GET 201

Applied Electricity I

Abdulwaheed MUSA, PhD

Under Graduate,
Harmattan Semester 2018/2019
Course Outline: Section A
 Electric Fields
 Charges
 Magnetic Fields
 B – H Curves
 Kirchoff’s laws
 Superposition theorem
 Thevenin theorems
 Norton theorems
 Reciprocity
 RL, RC, RLC Circuits
Today’s Goal

 Electric Fields
 Charges
Introduction
SI Unit
 As engineers, we deal with measurable quantities. Our measurement,
however, must be communicated in a standard language that virtually all
professionals can understand, irrespective of the country where the
measurement is conducted. Such an international measurement language is
the International System of Units or Systeme Internationale (SI).

 The SI unit is based on the units for the six fundamental dimensions. Other
dimensions are regarded as secondary because they are based and expressed in
terms of the six fundamental dimensions.
Dimension Unit Symbol

Length Meter m

Mass Kilogram Kg

Time second s

Electric Current ampere A

Temperature kelvin K

Amount of substance mole mol

 Introduction
Charge: is an electrical property of the atomic particles measured in coulombs (C).
 The Coulomb is defined as the quantity of electricity which flows past a given point in an
electric circuit when a current of one ampere is maintained for one second. In other words,
one coulomb is one ampere second. (1 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 = 6.24 × 1018 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑖. 𝑒. 1/
(1.602 × 10−19 ))
 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒔 ; 𝑸 = 𝑰𝒕 ; where I is the current (A) and t is the time (s).

Example: If a current of 5A flows for 2 minutes, find the quantity of electricity transferred.

Force: The newton is defined as the force which, when applied to a mass of one kilogram,
gives it an acceleration of one metre per seconds squared.
 Force in newton; F = ma
𝟐
 Gravitational force or weight; F = mg ; where 𝒈 = 𝟗. 𝟖𝟏𝒎/𝒔

Example: A mass of 5000g is accelerated at 2 𝑚/𝑠 2 by a force. Determine the force needed.

Work: The joule is defined as the work done or energy transferred when a force of one
newton is exerted through a distance of one metre in the direction of the force
 Work done on a body, in joules; W = Fs
 Introduction
Power:: Power is defined as the rate of doing work or transferring energy. The unit of power is
the watt (W) where one watt is one joule per second.
 Power in watt; P = W/t ; where W is the work done or energy transferred, in joules, and t is
the time, in seconds.
 Energy in joule; W = Pt

Example: A portable machine requires a force of 200N to move it. How much work is done if
the machine is moved 200m and what average power is utilized if the movement takes 25s?
Term: A mass of 500kg is raised to a height of 6m in 30s. Find (a) the work done and (b) the
power developed.

Electrical potential and e.m.f.: The unit of electric potential is the volt (v), where one volt is
one joule per coulomb. One Volt is defined as the difference in potential between two points in
a conductor which, when carrying a current of one ampere, dissipates a power of one watt, i.e.
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠/𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 = =
𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
= =
𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠
A change in electric potential between two points in an electric circuit is called a potential
difference.
 Introduction
The electromotive force (e.m.f.) provided by a source of energy such as a battery or a
generator is measured in volts.

Resistance and conductance: One ohm is one volt per ampere. It is defined as the resistance
between two points in a conductor when a constant electric potential of one volt applied at the
two points produces a current flow of one ampere in the conductor.
𝑽
Resistance in ohms; 𝑹 = 𝑰
where V is the potential difference across the two points, in volts, and I is the current flowing
between the two points, in amperes.
 The reciprocal of resistance is called conductance and is measured in siemens (S).
1
Conductance, in siemens; 𝐺 = 𝑅
Example: Find the conductance of a conductor of resistance: (a.) 10Ω (b.) 5kΩ (c.) 100mΩ

Electrical power and energy: When a direct current of I amperes is flowing in an electric
circuit and the voltage across the circuit is V volts; then
Power in watts; P = VI
 Introduction
Electric energy = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
Although the unit of energy is the joules, when dealing with large amounts of energy, the
unit used is the Kilowatt-hour (kWh) where;
1 kWh = 1000 watt-hour
= 1000 x 3600 watt seconds or joules
= 3 600 000 J
Examples: (a) A source e.m.f of 5V supplies a current of 3A for 10minutes. How much
energy is provided in this time?
(b) An electric heater consumes 1.8 MJ when connected to a 250V supply for
30 minutes. Find the power rating of the heater and the current taken from the supply.

