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Theory
No single discovery has affected our lives, our culture and our survival more than electricity.
Electricity is everywhere; it lights our way, cooks our food and can even brush your teeth. For an
example, imagine where the medical field would be without electricity and in that sense how
many lives have been saved due to electrical devices like defibrillators, pacemakers, etc. From
talkies to eight tracks to screaming “I want my MTV”, even hashtagging, none of it would be
possible #WithoutElectricity. Read on to discover more about basic electrical theory.
What is Electricity?
So what is electricity and where does it come from? More importantly, why is carpet, socks and
a doorknob a bad combination? In its simplest terms, electricity is the movement of charge,
which is considered by convention to be, from positive to negative. No matter how the charge is
created, chemically (like in batteries) or physically (friction from socks and carpet), the
movement of the discharge is electricity.
Understanding Current
This flow of electrical charge is referred to as electric current. There are two types of current,
direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). DC is current that flows in one direction with a
constant voltage polarity while AC is current that changes direction periodically along with its
voltage polarity. Thomas Edison and Alessandro Volta were pioneers in DC current and wrote
much of electricity’s history. But as societies grew the use of DC over long transmission
distances became too inefficient. Nikola Tesla changed all that with the invention of alternating
current electrical systems. With AC it is possible to produce the high voltages needed for long
transmissions. Therefore today, most portable devices use DC power while power plants
produce AC.
Ohms Law
The most fundamental law in electricity is Ohm’s law or V=IR. The V is for voltage, which means
the potential difference between two charges. In other words, it is a measurement of the work
required to move a unit charge between two points. When we see a value such as 10 Volts, it is
a measurement of the potential difference between two reference points. Normally the two
points will be +10V and 0V (also known as ground), but it can also be the difference between
+5V and -5V, +20V and +10V, etc. In the field, you might hear the term “common grounds” which
refers to each device in a system using the same zero-point reference (or ground) to ensure the
same potential difference ( or voltage) is applied throughout the system. The next component
of Ohm’s law is current, the units of which are Amperes; in the formula, current is represented
by the very logical choice of the letter I. As mentioned previously, current is the measurement
of the flow of charge in a circuit. This leaves us with the letter R which represents Resistance.
Electrical resistance, measured in Ohms, is the measure of the amount of current repulsion in a
circuit. Simply, resistance resists current flow. When electrons flow against the opposition
offered by resistance in the circuit, friction occurs and heat is produced. The most common
application for resistance in a circuit is the light bulb. The light bulb introduces enough
resistance in a circuit to heat up the filament inside, causing light to be emitted. Resistance in a
circuit can also be helpful when needing to alter voltage levels, current paths, etc. Resistors are
self-contained packages of resistance that can be added to a circuit and are commonly used to
divide voltage levels.
Fortunately, a lot of the new light strands are wired in parallel. Therefore if one light goes out,
then only that branch of the circuit will be out. The open will be isolated to that branch and
current will continue to the other lights in the strand, Joy…to… the…World!
Power Equation
One last equation that is useful to remember is the power equation, P = IE. P is for power
measured in Watts, I is for current and the E is for voltage. This equation can be combined with
Ohm’s law to solve for values that are unknown. For example: In Ohms law we know that I = E/R
so combined with the power equation (P = IE) we get P = E (E/R) or P = E^2/R. Also, from Ohm’s
we know that E = IR, so combine this with P = IE and we get P = I^2R. Using the previous parallel
example, we can find the power consumed by the circuit. We know the voltage rating of the
battery is 5VDC and we calculated the total resistance in the parallel circuit (171Ω). Using these
two values, the power consumed by the toy would be: P(total) = (5VDC)^2/171Ω = 146mW.
Conclusion
I hope this information helps to refresh that which may have been forgotten. It is in no way
intended to encompass every possible scenario, equation or topic that is electricity or electrical
circuits. To help further understand the ins and outs of electricity and electrical principles,
search the plethora of electrical engineering books available online. One of the big industries
spawned from electrical principles is automation. Automation is electricity working for you to
accomplish a task. Further information on automation and how to apply it can be found in our
eBook: Automation 101: An Industry Guide to Control System Engineering. For additional
information on electrical engineering, please go to any of the following sources: IEEE, ISA,
and Electrical Codes.