EEE 3 Lecture 1

Basic Electrical Quantities

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 Charges

• Responsible for electrical

phenomena
• Symbol: q, Q
• Unit of measure:
Coulomb, C
• F = (kQ1Q2)/d2 newtons
• Mostly attributable to
electrons
• 1e = -1.602 x 10-19 C

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 Notes on Notation
Upper case letters are used to represent:
• non-time varying quantities
• the average value of a quantity
Lower case letters are used to represent
• time-varying quantities

Ex: For charge:

q: implies that the quantity of charge could change
with time
Q: implies that the quantity of charge is constant or
is an average value

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 Current
• Net flow of charge across a defined boundary

q
q
q
q
q

A
If !Q is the net charge that crosses the area A over the period !t,
Average current I = !Q/!t coulombs per sec
Instantaneous current i = dq/dt

• Symbol: i, I
• Unit of measure: amperes, A where 1A = 1 C/s
• Note: current is positive in the direction of positive charge
flow
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 Charge and Potential
Electric Field
potential difference

Stationary Charge
+ Q Q

A B

• a positive charge at Q at position A will be harder to hold in

place than the same charge at position B
• potential energy of the charge at A is higher than the potential
energy of the same charge at B
• for a given charge Q, a potential difference exists between
points A and B

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 Gravity Analogy
m q

m q
Gravitational h1 Electric Field, h1
Field, G E
h2 h2

• Potential Energy = mGh • Potential Energy = qEh

• mass at h1 has higher • charge at h1 has higher
potential than mass at h2 potential than charge at h2

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 Voltage
If W1 is the potential energy of a charge Q at point A
and W2 is the potential energy of the same charge Q
at point B

VAB = (W1 – W2)/Q joules per coulomb

• VAB is the potential difference per unit charge

between A and B
• VAB is also called the voltage between A and B
• Symbol: v, V
• Unit of measure: volts, V where 1 V = 1 J/C
• In differential form: v = dw/dq volts

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 Notes on Voltage
• Always defined with respect to two points
• Also called “potential difference”
• Equivalent to the energy spent in moving a positive
charge of 1 C from the first point to the second point
• The point of higher potential is by convention
considered positive (+) with respect to the point with
lower potential (-)

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 Representing Voltages
Different conventions used:

1. Label voltage with indicated polarities

2. Each node in the circuit is assigned a letter,
voltages are specified using a double subscript
notation
3. Assign a reference node, use a single subscript to
indicate the voltage with respect to the
reference node

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Possible Voltage Representations
a a
va
+ +
v1 + vab −
− −
v3 b vca vb b

+ +
v2 − vbc +
− −
c o

[1] [2] [3]

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 another perspective …

A + VAB − B

+ +
VA VB
− −

N – reference node

From the law of conservation of energy,

VAB = VA – VB

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 Power
Power is the rate at which work is being done
Average power:
P = !W/!t joules/sec or watts
P = (!W/!Q) (!Q/!t)
= V I watts
Power is the product of voltage and current

Instantaneous power:
p = dw/dt = (dw/dq) x (dq/dt)
= v i watts

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 Power Consumed or Delivered?
current flow
• the voltage polarity shows that the +
charges loose energy as they flow Circuit
through the circuit element V Element
• the circuit element is CONSUMING
power −

current flow
• the voltage polarity shows that the −
charges gain energy as they flow Circuit
through the circuit element V Element
• the circuit element is DELIVERING
power +

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 Energy
Work done over a period of time

If the power P is constant over time !t:

Energy W = P!t joules or watt-seconds*

If the power p varies with time:

W = ∫ p dt joules

Note: *kW-hr is commonly used in specifying power

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 Summary
International System of Units (SI)
Quantity Symbol Unit of Measure
charge q, Q Coulomb (C)
current I, I Ampere (A)
voltage v, V Volt (V)
power p, V Watt (W)
Joule (J)
energy w, W
kilowatt-hour (kW-hr)

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 Standard Prefixes
Based on the International System of Units (SI)

atto- (a-) 10-18 deci- (d-) 10-1

femto- (f-) 10-15 deka- (da-) 101
pico- (p-) 10-12 hecto- (h-) 102
nano- (n-) 10-9 kilo- (k-) 103
micro- (μ-) 10-6 mega- (M-) 106
milli- (m-) 10-3 giga- (G-) 109
centi- (c-) 10-2 tera- (T-) 1012

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 DC versus AC
DC : direct current
• current flows in only one direction
• voltages do not change polarity

AC : alternating current
• current changes direction periodically
• voltages also periodically change polarity

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 DC or AC?

v(t)

DC

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 DC or AC?

i(t)

DC
current varies with time but
doesn’t change direction

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 DC or AC?

v(t)

AC
voltage periodically changes
polarity even if only momentarily

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 DC or AC?

v(t)

Neither
polarity changes but not periodically

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 When speaking in general …
DC implied to be time invariant

v(t) or i(t)

AC implied to be sinusoidal

v(t) or i(t)

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 Exercises

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A mysterious device found in a forgotten laboratory
accumulates charge at a rate specified by the
expression q(t) = 9 − 10t C from the moment it is
switched on.
a. Calculate the total charge contained in the
device at t = 0.
b. Calculate the total charge contained at t = 1 s.
c. Determine the current flowing into the device at
t = 1 s, 3 s, and 10 s.

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What is the power associated with each of the
circuit elements below? Specify whether the circuit
element is absorbing or delivering power.

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The voltage and current
waveforms associated
with charging a car
battery are shown.
a. Plot the waveform of
the power delivered
to the battery over
time?
b. What is the total
energy delivered to
the battery after 6
hours?
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 End

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