heating element is directly proportional to the square of the electric current (I)
passing through the conductor, directly proportional to the resistance (R) of the conductor, time (t) for
which current passes through the conductor. It is given by the expression
H = I2Rt and is well known as Joules Law.

Applications of the heating effect of electric current include appliances like electric immersion water
heater, electric iron box, etc. All of these have a heating element in it. Heating elements are generally
made of specific alloys like, nichrome, manganin, constantan etc.

A good heating element has high resistivity and high melting point. An electric fuse is an example for the
application of heating effect of electric current. The rating of 3 A of an electric fuse implies the maximum
current it can sustain is three ampere.

The chemical reaction within the cell generates the potential difference between its two terminals that
sets the electrons in motion to flow the current through a resistor or a system of resistors connected to
the battery. To maintain the current, the source has to keep expending its energy.

A part of the source energy in maintaining the current may be consumed into useful work (like in
rotating the blades of an electric fan). Rest of the source energy may be expended in heat to raise the
temperature of gadget. For example, an electric fan becomes warm if used continuously for longer time,
etc.

If the electric circuit is purely resistive, that is, a configuration of resistors only connected to a battery,
the source energy continually gets dissipated entirely in the form of heat. This is known as the heating
effect of electric current. When a conductor offers resistance to the flow of current the work done by
the electric current in overcoming this resistance is converted into heat energy.

The generation of heat in a conductor is an inevitable consequence of electric current. In many cases, it
is undesirable as it converts useful electrical energy into heat. In electric circuits, the unavoidable heating
can increase the temperature of the components and alter their properties.

The electric heating is also used to produce light, as in an electric bulb. Here, the filament must retain as
much of the heat generated as is possible, so that it gets very hot and emits light. It must not melt at
such high temperature. A strong metal with high melting point such as tungsten (melting point 3380C) is
used for making the filaments of the bulb. The filament should be thermally isolated as much as
possible, using insulating support, etc. The bulbs are usually filled with chemically inactive nitrogen and
argon gases to prolong the life of filament. Most of the power consumed by the filament appears as
heat, but a small part of it is in the form of light radiated.
Devices which work on the heating effect of electric current have a heating element or filament. Good
heating elements have high resistivity, high melting point and negligible variation in resistance due to
temperature changes.

The three metal alloys most commonly used as heating elements are: Nichrome (80% Ni + 20% Cr);
Manganin (86% Cu + 12% Mn + 2% Ni); Constantan (60% Cu + 40% Ni).

Joule's law
The Joule's law states that the quantity of heat produced in a resistor is directly proportional to: (i)the
square of current for a given resistance, (ii) the resistance for a given current, and (iii) the time for which
the current flows through the resistor, i.e., H = I 2Rt.

Consider a current I flowing through a resistor of resistance R.

Let the potential difference across it be V.
Let t be the time during which a charge Q flows across.

The work done in moving the charge Q through a potential difference, V =VQ.
The source must supply energy equal to VQ in time t.
The power input to the circuit by the source is
P = VQ t = VI.
Or the energy supplied to the circuit by the source in time t
H= P t,
H = VIt
This energy gets dissipated in the resistor as heat.
Thus for a steady current I, the amount of heat H produced in time t is H = VIt.
Applying Ohms law, H = I2 Rt.

In practical situations, when an electric appliance is connected to a known voltage source, current can be
calculated using the relation I = V R . Using this value in H = I2Rt, the heat produced can be calculated.

One of the common applications of Joules heating is the fuse used in electric circuits. An electric fuse is
a safety device used to protect circuits and appliances by stopping the flow of any unduly high electric
current. It works on the heating effect of electric current.

Electric Fuse
The fuse is placed in series with the device. An electric fuse consists of a piece of wire made of a metal or
an alloy of appropriate melting point, for example aluminum, copper, iron, lead, etc. If a current larger
than the specified value flows through the circuit, the temperature of the fuse wire increases. This melts
the fuse wire and breaks the circuit. The fuse wire is usually encased in a cartridge of porcelain or similar
material with metal ends.

The fuses used for domestic purposes are rated as 1 A, 2 A, 3 A, 5 A, 10 A, etc. For an electric iron which
consumes 1 kW electric power when operated at 220 V, a current of (1000/220) A, that is, 4.54 A will
flow in the circuit. In this case, a 5 A
fuse must be used.

Electric energy and power

The rate of doing work is called power. This is also the rate of consumption of energy.

The equation H = I2 Rt gives the rate at which electric energy is dissipated

or consumed in an electric circuit. This is also termed as electric power. The power P is given by P = VI. Or
P = I2R = V 2 R .
The SI unit of electric power is watt (W).
It is the power consumed by a device that carries 1 A of current when operated at a potential difference
of 1 V.

1 W = 1 volt 1 ampere = 1 V A.

The unit watt is very small. Therefore, in actual practice we use a much larger unit called kilowatt. It is
equal to 1000 watts.

Since electrical energy is the product of power and time, the unit of electric energy is, therefore, watt
hour (W h). One watt hour is the energy consumed when
1 watt of power is used for 1 hour.

The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kW h), commonly known as unit. 1 kW h = 1000
watt 3600 second = 3.6 106 watt second = 3.6 106 joule (J).

We pay the electricity board or electric company to provide energy to move electrons through the
electric gadgets like electric bulb, fan and engines. We pay for the energy that we use and not for the
electrons. Electrons are not consumed in a circuit, as many people think.

