1.

The Physics of Electricity

Jurusan Fisika, FMIPA

Universitas Riau

An Atom
Everything is made of
atoms which contain
Positive particles called
Protons and Negative
particles called Electrons.
An atom will usually have
the same number of
positives and negatives.
This makes the atom
Neutral.

What is Electricity?

Electrons have a negative

charge (Q) measured in
coulombs (C) move round a
circuit from negative to
positive giving rise to an
electric current.
So electricity is movement
of charge round a circuit,
and we call this electric
current.

Electric Current
An electric current is a flow
of electric charge.
In electric circuits this
charge is often carried by
moving electrons in a wire.
It can also be carried by
ions in an electrolyte, or by
both ions and electrons such
as in a plasma.

A simple electric circuit,

where current is represented
by the letter i.

The Flow of Electric Current

The electrons, the

charge carriers in an
electrical circuit,
flow in the opposite
direction of the
conventional electric
current.

SI Unit of Electric Current

The SI unit for measuring an

electric current is the
ampere, which is the flow of
electric charges through a
surface at the rate of one
coulomb per second.
Electric current can be
measured using an ammeter.

The relationship between

the voltage (V), resistance
(R), and current (I) is V=IR;
this is known as Ohm's
Law.

Effects of Electric Currents

The reason electricity is so useful is that it is
easily converted into other forms of energy.
Electric currents cause many effects, notably
heating, but also induce magnetic fields, which
are widely used for motors, inductors and
generators.

Ohm's law
Ohms law states that the current I through a given
conductor is directly proportional to the potential
difference V between its end points.

Ohms law allows us to define resistance R and to write

the following forms of the law:

Ohm's law

Current in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied

voltage.
Current is inversely proportional to the amount circuit
resistance.
This means that if the voltage goes up, the current flow
will go up, and vice versa.
As the resistance goes up, the current goes down.

Ohms Triangle

Quiz 1a
For a voltage of 12V, calculate the current
for a resistant of:

1
2
4
24
1k

=
=
=
=
=

Quiz 1b
A 75 ohm circuit is powered by a 110-Volt energy
source. What is the current flowing in this circuit?
First we identify the information that we are given in
the problem:
resistance R = 75 ohms
voltage V = 110 volts
Need to know I amps
110 V = I x 75 ohms (rearrange formula)

Amps = 110 volts / 75 ohms (W) = 1.5 A

Quiz 1c
What is the voltage of a circuit with a resistance of 250
ohms and a current of 0.95 amps?
First we identify the information that we are given in
the problem:

resistance = 250 ohms

current = 0.95 amps
Need to know volts
V= 250 ohms x 0.95 amps

Volts = 250 ohms x 0.95 amps = 237.5 V

Quiz 1d

In this circuit voltage source

is 12 volts and resistance is
2 Ohms.
What is total amperage.
I=V/R
12 volts / 2 Ohms = 6 amps

Electrical Charge

Electrons are the charge carriers that flow in an

electrical circuit from the negative to positive
terminals.
Electric charge is given the symbol Q
Charge is measured in Coulombs (C)
The charge on an electron is
Is the same size as the charge on a proton.

Electrically Neutral
Objects with no net charge are said to be electrically
neutral, has equal amounts (+) and (-) charges
Most objects around you are electrically neutral, they
have no net electrical charge.

Quiz 2a
Question:
The electric current in a wire is 6 A.
How many electrons flow past a
given point in a time of 3 s?
Answer:
q = (6 A)(3 s) = 18 C
Recall that: 1 e- = 1.6 x 10-19 C

In 3 s: 1.12 x 1020 electrons

Current (I), Charge (Q) & Time (t)

Electric current is given the symbol I
Current is the amount of charge flowing per
second and is given the unit A
A current of 1 A is 1 C of charge transferred in 1 s
(I: Ampere, C: Coulomb, s: Seconds)

Quiz 2b

Quiz 2c

Current and Circuit

What is the relationship between a current and
a circuit?
A current is the flow of electricity.
The circuit is the path that the current takes.

Direct Current (DC)

Direct current (DC) is the unidirectional flow of
electric charge.
The current (or voltage) does not change with
time.

Alternating Current (AC)

An alternating current
(AC) is continually
changing direction.
The alternating current
(or voltage) has a
distinctive waveform.

Peak and Effective Voltage of

Alternating Current
Using the oscilloscope, we can measure the
peak voltage of the AC supply.
The effective voltage is always less than the
peak voltage.
The effective voltage is ~ 0.7 x peak voltage.

