Introduction to Electricity 15

The Electric Circuit

The workhorse of electricity is the circuit. It takes the electrons to where they
belong or are needed. A complete circuit has a source of emf, a conducting path
between the terminals of the power source, and a resistance, usually called the
load. Note that all three elements, voltage, current, and resistance, are present
in any complete circuit. And each has to be dealt with according to its presence.
The series circuit shown in Fig. 1-15 uses a battery, copper wire, and a light
bulb. The battery produces the force needed to move the electrons. Chemical
action in the battery makes the electrons available at the negative terminal. The
copper wire is the path for the electrons to move along from the battery to the
bulb. The copper wire is used because of its low resistance. Its resistance is less
than 1 ohm. It is necessary to have a complete path from one terminal of the
battery to the other for electrons to flow.
Electrons move only when there is a complete path between the two termi-
nals. The second wire completes the path from the other end of the bulb to the
positive terminal of the battery. This permits the electrons to return to the bat-
tery. The schematic for this circuit is shown in Fig. 1-16. This can be called a
closed or complete circuit.

Figure 1-15 A simple series circuit has a battery and a bulb connected
by two lengths of copper wire.