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heating effect of electricity

Energy exists in various forms such as mechanical energy, heat energy, chemical energy,
electrical energy, light energy and nuclear energy. According to the law of conservation of
energy, energy can be transformed from one form to another.

In our daily life we use many devices where the electrical energy is converted into heat energy,
light energy, chemical energy or mechanical energy. When an electric current is passed through a
metallic wire like filament of an electric heater, oven or geyser, the filament gets heated up and
here electrical energy is converted into heat energy. This is known as 'heating effect of current'.
It is a matter of common experience that a wire gets heated up when electric current flows
through it. Why does this happen? A metallic conductor has a large number of free electrons in it.
When a potential difference is applied across the ends of a metallic wire, the free electrons begin
to drift from the low potential to the high potential region. These electrons collide with the
positive ions (the atoms which have lost their electrons). In these collisions, energy of the
electrons is transferred to the positive ions and they begin to vibrate more violently. As a result,
heat is produced. Greater the number of electrons flowing per second, greater will be the rate of
collisions and hence more heat is produced.

Mathematical Expression for Heat Produced

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Potential difference is a measure of work done in moving a unit charge across a circuit. Current in a
circuit is equal to the amount of charge flowing in one second.

Therefore, the work done in moving 'Q' charges through a potential difference 'V' in a time 't' is
given by

Work done = potential difference x current x time

W = VIt

The same can be expressed differently using ohm's law.

According to ohm's law V = IR

Therefore work can be expressed as

W = VIt

or W = (IR) It = I2Rt

Thus, heat produced is directly proportional to the resistance, to the time and to the square of the
current.

Application of the Heating Effect of Current

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The heating effect of current is utilized in electrical heating appliances such as electric iron, room
heaters, water heaters, etc. All these heating appliances contain coils of high resistance wire made of
nichrome alloy. When these appliances are connected to power supply by insulated copper wires then a
large amount of heat is produced in the heating coils because they have high resistance, but a negligible
heat is produced in the connecting wires because the wires are made to have low resistance.

The heating effect of electric current is utilized in electric bulbs for producing light. When electric current
passes through a thin high resistance tungsten filament of an electric bulb, the filament becomes white
hot and emits light.

An 'electric fuse' is an important application of the heating effect of current. When the current
drawn in a domestic electric circuit increases beyond a certain value, the fuse wire gets over
heated, melts and breaks the circuit. This prevents fire and damage to various electrical
appliances.

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The Oxford Guide to the History of Physics

and Astronomy, Volume 10
By J. L. Heilbron
Page 179

Heating Effect of Electric Current & its Application

When current flows through a metallic conductor, the free electrons in the metal start moving
from the end which is at lower potential. These moving free electrons collide with the atoms of
the metal. At each collision, a part of kinetic energy of electron converts into heat and slowly the
temperature of the conductor begins to rise. Thus, the production of heat energy in a conductor
by the electric current flowing thorough it is called the heating effect of the current.

Joules Law:

Let V be the potential difference applied between two terminals of a conductor of resistance R,
then by using Ohms law I = V/R
If the current I is passed through a conductor for time t, then Q = It.

Potential difference is the work done (w) during flow of charge Q is given by:

Work = Potential difference X charge

W = V.Q

Put V = IR and Q = It

W = IRt = VIt
When current flows through a conductor, the work done (IRt) is converted into heat.

W = I Rt joule

Usually we express heat energy into calorie. The relation between Joule and calorie is

4.18 J= 1 cal.

Hence, heat produced in a conductor in terms of Calorie is given by

H = IRt/4.18 cal

Joules law can be stated as: The quantity of heat (H) generated in a conductor of Resistance (R),
when a current (I) flows through it for a time (t), is directly proportional to:

1) The square of the current.

2) The resistance of the conductor, and
3) The time for which the current flows.

Using Ohms law we can write

H = IRt/4.18 cal = Vt/4.18R cal = VIt/4.18 cal

Application of Heating Effect of Electric Current:

In an electric circuit, the unavoidable heating can increase the temperature of the components
and also alter their properties. However, heating effect of electric current has many useful
applications. The most common examples are electric iron, electric toaster, electric oven, electric
kettle and electric heater.

1) An electric bulb consists of a filament. This filament becomes hot and emits light. It is made
up of a metal with high melting point such as tungsten. The bulbs are usually filled with
chemically inactive nitrogen and argon gases to prolong the life of filament.

2) An electric iron consists of a coil of high resistance converted by mica sheets and kept inside a
heavy metal block. When electric current passes through the coil it gets heated and can be used
for ironing clothes. The mica sheet is a bad conductor of electricity and good conductor of heat.
It prevents the current from entering into the metal and thus protecting the user from getting an
electric shock.

3) An important application of heating effect is the fuse used in electric circuits. It protects
circuits and appliances by stopping the flow of any excess electric current. The fuse is placed in
series with the device. It consists of a piece of wire made of an alloy of low melting point, for
example, lead and tin. If a current larger than the specified value flows through the circuit, the
temperature of the fuse wire increases. This melts the fuse wire and breaks the circuit. The fuse
wire is usually enclosed in a cartridge of porcelain or similar material with metal ends. The fuses
used for domestic purposes are stated as 1A,2A,3A, 4A, 5A, 10A, etc.

4) In industry, soldering, welding, cutting, drilling and working of electric furnaces are based on
heating effect of electric current.

5) In surgery, a fine heated platinum wire is used for cutting tissues much more efficiently than a
knife.

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