CSC 116: Electrical Principles

LESSON ONE: SI UNITS and ELECTRICAL

QUANTITIES

By
Dr. Ronoh K, R., PhD
School of Computing and Informatics
Department of Computer Science
 Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson you should be able
to:
• state the basic SI units
• recognize derived SI units
• understand prefixes denoting
multiplication and division
 Lesson Objectives
• state the units of charge, force, work and
power and perform simple calculations
involving these units
• state the units of electrical potential, e.m.f.
, resistance, conductance, power and
energy and perform simple
• calculations involving these units
 Lesson Objectives
– Define electric charge, electric current, voltage
and electric power
– State the units of charge, current, voltage and
power and perform simple calculations
involving these units
– Define electrical resistance and conductance
– State the units of electrical potential, e.m.f.,
resistance, conductance, power and energy
and perform simple calculations involving
these units
 SI units
• The system of units used in engineering
and science is the Système Internationale
d’Unités (International system of units),
usually abbreviated to SI units, and is
based on the metric system.
 SI units
• The basic units in the SI system are
listed below with their symbols:
 Derived SI units
• use combinations of basic units and there are
many of them.
• Two examples are:
– Velocity – metres per second (m/s)
– Acceleration – metres per second squared (m/
s2)
• SI units may be made larger or smaller by
using prefixes which denote multiplication or
division by a particular amount.
• The six most common multiples, with their
meaning, are listed below:
Derived SI units
 Electric Charge
• Electric charge is a fundamental property of
matter.
• All atoms consist of protons, neutrons and
electrons.
• The protons, which have positive electrical
charges, and the neutrons, which have no
electrical charge, are contained within the
nucleus.
• Removed from the nucleus are minute
negatively charged particles called electrons.
 Electric Charge
• Atoms of different materials differ from one
another by having different numbers of
protons, neutrons and electrons.
• An equal number of protons and electrons
exist within an atom and it is said to be
electrically balanced, as the positive and
negative charges cancel each other out.
• When there are more than two electrons in
an atom the electrons are arranged into
shells at various distances from the nucleus.
• All atoms are bound together by powerful
forces of attraction existing between the
nucleus and its electrons.
• Electrons in the outer shell of an atom,
however, are attracted to their nucleus
less powerfully than are electrons whose
shells are nearer the nucleus.
• It is possible for an atom to lose an
electron; the atom, which is now called an
ion, is not now electrically balanced, but is
positively charged and is thus able to
attract an electron to itself from another
atom.
• Electrons that move from one atom to
another are called free electrons and such
random motion can continue indefinitely.
• However, if an electric pressure or voltage
is applied across any material there is a
tendency for electrons to move in a
particular direction.
• This movement of free electrons, known
as drift, constitutes an electric current flow.
• Thus current is the rate of movement of
charge.
• Conductors are materials that contain
electrons that are loosely connected to the
nucleus and can easily move through the
material from one atom to another.
• Insulators are materials whose electrons
are held firmly to their nucleus.
• The unit of charge is the coulomb (C)
where one coulomb is one ampere second.
18
(1 coulomb = 6.24 × 10 electrons).
• 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.
• The unit used to measure the quantity of
electrical charge Q is called the coulomb
C (where
• 1 coulomb=6.24×1018 electrons)
• If the drift of electrons in a conductor
takes place at the rate of one coulomb per
second the resulting current is said to be a
current of one ampere.
• Thus 1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second or
• 1A = 1C/s
• Hence 1 coulomb = 1 ampere second or
• 1C = 1As
• Thus, charge, in coulombs Q = It where I is
the current in amperes and t is the time in
seconds.
• Example 1
• If a current of 5A flows for 2 minutes, find
the quantity of electricity transferred.
• Solution Quantity of electricity Q = It
coulombs I = 5 A, t = 2 × 60 = 120 s
• Hence Q = 5 ×120 = 600 C
• We can talk about free charges as a way
of distinguishing two kinds of materials:
conductors and insulators.
• An electrical conductor is a material
containing charges that are free to move.
• In metals, the most common conductors,
those free charges, are electrons.
• Typically, one or two electrons at the
outermost periphery of the metal atoms
become free, not bound to individual atoms.
• They’re free to move throughout the metal,
and that’s what makes the material a
conductor.
• An insulator is a material lacking free
charges. In an insulator, all the individual
electrons are bound tightly to the atoms
and can’t be moved.
• Current and Voltage
• Current: a flow of electric charge
– Amount of charge per time crossing a given area
– Unit: ampere (amp, A)
– 1 A is about 6 x 1018 electrons per second
– 1 A is about the current in a 100-watt (W)
incandescent light bulb
– Common in electronics: milliamp, mA (0.001 A)
– Direction of current is that of positive charge flow
• Even though most current is carried by electrons.
• Voltage: the “push or force” that drives
current
– A measure of energy per charge
– Unit: volt (V)
– AAA, AA, C, D batteries: 1.5 V; car battery: 12 V;
wall outlet: 120V or 240V
– Typical in electronic circuits: 5–15V
• 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.
• A change in electric potential between two points
in an electric circuit is called a potential difference.
• The electromotive force (e.m.f.) provided by a
source of energy such as a battery or a generator
is measured in volts.
• Electric current is a flow of charge, its unit of
measurement is the amperes (A).
• Voltage is the push or force that drives current
through a wire or an electrical or electronic device.
• It’s a measure of energy per charge and is
measured in volts (V).
• Resistance and conductance
• The flow of electric current is subject to friction.
• This friction, or opposition, is called resistance R and
is the property of a conductor that limits current.
• The unit of electric resistance is the ohm (Ω), where
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.
• Thus,
• 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). Thus:

• where R is the resistance in ohms.

• Example 2
• Find the conductance of a conductor of
resistance: (a) 10Ω (b) 5 kΩ (c) 100 mΩ.
Solution
• 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 Electrical energy = Power ×
time = VIt joules.
• Although the unit of energy is the joule,
when dealing with large amounts of energy,
the unit used is the kilowatt hour (kWh)
where 1 kWh = 1000 watt hour = 1000 ×
3600 watt seconds or joules = 3 600 000 J
• Electric Power
• Electric current: charge per time
• Voltage: energy per charge
• Multiply them together:
• Example 3
• 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.