An electrical/electronic system is a group of components connected together to

perform a desired function. Example is a simple public address system, where a
microphone is used to collect acoustic energy in the form of sound pressure waves and
converts this to electrical energy in the form of small voltages and currents; the signal from
the microphone is then amplified by means of an electronic circuit containing
transistors/integrated circuit before it is applied to the loudspeaker.
 Electric Fields
The space surrounding a charge can be investigated using a small charged body. This is similar to
that applied to the magnetic field surrounding a current-carrying conductor. However, in this case
the charged body is either attracted or repelled by the charge under investigation. The space in which
this effect can be observed is termed the electric field of the charge and the force on the charged
body is the electric force.
The lines of force can be traced out and they appear to have certain properties:
1. In an electric field, each line of force emanates from or terminates in a charge. The conventional
direction is from the positive charge to the negative charge.
2. The direction of the line is that of the force experienced by a positive charge placed at a point in
the field, assuming that the search charge has no effect on the field which it is being used to
investigate.
3. The lines of force never intersect since the resultant force at any point in the field can have only
one direction.
The force of attraction or of repulsion acts directly between two adjacent charges. All points on
the surface of a conductor may be assumed to be at equipotential (same potential), and the lines of
force radiate out from equipotential surfaces at right angles. The simplest case is that of the isolated
spherical charge shown in Fig. 1. However, most electric fields exist between two conductors. The
two most important arrangements are those involving parallel plates (as in a simple capacitor) and
concentric cylinders (as in a television aerial cable). The resulting fields are shown in Fig. 2.
 Electric Fields
Fig. 1: Electric field about an isolated spherical charge

Fig. 2: Electric fields between oppositely charged surfaces. (a) Parallel plates; (b)
concentric cylinders (cable)

It should not be overlooked that the space between the conductors needs to be filled with
an insulator, otherwise the charges would move towards one another and therefore be
dissipated. The insulant is called a dielectric.
 Electric Field Strength and Electric Flux Density
 We can investigate an electric field by observing its effect on a charge. In the SI
method of measurement this should be a unit charge, i.e. a coulomb. In practice this is
such a large charge that it would disrupt the field being investigated.
 The magnitude of the force experienced by this unit charge at any point in a field is
termed the electric field strength at that point (also known as electric stress). It can
be measured in newtons per unit charge and represented by the symbol E. (Since E
can also represent e.m.f., we use a bold type for E when representing electric field
strength and later we will meet D representing electric flux density.)
 The most simple field arrangement which we can investigate is that between parallel
charged plates as shown in Fig. 3. Let us suppose that the plates are very large and that
the distance between them is very small. By doing this, we can ignore any fringing
effects of the type shown in Fig. 2 and assume that all the field exists between the
plates. Let us also assume that there is free space between the plates.