What is the difference between

AC and DC?
The difference between alternating current (a.c.) and
direct current (d.c.) can be seen using an oscilloscope.
For each current, the oscilloscope trace is a graph
showing how the voltage of an electricity supply varies
with time.

Frequency of Alternating Current

The frequency of AC electricity is the number of complete
cycles per second, which is measured in hertz (Hz).
If the frequency is increased, the number of complete
waves shown on the screen increases.
For example, if the frequency is doubled, the number of
waves doubles.

Mains Electricity In Indonesia

In Indonesia, the frequency of
mains electricity is 50 Hz: this
alternating current flows
backwards and forwards 50
times per second.
The voltage of mains electricity
supplied to Indonesia homes is
220-240 V and this is an
effective voltage.

Electric Power

Electric Power: The rate at which electrical

energy is converted to another form of energy.
Electric power = voltage x current
P=VxI
The unit is watts (W)

Electric Energy

This is how electric companies charge for

energy.
Electric energy = electric power x time
E=Pxt
The unit is kWh

Home Work
Diketahui biaya listrik
PLN adalah
Rp.1000/kWh.
Hitung biaya per hari,
biaya per minggu dan
biaya per bulan (30 hari)
pemakaian peralatan
rumah tangga pada tabel
sebelah.

Quiz 3
Question:
When a 3-V battery is connected to a
light, a current of 6 mA is observed.
What is the resistance of the light
filament?
Answer:

Resistors
The symbol for a resistor is

Electric Resistance
Suppose we apply a constant potential difference of 4
V to the ends of geometrically similar rods of, say:
steel, copper, and glass.
The current in glass is much less than for steel or iron,
suggesting a property of materials called electrical
resistance R.

 As seen in the table, there is a

broad range of resistivity
values for various materials.
Those materials with lower
resistivities offer less
resistance to the flow of
charge; they are better
conductors.
The materials shown in the
last four rows of the table
have such high resistivity that
they would not even be
considered to be conductors.

Varying Resistance
The resistance of a material (measured in )
depends on:
Type of material (the better the conductor, the lower
the resistance)
Length of material (the longer the material, the higher
the resistance)
Thickness of material (the thinner the material, the
higher the resistance)
Temperature of material (the higher the temperature,
the higher the resistance)

Variable Resistor

The relationship between length of the material

and resistance allows us to make a variable
resistor (or rheostat).

Variable Resistors
If the slider is moved in the direction AB the
resistance will increase because the length

Variable Resistors

Variable Resistor
(Potentiometer & Rheostat)

Potential Difference

The potential difference of the supply is divided

between the two resistors.
When the two resistors are identical (i.e. have the same
value of resistance), the potential difference is split
equally.

Application of Variable Resistors

Volume or brightness controls on televisions.
Volume control on MP3 players.
Light dimmer switches.

Digital Multimeters
This is an electrical
instrument designed to
measure voltage, current,
resistance, and often other
variables as well.
Multimeters are
manufactured in both
digital and analog form.

Measuring Voltage

The symbol for a

battery in a circuit
diagram.

Measuring Current

Electric current is measured

in amps (A) using an
ammeter connected in series
in the circuit.

Measuring Resistance

We can find the resistance of

a component by measuring
voltage across the component
using a voltmeter and
measuring current through
the component using a
current meter.
Or we can measure the
resistance directly using an
ohmmeter.

Conductor and Insulator

Conductor:
Material that allows electrons to move easily
through it. Copper, zinc, tin, iron, and aluminum
are conductors.
Insulator:
Material that does not allow electrons to move
through it. Glass, plastic, and wood are insulators.

Calculate The Electricity Costs

Question:
If Karen uses her clothes dryer (5000 W) for 1 hour a day
every day of the year, what is her kWh consumption?
How much money does it cost Karen to use her dryer
each year? (Electricity costs Rp.1000 per kWh.)

Answer:
kWh consumption = (wattage X hours used per day X
days per year) / 1000
1,825 kWh
Cost: 1,825 kWh X Rp.1000 = Rp. 1.825.000,-

Calculate The Hot Plate Voltage

Question:
How many Volts does the hot plate require if the
Current is 0.5 amps and the Resistance is 440 Ohms?

Answer:
Voltage = Current X Resistance
Voltage = (0.5 Amps) (220 Ohms)
Voltage = 220 Volts