Fundamentals of Electricity Flashcards
Matter
- Occupies space
- Has weight
Elements
- Basic building block of nature
2.Can not be reduced to a simpler substance by chemical means - Over 100 known elements
Parts of an atom
- Nucleus: located at the centre of the atom, it is a place
- Protons: Positively charged particles inside the nucleus
- Neutrons: Uncharged particles inside the nucleus
- Electrons: Negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus
Size of protons and electrons
Imagine a cathedral
In the middle, there is a grapefruit, that is roughly the size of protons and neutrons. And electrons would be like a laser point around the out walls
Atomic number
The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom
Each element has its unique number of protons
Atomic weight
- The mass of an atom
- Determined by the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
Each element has its unique weight
Shell
- Electrons orbit here
- Concentric circles around nucleus
- Filled in sequence
- Label from K to Q
Valence Shell
The outermost shell, the Q shell
Valence
The number of the electrons contained in the valence shell
Conductors
- Materials that contain a large number of free electrons
- 3 or fewer electrons in the valence shell is potentially a good conductor
High to low
Silver > Copper > Gold (least oxidized) > Aluminum > Tungsten > Iron > Nichrome
Insulators
- Prevent the flow of electricity
- Stabilized by absorbing valence electrons
Mica > Glass > Teflon > Paper(Paraffin) > Rubber > Bakelite > Oil > Procelain > Air
5 or more electrons in the valence shell
Semiconductors
- Can be altered to function as either a conductor or insulator
4 electrons in the valence shell
Negative and positive Ion
A negatively charged or positively charged atom
Ionization
The process of gaining or losing electrons
Significant in current flow
e.g rubbing something to get static electric
Current
Movement of electrons from negatively charged atoms to positively charged atoms at the speed of light.
Represented as I
Coulomb
Unit adopted for measuring charges
6.24 * 10 18 electrons
Represented as C
Ampere
One coulomb moving past a single point in one second
Named for French Physicist Andre Marie Ampere
Current measured in ampers
Represented by A
Potential
The ability of the source to perform electrical work
Difference of Potential
- Causes electrons to move or flow in a circuit
- Referred to as electromotive force (emf) or voltage
Voltage
- The force that moves the electrons in the circuit
- The pressure or pump that moves electrons
- Represented by E or V
- Unit of measure called the volt
Resistance
- Opposition to the flow of electrons
- Degree of resistance depends on size, shape or temperature
- Measured in Ohms, named for George Simon Ohm
- Represented by Greek letter Omega Ω
Everything has resistance, except super conductors
First low of electrostatic charges
Like charges repel each other
Second law of electrostatic charges
Unlike charges attract each other
The relationship between amperes and coulombs pers second can be expressed as
I = Q / t
I = current measured in amperes
Q = quantity of electrical charge in coulombs
t = time in seconds
Hole
The movement of an electron from one atom to the next, creating the appearance of a positive charge moving in the opposite direction
Flow
Negative to Positive: electron flow and current flow
Positive to Negative: hole flow
Voltage source
- Supplies electrons from one end of the conductor
- Removes electrons from the other end of the conductor
- Can be thought of as a kind of a pump
Voltage sources
- Friction
- Magnetism
- Chemicals
- Light
- Heat
- Pressure
Voltage sources - Friction
Van de Graaff generator, lightning storm
Voltage sources - Magnetism
- Most common method of producing electrical energy
- Produced using a generator
- Powered by steam from nuclear power or coal, water, wind or gasoline or diesel engines.
Voltage sources - Chemicals
- Cell (1.5 V)
- Second most popular method of producing electrical energy
- Consists of two metals
- Copper
- Zinc
- Many cells can be connected to form a battery
Voltage sources - Light
- Photovoltaic cell
- A single cell can produce a small voltage
- Many cells must be linked to produce a usable voltage and current
- Primarily used in satellites and cameras
- Cost is high but is declining
Voltage sources - Heat
- Thermocouple
- Two dissimilar wires twisted together
- Voltage is directly proportional to the amount of heat applied
- Used in thermometers
- Also called a pyrometer
Voltage sources - Pressure
- Piezoelectric effect
- Voltage is small; must be amplified to be useful
- Used in crystal microphones, phonograph pickups (crystal cartridges) and precision oscillators
Direct current
Electrons flow in only one direction
Alternating current
Electrons flow in one direction then in the opposite direction
Battery
A combination of two or more cells
Primary cells
- Cells that can not be recharged
- Leclanche cell or dry cell; also referred to as a carbon-zinc cell
- Alkaline cell
- Lithium cell (last longer)
Secondary cells
- Cells that can be recharged
- Lead-acid battery or wet cell
- Nickel- Cadmium cell or Ni-Cad
Connecting Cells and Batteries
- Series
- Series
- It = I1 = I2 = I3 (current)
- Vt = V1 + V2 + V3
- Series opposing
- Little practical value
- Series
- Parallel
- It = I1 + I2 + I3
- Vt = V1 = V2 = V3
Voltage rise and drop
Voltage rise: Potential energy or voltage introduced into a circuit
Voltage drop: The energy given up as electrons encounter resistance in the circuit
Ground
- Earth
- Used to prevent electric shock.
- Electrical
- Provides a common reference point.
Resistance
- Opposition to electron flow in a circuit
- Expressed by the symbol R
- Measured in ohms
- Abbreviated with Greek symbol Ω
- Varies from material to material
- Silver is the best
- Copper is the most common
- Gold doesn’t tarnish
- Affected by temperature
- Affected by the size diameter of the conductor
Resistivity
The resistance of a material to current flow
- Resistivity is different for different materials
- Even good conductors have different levels of resistivity
Compare everything to silver
Conductance
- The ability of a material to pass electrons
- Expressed as G
- Unit known as Mho (ohm backwards)
- Abbreviated with the inverted Greek symbol ℧
- is derived by
R = 1/G or G = 1/R
Resistors
- Components manufactured to possess a specific value of resistance to the flow of current
- Come in two classifications:
- Fixed value
- Variable
- Variety of shapes and sizes to meet specific circuit, space and operating requirements
Tolerance
- The amount that the resistor may vary and still be acceptable
- The larger the tolerance the cheaper it is to manufacture
- Resistors are available with tolerances of +-20%, 10%, 5%, 2% and 1%
Molded Carbon resistor
- The most commonly used
- Inexpensive
- Manufactured in standard resistor values
Wirewound
- Used in high-current circuits
- Resistance varies from a fraction of an ohm to several thousand ohms
Film resistors
- Becoming increasingly popular
- Three types : carbon film, metal film and tin oxide film
Surface mount resistors
- Ideal for small circuit applications
- Available in both thick and think films
Variable resistors
- Allow the resistance to vary
- Vary linearly or logarithmically
- Called a potentiometer when used to control voltage
- Called a rheostat when used to control current
Resistor identification
- Alphanumeric
- Example of an alphanumeric code
- RN60D5112F
RN60 = Resistor style (composition, wirewound, film)
D = Characteristics (effects of temperature)
5112 = Resistance value (2 represents the number of zeros)
F = Tolerance
- RN60D5112F
- EIA (Electronic Industries Association) Color code
Resistors in circuits
- Resistors are typically configured in a circuit in one of three different ways
- Series circuit configuration (voltage divider)
- Parallel circuit configuration (current divider)
- 1/Rt = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + … + 1/Rn
- 1/Rt is always less than the least Rn
- Compound circuit configuration