BASIC ELECTRONICS

Review of Basic Concepts

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RESISTANCE
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Resistance
The property of a substance due to which it opposes the
flow of electricity (i.e. electrons) through it.

The unit of resistance is ohm. Symbol is .

OHM
A conductor is said to have a resistance of one ohm if it permits
one ampere current to flow through it when one volt is applied
across its terminals.
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Laws of Resistance
The resistance R offered by a conductor depends on the
following factors:
a) It varies directly as its length.
(R l)

b) It varies inversely as the cross section of the conductor.
(R 1/A)

c) It depends on the nature of the material (expressed through
resistivity or specific-resistance )


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Resistivity / Specific Resistance
The resistance between the opposite faces of a meter
cube of that material.








Unit: ohm-meter

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R =
Current
1 m
3
Resistivities
Material Resistivity in ohm-meter
@ 20
o
C x 10
-8
Aluminium 2.69
Carbon 7000
Copper 1.72
Gold 2.44
Iron 9.8
Mercury 95.8
Silver 1.64
Rubber 10
16
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Example:
The resistance of a Cu wire 200 m long is 21 . If its
thickness is 0.44mm, calculate its specific resistance.
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Example:
The resistance of a Cu wire 200 m long is 21 . If its
thickness is 0.44mm, calculate its specific resistance.

SOLUTION:
l = 200m
R = 21
Thickness = d = 0.44 mm, and A =

2

=

ANSWER:
= 1.597 x 10
-8
ohm-meter

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OHMS LAW
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Ohms Law
The ratio of potential difference V between any two points
of a conductor to the current I flowing between them is
constant, provided the temperature of the conductor does
not change.

=
=
In other words, current is directly proportional to
voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.



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Example
A current of 0.2 A is
passed through a coil of
iron wire which has a
cross-sectional area of
0.01 cm
2
. If the resistivity
of iron is 14x10
8
ohm-
meter and p.d. across
the ends of the coil is 21
volts, what is the length
of the wire?

SOLUTION:
I = 0.2 A
A = 0.01 cm
2
= 14 x 10
-8
ohm-meter

V = 21 volts
l =?
=

=
(0.0110
4
)()
1410
8

To find R use Ohms law.
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Example
SOLUTION:
I = 0.2 A
A = 0.01 cm
2
= 14 x 10
-8
ohm-meter

V = 21 volts
l =?
=

=
(0.0110
4
)()
1410
8

To find R use Ohms law.
=

=
21
0.2

= 105

=
(0.0110
4
)(105)
1410
8

= 750 m
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RESISTANCE IN SERIES &
PARALLEL
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Resistance in Series
Joined end to end, in series.
Current is the same in all resistors.
Voltage is different.

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Resistance in Parallel
Joined in parallel.
Current is different.
Voltage is same across all resistors.
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Equivalent Resistance
Resistors in Series
=
1
+
2
+
3
+

Resistors in Parallel

=
1

1
+
1

2
+
1

3
+

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CONVENTIONAL &
ELECTRON FLOW
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Fluid Theory of Electricity
Franklin (1750) proposed a fluid theory of electricity
Electricity as an invisible fluid

Positive Charge: If a body has more than normal share of fluid
Negative Charge: If a body has less than normal share of fluid
Current flows from positive (excess) to negative (deficiency)
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Conventional Current and Fluid Theory
Conventional Current:
Current flows from positive to negative as depicted by Fluid Theory
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The Electron
Thomson (1897)
discovered electron
and proved that it had
a negative charge

Current Flow is
because of these
electrons from
negative to positive in
a piece of Copper wire.
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Conventional or Electron Flow?
Either flow is valid for understanding electric current.
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VOLTAGE SOURCES
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Voltage Sources
For any electronic circuit to work, there has to be a source
of energy.