Fig. 3: A parallel-plate capacitor

 Electric Field Strength and Electric Flux Density
 There is a potential difference of V volts between the plates. Therefore, the work in
transferring 1 C of charge between the plates is V joules. But work is the product of
force and distance, and in this case the distance is d metres. Therefore the force
experienced by the charge is the electric field strength E given by
𝑉
𝐸= 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒
𝑑
 The total electric effect of a system as described by the lines of electric force is
termed the electric flux linking the system. Flux is measured in the same units as
electric charge, hence a flux of Q coulombs is created by a charge of Q coulombs.
 The electric flux density is the measure of the electric flux passing at right angles
through unit area, i.e. an area of 1𝑚2 . It follows that if the area of the plates in the
capacitor of Fig. 3 is A then the electric flux density D is given by;
𝑄
𝐷= 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒
𝐴
From above two expressions, we have;
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑥 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐷 𝑄 𝑉 𝑄 𝑑 𝐶𝑑
= = ÷ = × =
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐸 𝐴 𝑑 𝑉 𝐴 𝐴
 Electric Field Strength and Electric Flux Density
 In electrostatics, the ratio of the electric flux density in a vacuum to the electric field
strength is termed the permittivity of free space and is represented by 𝜖0 . Hence,
Cd 𝜖0 𝐴
𝜖0 = or C= 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠
A 𝑑
Permittivity of free space Symbol: 𝝐𝟎 Unit: farad per metre (F/m)
 The value of 𝝐𝟎 can be determined experimentally by charging a capacitor, of known
dimensions and with vacuum dielectric, to a p.d. of V volts and then discharging it
through a ballistic galvanometer having a known ballistic constant k coulombs per unit
deflection. If the deflection is θ divisions,
𝑸 = 𝑪𝑽 = 𝒌𝜽
𝒅 𝒌𝜽 𝒅
∴ 𝝐𝟎 = 𝐂 ∙ = ∙
𝑨 𝑽 𝑨
 From carefully conducted tests it has been found that the value of 𝝐𝟎 is
8.85 × 10−12 𝐹/𝑚.
 Hence the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor with vacuum or air dielectric is given
by;
𝟖. 𝟖𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 [𝑭/𝒎] × 𝑨[𝒎𝟐 ]
𝑪= 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒔
𝒅[𝒎]
 Relative Permittivity
 The ratio of the capacitance of a capacitor having a given material as dielectric to
the capacitance of that capacitor with vacuum (or air) dielectric is termed the relative
permittivity of that material (𝝐𝒓 ). See Table 1 for values of the relative permittivity of
some important insulating materials. Note that some of them vary with frequency.
Relative Permittivity Symbol: 𝝐𝒓 Unit: none
 From above expression, it follows that if the space between the metal plates of the
capacitor in Fig. 4 is filled with a dielectric having a relative permittivity 𝝐𝒓 ,
𝜖0 𝜖𝑟 𝐴
Capacitance; 𝐶 = 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠
𝑑
𝟖. 𝟖𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 [𝑭/𝒎] × 𝝐𝒓 × 𝑨[𝒎𝟐 ]
= 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒔
𝒅[𝒎]

Fig. 4: A parallel-plate capacitor with a glass dielectric

 Relative Permittivity

Table 1 : Important insulating materials

And charge due to a p.d. of V volts is;

𝜖0 𝜖𝑟 𝐴𝑉
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠
𝑑
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑥 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐷 𝑄 𝑉 𝑄𝑑
∴ = = ÷ = = 𝜖0 𝜖𝑟
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐸 𝐴 𝑑 𝑉𝐴
𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝝐𝟎 𝝐𝒓 = 𝝐
where 𝝐 is the absolute permittivity
𝐶[𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠] × 𝑑[𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠]
∴ 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝜖 = 𝜖0 𝜖𝑟 =
𝐴[𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 2 ]
𝐶𝑑
= 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 (𝐅/𝐦)
𝐴
 Capacitance of a multi-plate capacitor
Suppose a capacitor to be made up of n parallel plates, alternate plates being connected
together as in Fig. 5. Let A = area of one side of each plate in square metres, d = thickness
of dielectric in metres and 𝜖𝑟 = relative permittivity of the dielectric
 Figure 5 shows a capacitor with seven plates, four being connected to A and three to
B. It will be seen that each side of the three plates connected to B is in contact with the
dielectric, whereas only one side of each of the outer plates is in contact with it.
Consequently, the useful surface area of each set of plates is 6A square metres. For n
plates, the useful area of each set is (n − 1)A square metres.

Fig. 5: Multi-plate capacitor

𝝐𝟎 𝝐𝒓 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝑨 𝟖. 𝟖𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝝐𝒓 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝑨
𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 = = 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒔
𝒅 𝒅
Example: A capacitor is made with seven metal plates connected as in Fig 5 and separated by
sheets of mica having a thickness of 0.3 mm and a relative permittivity of 6. The area of one side of
each plate is 500 𝑐𝑚2 . Calculate the capacitance in microfarads.
 Composite dielectric capacitors
 Suppose the space between metal plates M and N to be filled by dielectrics 1 and 2 of thickness
𝑑1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑2 metres respectively, as shown in Fig. 6(a). Let Q = charge in coulombs due to p.d. of
V volts and A = area of each dielectric in square metres, then D = Q/A
which is the electric flux density, in coulombs per metre squared, in A and B.

