Electric Circuits

Thomas Edison with first commercial light bulbs

Types of Materials
Conductor: A conductor allows electric current to pass through. Example: Copper, iron, nickel. Conductors are also known as metals. Wires and strips of metals conduct electricity with almost no resistance. Some metals (lead, steel) dont conduct as well as others. (Sometimes, if the surface of the metal is very oxidized, the metal appears not to conduct as well.) Graphite is a poor conductor (a semimetal) it allows current, but with more resistance. Insulator: An insulator does not allow electric current to pass through. Example: Air, glass, rubber, plastic, dry wood, etc.

Current
Current is formed by moving charges. (Current is measured in amperes, or amps for short.) For current to flow, you need: (i) A closed path joining the two ends of the supply. (ii) A supply, such as a battery, to pump the current back up to the top of the path after the current flows down through devices such as bulbs. The strength of the pump is measured in volts.

Unlike water flowing in a river, current needs a pump to get it back to the top so it can make a round trip (circuit).

Current flow

No Current !

No Current !

Current Flow

Outside the battery, current flows from one terminal to the other, and then gets pumped back to the first terminal within the battery. For the circuit shown on the right, the current is the same in the battery as in the wire.

Resistance
Adding a resistance, like a bulb decreases the current and therefore the heating of the wire. Now the filament in the bulb gets very hot from the current, and glows!

If the conducting path has very small resistance (like a wire), current will be very large and the wire will get hot!!

Structure of a light bulb

Partial Vacuum (low pressure, non-reactive gas) Filament is the high resistance part light and heat.

The greater the current through the filament, the hotter and brighter it will be.

Note: In an incandescent light bulb, most of the energy goes into heating the filament, and relatively little comes out as light: it wastes a lot of energy. Incandescent bulbs are being replaced with fluorescent lights and lightemitting diodes, which convert a much larger fraction of their input energy into light; i.e. they are much more energy efficient.

Symbols used in circuit diagram

Battery

Light bulb

Switch for

Use lines for connecting wires and dots connections between wires (e.g. at tees).

Resistance and current through an ideal battery

12 units 3 units

12

3 Total resistance = R 12 12 3 3

Total resistance = 4R

The current through a battery is inversely proportional to the total resistance connected to its two terminals: doubling the resistance results in halving the current, etc.

Resistance and current through a device

For simple devices, the voltage across the device is proportional to the current through it: V / I = R (the resistance). This is called Ohms Law. R is measured in ohms: 1 = 1V / 1A It is correct to say an insulator has a very, very large resistance, and a conductor has small resistance. For incandescent light bulbs, the resistance increases somewhat as the filaments temperature increases, and therefore R varies with current.
(That is why bulbs often blow-out when they are first turned on, before the filament heats up.)

Series Circuit

Two light bulbs connected in series

Three light bulbs connected in series

Four light bulbs connected in series

If you walk along a series circuit, starting from the positive end of the battery, you will not encounter any branches and you will end up at the negative end of the battery by the same track. The voltage provided by the battery is therefore divided between the bulbs, but for each circuit, the same current flows through each bulb and the battery.

Properties of series circuits

0.3 A 0.3 A 0.3 A 0.3 A 0.3 A 0.3 A The current at every point in a series circuit (including the battery) is equal, because the same current flows through each element.

(But this current depends on the total resistance, e.g. number of bulbs in the circuit.)

0.3 A 0.3 A

If this is a 3 Volt battery, if each bulb is identical, and if the connecting wires are perfect, what is the voltage across each bulb?

V
voltmeter

If this is a 3 Volt battery, if each bulb is identical, and if the connecting wires are perfect, what is the voltage across each bulb?

V
voltmeter

If they are identical, each bulb will have the same voltage. Since there are 4 bulbs, and the total voltage across them is the battery voltage, 3V, there will be a voltage drop of V across each bulb.

Series Circuit:
The total resistance is the sum of the resistances of each light bulb. The current through the circuit is inversely proportional to this total resistance R R 0.3 A 0.4 A 1.2 A 0.4 A 1.2 A 1.2 A R 0.4 A 0.4 A 0.4 A 0.4 A 0.3 A Total resistance = 3R Current = 0.4 A R 0.3 A 0.3 A R 0.3 A R Total resistance = 4R Current = 0.3 A 0.4 A R 0.3 A 0.3 A R

1.2 A

1.2 A

1.2 A Total resistance = R Current = 1.2 A

[Here, we assumed that the resistance of a bulb is constant, and doesnt increase with current, so the results are only approximately correct.]

Parallel Circuit

Two light bulbs connected in parallel

Three light bulbs connected in parallel

Four light bulbs connected in parallel

Each terminal of a bulb in a parallel circuit is connected to a terminal of a bulb in another branch of the circuit, and to the battery. Therefore, the full voltage of the battery will be across each bulb!

Properties of Parallel Circuit

0.8 A 0.2 A 0.2 A 0.2 A 0.2 A

0.8 A Current through the battery is the sum of the currents in each branch.

Note: These are different battery and bulbs than in previous pictures!