Energy Source
Voltage Source
Current Source
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Voltage Source
Voltage Source
Ideal Voltage
Source
Real Voltage
Source
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Ideal Voltage Source
A ideal voltage source produces an output that does not
depend on the value of load resistance.

Example: a perfect battery
The current is I = V/R = 1.2 mA
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Ideal Voltage Source
A ideal voltage source produces an output that does not
depend on the value of load resistance.

Example: a perfect battery

Changing the resistance to 30
The current is I = V/R = 1.2 mA

Changing load resistance does not effect
the voltage source

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Real Voltage Source
If the load resistance is changed to zero; then
The current is I = V/R = 12/0 = infinity


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Real Voltage Source
If the load resistance is changed to zero; then
The current is I = V/R = 12/0 = infinity

No real voltage source can produce infinite current
because every real voltage source has some internal
resistance
Example:
Flashlight Battery < 1
Car Battery < 0.1
Electronic Voltage source < 0.01
Ideal voltage source = 0

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Real Voltage Source
The load current has to flow through the internal
resistance of the voltage source.
29
Ideal Voltage Source Real Voltage Source with
Internal Resistance
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Stiff Voltage Source
R
S
< 0.01 R
L

If R
L
is 100 times greater than R
S
, we ignore the internal
resistance
Any source that satisfies this condition is known as Stiff
Voltage Source

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Stiff Voltage Source
Example:
Suppose a voltage source has an ideal voltage of 15 V
and an internal resistance of 0.2 . For what voltage of
load resistance will the voltage source appear stiff?
SOLUTION:
For a voltage source to be stiff, the following condition
applies
R
S
< 0.01 R
L
Multiply R
L
by 100, we get
R
L
= 100(0.2 ) = 20 .
ANSWER: As long as load resistance is greater than 20
, the voltage source is stiff.
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CURRENT SOURCES
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Current Sources
A current source produces an output current that does not
depend on the value of load resistance.

A Current Source has very large internal resistance.


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Current Sources Symbols
Ideal Current Source

Real Current Source
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Stiff Current Source
For a current source to be stiff, the following condition
applies:
R
S
> 100 R
L


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Stiff Current Source
Example:
In the circuit given, find out
the largest acceptable
value of load resistance
for the current source to be stiff.
SOLUTION:
For a voltage source to be stiff, the following condition
applies
R
S
> 100 R
L

Divide R
S
by 100, we get
R
L (max)
= (10 M )/100 = 100 k.
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NETWORK LAWS &
THEOREMS
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Kirchhoffs Laws
Kirchhoffs Current Laws (KCL) / Point Law
The algebraic sum of the currents meeting at a point (or junction) is
zero.

Kirchhoffs Voltage Laws (KVL) / Mesh Law
The algebraic sum of the product of current and resistance in each
of the conductors in any closed mesh (or path) in a network plus
the algebraic sum of the e.m.f.s in that path) is zero.

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THEVENINS THEOREM
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Thevenins Theorem
Any network, when viewed from its any two terminal points, can
be replaced by a single voltage source (V
th
)in series with a
single resistance (R
th
).

Thevenins Voltage
Voltage across the load terminals when the load resistor is open.
V
TH
= V
OC
Thevenins Resistance
The resistance that an ohm-meter measures across the load terminals
when all sources are reduced to zero and the load resistor is open.
R
TH
= R
OC


To zero a voltage source, replace it by a short.

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Thevenins Theorem
Any network, when viewed from its
any two terminal points, can be
replaced by a single voltage source
(V
th
)in series with a single
resistance (R
th
).

Thevenins Voltage
Voltage across the load terminals when
the load resistor is open.
V
TH
= V
OC
Thevenins Resistance
The resistance that an ohm-meter
measures across the load terminals
when all sources are reduced to zero
and the load resistor is open.
R
TH
= R
OC


To zero a voltage source, replace it by a
short.

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R
L
A
B
R
L
A
B
R
TH
V
TH
Example-1 (Thevenins Th.)

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