Fig. 6: Parallel-plate capacitor with two dielectrics

Let 𝑬𝟏 and 𝑬𝟐 = electric field strengths in 1 and 2 respectively; then if the relative permittivities of 1
and 2 are 𝜖1 and 𝜖2 respectively, electric field strength in A is
𝑫 𝑸 𝑫 𝑸
𝑬𝟏 = = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝐵 𝑖𝑠; 𝑬𝟐 = =
𝝐𝟏 𝝐𝟎 𝝐𝟏 𝝐𝟎 𝑨 𝝐𝟐 𝝐𝟎 𝝐𝟐 𝝐𝟎 𝑨
𝑬𝟏 𝝐𝟐
𝑯𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 =
𝑬𝟐 𝝐𝟏
 Composite dielectric capacitors
i.e. for dielectrics having the same cross-sectional area in series, the electric field strengths (or
potential gradients) are inversely proportional to their relative permittivities.

Potential drop in a dielectric is electric field strength × thickness

Therefore p.d. between plate M and the boundary surface L between 1 and 2 is 𝐸1 𝑑1 . Hence all
points on surface L are at the same potential, i.e. L is an equipotential surface and is at right angles to the
direction of the electric field strength. It follows that if a very thin metal foil were inserted between 1
and 2, it would not alter the electric field in the dielectrics. Hence the latter may be regarded as
equivalent to two capacitances, 𝐶1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶2 , connected in series as in Fig. 6 (b), where
𝝐𝟏 𝝐𝟎 𝑨 𝝐𝟐 𝝐𝟎 𝑨
𝑪𝟏 = 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝟐 =
𝒅𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐
And total capacitance between plates M and N is;
𝑪𝟏 +𝑪𝟐
Example: A capacitor consists of two metal plates, each 400 × 400 mm, spaced 6mm
apart. The space between the metal plates is filled with a glass plate 5 mm thick and a layer
of paper 1 mm thick. The relative permittivities of the glass and paper are 8 and 2
respectively. Calculate (a) the capacitance, neglecting any fringing flux, and
(b) the electric field strength in each dielectric in kilovolts per millimetre due to a p.d. of
10 kV between the metal plates.
 Charging and Discharging Currents
Suppose C in Fig. 7 represents a capacitor of, say, 30 μF connected in series with a centre-zero
microammeter A across a slider S and one end of a resistor R. A battery B is connected across R. If S
is moved at a uniform speed along R, the p.d. applied to C, indicated by voltmeter V, increases
uniformly from 0 to V volts, as shown by line OD in Fig. 8.
If C is the capacitance in farads and if the p.d. across C increases uniformly from 0 to V volts in 𝑡1
seconds
𝑄 [𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠]
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝑖1 =
𝑡1 [𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠]
𝐶𝑉
= 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑡1
i.e. charging current in amperes is equal to rate of change of charge in coulombs per second and is
C [farads] × rate of change of p.d. in volts per second
Since the p.d. across C increases at a uniform rate, the charging current, 𝑖1 , remains constant and is
represented by the dotted line LM in Fig. 8.

Fig. 7: Charging and discharging of a capacitor Fig. 8: Voltage and current during C&D of a Cap.
 Charging and Discharging Currents
Suppose the p.d. across C to be maintained constant at V volts during the next 𝑡2 seconds.
Since the rate of change of p.d. is now zero, the current (apart from a slight leakage
current) is zero and is represented by the dotted line NP. If the p.d. across C is then
reduced to zero at a uniform rate by moving slider S backwards, the microammeter
indicates a current 𝑖3 flowing in the reverse direction, represented by the dotted line QT in
Fig. 8. If 𝑡3 is the time in seconds for the p.d. to be reduced from V volts to zero, then
𝑄 = −𝑖3 𝑡3 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠
∴ 𝑖3 = −𝑄/𝑡3 = −𝐶 × 𝑉/𝑡3 amperes
i.e. discharge current in amperes is equal to rate of change of charge in coulombs per
second and is
C [farads] × rate of change of p.d. in volts per second
Since 𝑄 = 𝑖1 𝑡1 = −𝑖3 𝑡3 (assuming negligible leakage current through C), areas of
rectangles OLMN and PQTF are therefore equal.
In practice, it is seldom possible to vary the p.d. across a capacitor at a constant rate, so let
us consider the general case of the p.d. across a capacitor of C farads being increased by dv
volts in dt seconds.
 Charging and Discharging Currents
 If the corresponding increase of charge is dq coulombs
𝑑𝑞 = 𝐶 ∙ 𝑑𝑣
If the charging current at that instant is i amperes
𝑑𝑞 = 𝑖 ∙ 𝑑𝑡
∴ 𝑖 ∙ 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐶 ∙ 𝑑𝑣
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖 = 𝐶 ∙ 𝑑𝑣/𝑑𝑡
𝑖 = 𝐶 × 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝. 𝑑.
If the capacitor is being discharged and if the p.d. falls by dv volts in dt seconds, the
discharge current is given by
𝑑𝑞 𝑑𝑣
𝑖= 𝑜𝑟 𝑖=𝐶∙
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Since dv is now negative, the current is also negative.