Properties of Parallel Circuit

0.8 A 0.2 A 0.2 A 0.2 A 1A 0.2 A 0.2 A 0.2 A

0.2 A 0.8 A 1A

0.2 A

0.2 A

Adding (or removing) one branch will not affect the current in the other branches (for an ideal battery), but will affect the total current through the battery. (This is the way appliances are wired in buildings.)

Problem 1: Three Identical Bulbs rate their brightness

Problem 1: Three Identical Bulbs rate their brightness

All the current from the battery flows through bulb C. The current through C splits, with half going through A and half going through B. (IA = IB = IC/2) The more current that flows through a bulb, the brighter it is. Therefore, C is brighter than A or B, which are equally bright.

IA

IB

IC

Note: Direction of arrows is arbitrary choice: you could also say IA and IB come together to make IC.

Problem 2: Three Identical Bulbs rate their brightness

Problem 2: Three Identical Bulbs rate their brightness

The full voltage of the battery appears across bulb A and also across the series combination of B and C. The same current (IBC) flows through B and C The resistance of B and C in series is greater than the resistance of A, so less current flows in the B-C branch than in A: IBC < IA. The more current that flows through a bulb, the brighter it is. Therefore, A is brighter than B or C, which are equally bright.

V IA IBC

If both batteries are identical (and ideal) and all bulbs identical, which is brightest?

#2 #1

Batteries in Series

If two batteries are placed in series (i.e. negative terminal on one connected to the positive of the second), the total voltage provided is the sum of the voltages. For example, if these are each 1.3 V batteries, the total voltage is 2.6 V.

Batteries in Series
Therefore, a way to increase the current through a device (e.g. bulb, LED, motor, -- shown as box X in the figures below) is to add batteries in series. When the current through a bulb or LED increases, the intensity of the light increases. When the current through a motor increases, its speed increases. In some cases (e.g. the LED) the intensity doesnt simply double when you double the number of batteries these are called non-linear devices. In the case of the LED, it emits (almost) no light with one battery, but glows intensely with two.

X attached to one battery.

X attached to two batteries.

X attached to three batteries

I Insert ammeter in series with device, to measure current through it

Insert voltmeter in parallel with device to measure voltage across it

Non-Ideal Batteries
Real batteries are non-ideal: they have a maximum current they can put out. Therefore, if you put too many bulbs in parallel, the current through each will drop. Similarly, if you put a short circuit in parallel with the bulbs, so much current will flow through the short circuit that very little current is left to flow through the bulbs. Almost I(max) switch closed almost no current thru bulbs When a battery dies, the first thing that happens is that its maximum current drops.

2A

1A

1A

I(max)

switch open: no current thru switch

Current has Direction

Electric current corresponds to the flow of charged particles (usually electrons), and therefore has a direction. However, the heat generated in an electrical wire and the light generated by an incandescent bulb only depend on the amount of current and not on the direction it is flowing. Two devices for which the direction of the current does matter are the electric motor and light emitting diode (or LED). In particular, the direction the motor is turning switches when the current direction is switched. The LED only lights up for a current of one polarity. Symbol for a motor:

Symbol for an LED

Energy and Power

Power is the rate of change of energy: Power = Energy / time The power delivered by an electrical energy source (e.g. battery) is its voltage times the current flowing through it: P = VI The power dissipated in any device (e.g. motor, light bulb) is the voltage across it times the current flowing through it: P = VI The unit of power is the Watt: 1 W = 1 V 1 A Your utility company charges you for the energy you use. The units they use are kWh = kiloWatthours: 1 kWh = 1000 (V A hr)

Example 1: An ideal 1.5 V battery is connected to a 2 ohm bulb (X) for 20 minutes (= 1/3 hr). What are the current and power in the bulb when connected, and how much energy is used?

Example 1: An ideal 1.5 V battery is connected to a 2 ohm bulb (X) for 20 minutes (= 1/3 hr). What are the current and power in the bulb when connected, and how much energy is used? Ohms Law: V/I = R.
I V

Therefore, I = V/R = 1.5V/2 = 0.75 A The power P = V I = 1.5 V 0.75A = 1.125 W The energy E = P t = 1.125 W 1/3 hr = 0.375 Wh = 0.000375 kWh

Example 2: A 90 W bulb (X) is attached to a 115V outlet for 6 hr. What is the resistance of the bulb and its current when connected, and how much energy is used?

Example 2: A 90 W bulb (X) is attached to a 115V outlet for 6 hr. What is the resistance of the bulb and its current when connected, and how much energy is used?

I V

P = V I, so I = P/V = 90W/115V = 0.783 A R = V/I = 115V/0.783A = 147 Energy = P t = 90W 6 hr = 540 Wh = 0.54 kWh

Exam
The exam will include a circuit problem (like homework problem) and a question about an experiment you did. 15 Multiple Choice Questions Examples MC example: Several light bulbs are connected in parallel to an ideal battery. What happens if one of them burns out? A) The brightness of the others wont change. B) The others will become brighter. C) The others will stay lit, but become dimmer. D) The others will go out.

Next Class: Magnets Bring Volume I !!