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Electric Current and Current Dendity

Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge. It is measured in Amperes (A), with 1 A equal to 1 Coulomb of charge passing through an area in 1 second. Electric current can consist of the flow of electrons, positive holes, or positive ions depending on the material. By convention, the direction of conventional current is defined as the direction of flow of positive charge even though actual current is carried by negatively charged electrons. Current density refers to the current per unit cross-sectional area and helps define current on a microscopic scale.

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69 views6 pages

Electric Current and Current Dendity

Electric current is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge. It is measured in Amperes (A), with 1 A equal to 1 Coulomb of charge passing through an area in 1 second. Electric current can consist of the flow of electrons, positive holes, or positive ions depending on the material. By convention, the direction of conventional current is defined as the direction of flow of positive charge even though actual current is carried by negatively charged electrons. Current density refers to the current per unit cross-sectional area and helps define current on a microscopic scale.

Uploaded by

Loga Nathan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Electric Current

We know that electric potential of a body is defined as the degree of


electrification and determines the directions of flow of charge.

Current strength, in a conductor, is defined as the rate of flow of charge


across any cross section of the conductor.

If a charge ‘q’ flows across any cross-section in ‘t’ second, current i is given
by

i = q/t …... (1)

Electric current flowing through a conductor is associated with magnitude as


well as direction. In spite of this, the electric current is considered to be a
scalar quantity. Whenever we have to find the resultant current through a
wire we have to take the algebraic sum of all the individual currents. Since this rule
is valid only for scalar quantities, we take current to be a scalar quantity.
An electric current is usually thought of as a flow of electrons. When two
ends of a battery are connected to each other by means of a metal wire,
electrons flow out of one end (electrode or pole) of the battery, through the
wire, and into the opposite end of the battery.

An electric current can also be thought of as a flow of positive "holes." A


"hole" in this sense is a region of space where an electron might normally be
found but does not exist. The absence of the electron's negative charge can
be thought of as creating a positively charged hole.
In some cases, an electric current can also consist of a flow of positively
charge particles known as cations. A cation is simply an atom or group of
atoms carrying a positive charge.

Relation (1) holds good if the flow of charge is uniform with time. In case of
a non-uniform flow, let ‘dq’ be the small amount of charge flowing across any
cross-section of the conductor in a small interval of time ‘dt’, then current ‘i’
is given by

i = dq/dt

Unit of current in S.I. is coulomb/sec or ampere.

Types of Electric Currents


(a) Steady Current: A current is said to be steady if its magnitude is
constant and its direction always same.

(b) Variable Current: A variable current, in general, is defined as the


current which changes in magnitude with time while its direction may or may
not change.

Conventional Current
Electric current is the flow of electrons from the negative terminal to the
positive terminal of a cell. This is because electrons are negatively charged
and want to move away from the negative terminal and head towards the
positive terminal.

When cells were first invented the theory of electron flow mentioned above
was unknown. Rather it was incorrectly assumed that the movement was
from the positive to negative terminal. Therefore, circuit diagrams showed
the current moving from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. We
have unfortunately stuck with this convention to this day and so current flow
from positive to negative is called, “conventional current flow” and is used
when drawing circuit diagrams. By convention the direction of flow of current
is taken to be the direction of flow of positive charge. The current in that
sense is called conventional current.

Units of Electric Current


(a) C.G.S. electro-static unit (esu):

The current flowing through a conductor is said to be one esu if a charge of 1


esu flows across any of its cross-section in one second.

1 esu of current = 1 esu of charge/1 second

The esu of current is also called stat-ampere.

(b) C.G.S.electro-magnetic unit (emu):

The current flowing through a conductor is said to be one emu if a charge of


1 emu flows across any of its cross-section in one second.

1 emu of current = 1 emu of charge/1 second


The e.m.u of current is also called abampere.

(c) S.I. unit (ampere):

The current flowing through a conductor is said to be 1 ampere if a charge of


1 coulomb flows across any of its cross-section in one second.

So, 1 ampere = 1 coulomb/ 1 second

Relation between ampere and statampere (esu)

We know that,

1 coulomb = 3 109 esu of charge

Thus, 1 ampere = 1 coulomb/1 second = 3 109 esu of charge/1 second

1 A = 3 109 esu of current or stat-ampere

Relation between ampere and ab-ampere

We know that,

1 coulomb = 1/10 emu of charge

1 ampere = 1 coulomb/1 second

1 A = [(1/10) emu of charge]/[1 second] = (1/10) e.m.u. of current or


abampere

Current Density

In case of a steady current, flowing through a conductor, same current flows


through all the cross-sections of the conductor, even though the cross-
sections may differ in area. Electric current is a macroscopic entity. We talk
of electric current through a conductor and not about electric current at a
point. A corresponding microscopic entity, in electricity, is current density.
Current density , at any point inside a conductor, is a vector quantity
whose magnitude is equal to the current per unit area through an
infinitesimal area at that point, the area being held perpendicular to the
direction of flow of charge and its direction is along the direction of flow of
positive charge.

Let ‘?I’ be the small amount of current flowing through a small area ‘‘?A’,
placed perpendicular to the direction of flow of charge, current density J
(magnitude) is given by

J = dI/dA …... (1)

In vector form, …... (2)

In case of non-uniform flow, current I through any cross-section is

…... (3)

Here the integral denotes the surface integral over the entire cross-section.
The right hand part of the equation (3) can be regarded as flux of current
density over a given area, we can also define electric current as follows.
Electric current is defined as the flux of current density over a given area.

Unit of current density is ‘Am-2’.

Relation between Current Density and Electric


Field
Consider a conductor of length l and area of cross-section A. Let its two ends
be raised to potentials V1 and V2 (V1>V2). As a result of this potential
difference, an electric field is set up in the conductor in a direction parallel
to the length of the conductor. Difference of potentials across two ends of the
conductor is given by

Let V = V1 – V2

So,

Since direction of and displacement (of positive charge) is same


Since E is uniform throughout,

…... (4)

If = current density vector

Here and have same directions.

Thus, I = JA cos 0 = JA

Adding to Ohm’s law,

V = IR = I (L/σA) (Since, R = L/σA)

Here σ = conductivity of the material of conductor.

Substituting for I, we get,

V = JA(L/σA)

Or, V = JL/σ …... (5)

From equations (4) and (5), we get,

EL = JL/σ

Or, J = σE …... (6)

Since direction of and is same throughout, equation (6) can be written,


in vector form, as

Thus electrical conductivity can also be defined as electric current density per
unit electric field strength.

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