 Growth and Decay
 The curves of the voltage across a capacitor during charging and discharging from the
readings on a voltmeter connected across the capacitor have been derived. How the
curves can be derived graphically from the values of the capacitance, the resistance and
the applied voltage will now be considered. At the instant when S is closed on position,
there is no p.d. across C. Consequently the whole of the voltage is applied across R and
the initial value of the charging current = I = V/R.
 The growth of the p.d. across C is represented by the curve in Fig. 9. Suppose v to be
the p.d. across C and i to be the charging current t seconds after S is put over to
position a. The corresponding p.d. across R = V − v, where V is the terminal voltage
of the battery. Hence
𝑖𝑅 = 𝑉 − 𝑣
𝑉 −𝑣
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖 =
𝑅
If this current remained constant until the capacitor was fully charged, and if the time taken
was x seconds, the corresponding quantity of electricity is
𝑉 −𝑣
𝑖𝑥 = × 𝑥 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠
𝑅
With a constant charging current, the p.d. across C would have increased uniformly up to
V volts, as represented by the tangent LM drawn to the curve at L.
 Growth and Decay
But the charge added to the capacitor also equals increase of p.d. × C which is
𝑉−𝑣 ×𝐶
𝑉−𝑣
𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 × 𝑥 = 𝐶(𝑉 − 𝑣)
𝑅
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = 𝐶𝑅 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡, 𝑇, 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡
𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑇 = 𝐶𝑅 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
The construction of the curve representing the growth of the p.d. across a capacitor is
therefore similar to that for the growth of current in an inductive circuit. Thus, OA in Fig.
10 represents the battery voltage V, and AB the time constant T. Join OB, and from a
point D fairly near the origin draw DE = T seconds and draw EF perpendicularly.
Join DF, etc. Draw a curve such that OB, DF, etc. are tangents to it.

From above expression it is evident that the instantaneous value of the charging current is
proportional to (V − v), namely the vertical distance between the curve and the horizontal
line PQ in Fig. 9. Hence the shape of the curve representing the charging current is the
inverse of that of the p.d. across the capacitor and is the same for both charging and
discharging currents (assuming the resistance to be the same). Its construction is illustrated
by the following example.
 Growth and Decay

Fig. 9: Growth of p.d. across a capacitor Fig. 10: Growth of p.d. across a capacitor
in series with a resistor. in series with a resistor.

Example: A 20 μ F capacitor is charged to a p.d. of 400 V and then discharged through a

100 000 Ω resistor. Derive a curve representing the discharge current.
 Analysis of Growth and Decay
Suppose the p.d. across capacitor C in Fig. 11, t seconds after S is switched over to position a, to be v
volts, and the corresponding charging current to be i amperes, as indicated in Fig. 13. Also, suppose
the p.d. to increase from v to (v + dv) volts in dt seconds, then, from previous expression,
𝑑𝑣
𝑖=𝐶
𝑑𝑡

Fig. 11: Capacitor charged and discharged Fig. 12: Charging and discharging currents
through a resistor and p.d.s

Fig. 13: Variation of current and p.d. during charging

 Analysis of Growth and Decay
𝑑𝑣
And corresponding p.d. across R is: 𝑅𝑖 = 𝑅𝐶 ∙
𝑑𝑡
But 𝑉 = 𝑝. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐶 + 𝑝. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑅
𝑑𝑣
𝑉 = 𝑣 + 𝑅𝐶 ∙
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
∴ 𝑉 − 𝑣 = 𝑅𝐶 ∙
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑣
𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 =
𝑅𝐶 𝑉−𝑣
𝑡
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒: = − ln 𝑉 − 𝑣 + 𝐴
𝑅𝐶
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡 =, 𝑣 = 0,
∴
𝐴 = 𝑖𝑛 𝑉
𝑡 𝑉
𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡; = ln
𝑅𝐶 𝑉−𝑣
𝑉 𝑡
∴ = 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑉−𝑣
𝑡
−
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 =𝑉 1−𝑒 𝑅𝐶 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
𝑑𝑣 𝑑 −
𝑡
𝐴𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑖=𝐶 ∙ = 𝐶𝑉 ∙ 1−𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

𝑉 −𝑡
∴ 𝑖= 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑅
 Analysis of Growth and Decay
At the instant of switching on, t = 0 and 𝑒 −0 = 1,
𝑉
∴ 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = = 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝐼
𝑅
This result is really obvious from the fact that at the instant of switching on there is no charge on C
and therefore no p.d. across it. Consequently the whole of the applied voltage must momentarily be
absorbed by R.
𝑉
𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑠;
𝑅
𝑡
−𝑅𝐶
𝑖=𝐼𝑒
If the p.d. across the capacitor continued increasing at the initial rate, it would be represented by OA,
the tangent drawn to the initial part of the curve. If T is the time constant, namely the time required
for the p.d. across C to increase from zero to its final value if it continued increasing at its initial rate,
then;
𝑉
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝. 𝑑. = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
𝑇

But t follows from equation that at the instant of closing the switch on position a 𝒗 = 𝟎, then
𝒅𝒗
𝑽 = 𝑹𝑪
𝒅𝒕
𝒅𝒗 𝑽
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑. 𝒅. 𝒊𝒔; =
𝒅𝒕 𝑹𝑪
𝑽 𝑽
𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆; ∴ = ; ∴ 𝑻 = 𝑹𝑪 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔
𝑻 𝑹𝑪
𝒕 𝒕
− −
𝑯𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒔; 𝒗 = 𝑽 𝟏 − 𝒆 𝑻 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊 = 𝑰𝒆 𝑻
 Discharge of a capacitor through a resistor
Having charged capacitor C in Fig. 11 to a p.d. of V volts, let us now move switch S over
to position b and thereby discharge the capacitor through R. The pointer of microammeter
A is immediately deflected to a maximum value in the negative direction, and then the
readings on both the microammeter and the voltmeter (Fig. 11) decrease to zero as
indicated in Fig. 14.

Fig. 14: Variation of current and p.d. during discharge.

Suppose the p.d. across C to be v volts t seconds after S has been moved to position b,
𝒗
and the corresponding current to be i amperes, as in Fig. 14, then 𝒊 = −
𝑹
The negative sign indicates that the direction of the discharge current is the reverse of that
of the charging current.
𝒅𝒗
𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐶 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑑𝑣 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠, ∴ 𝒊 = 𝑪 ∙
𝒅𝒕
 Discharge of a capacitor through a resistor
Since dv is now negative, i must also be negative, as already noted. Equating above two equation, we have;
𝑣 𝑑𝑣
− =𝐶 ∙
𝑅 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑣
𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, = −
𝑅𝐶 𝑣
𝑡
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒; = − ln 𝑣 + 𝐴
𝑅𝐶
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡 = 0, 𝑣 = 𝑉, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐴 = ln 𝑉 .
𝑡
𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒; = ln 𝑉/𝑣
𝑅𝐶
𝑉 𝑡
𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡; = 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑣
𝑡 𝑡
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 = 𝑉𝑒 −𝑅𝐶 = 𝑉𝑒 −𝑇
𝑣 𝑉 −𝑡 −
𝑡
𝐴𝑙𝑠𝑜; 𝑖=− =− 𝑒 𝑅𝐶 = −𝐼𝑒 𝑇
𝑅 𝑅
𝑡
−
∴ −𝐼 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑉
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐼 = 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = .
𝑅

Example: An 8𝜇𝐹 capacitor is connected in series with a 0.5MΩ resistor across a 200 V d.c. supply. Calculate: (a)
the time constant; (b) the initial charging current; (c) the time taken for the p.d. across the capacitor to grow to
160 V; (d) the current and the p.d. across the capacitor 4.0 s after it is connected to the supply.