Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Now that we have the concept of voltage, we can use this concept to understand electric circuits. Just like we can use pipes to carry water, we can use wires to carry electricity. The flow of water through pipes is caused by pressure differences, and the flow is measured by volume of water per time.
Electric Circuits
In electricity, the concept of voltage will be like pressure. Water flows from high pressure to low pressure (this is consistent with
our previous analogy that Voltage is like height since DP = rgh for fluids) ; electricity flows
from high voltage to low voltage. But what flows in electricity? Charges! How do we measure this flow? By Current: current = I = Dq / Dt UNITS: Amp(ere) = Coulomb / second
Circuit Elements
In this first part of the course we will consider two of the common circuit elements: resistor capacitor The resistor is an element that resists the flow of electricity. The capacitor is an element that stores charge for use later (like a water tower).
Resistance
Current is somewhat like fluid flow. Recall that it took a pressure difference to make the fluid flow due to the viscosity of the fluid and the size (area and length) of the pipe. So to in electricity, it takes a voltage difference to make electric current flow due to the resistance in the circuit.
Resistance
By experiment we find that if we increase the voltage, we increase the current: V is proportional to I. The constant of proportionality we call the resistance, R: V = I*R Ohms Law UNITS: R = V/I so Ohm = Volt / Amp. The symbol for resistance is W (capital omega).
Resistance
Just as with fluid flow, the amount of resistance does not depend on the voltage (pressure) or the current (volume flow). The formula V=IR relates voltage to current. If you double the voltage, you will double the current, not change the resistance. As was the case in fluid flow, the amount of resistance depends on the materials and shapes of the wires.
Resistance
The resistance depends on material and geometry (shape). For a wire, we have: R=rL/A where r is called the resistivity (in Ohm-m) and measures how hard it is for current to flow through the material, L is the length of the wire, and A is the cross-sectional area of the wire. The second lab experiment deals with
Ohms Law and the above equation.
Electrical Power
The electrical potential energy of a charge is: PE = q*V . Power is the change in energy with respect to time: Power = DPE / Dt . Putting these two concepts together we have: Power = D(qV) / Dt = V(Dq) / Dt = I*V.
Electrical Power
Besides this basic equation for power: P = I*V remember we also have Ohms Law: V = I*R . Thus we can write the following equations for power: P = I2*R = V2/R = I*V . To see which one gives the most insight, we need to understand what is being held constant.
Example
When using batteries, the battery keeps the voltage constant. Each D cell battery supplies 1.5 volts, so four D cell batteries in series (one after the other) will supply a constant 6 volts. When used with four D cell batteries, a light bulb is designed to use 5 Watts of power. What is the resistance of the light bulb?
Example
We know V = 6 volts, and P = 5 Watts; were looking for R. We have two equations: P = I*V and V = I*R which together have 4 quantities: P, I, V & R.. We know two of these (P & V), so we should be able to solve for the other two (I & R).
Example
Using the power equation we can solve for I: P = I*V, so 5 Watts = I * (6 volts), or I = 5 Watts / 6 volts = 0.833 amps. Now we can use Ohms Law to solve for R: V = I*R, so R = V/I = 6 volts / 0.833 amps = 7.2 W .
Example extended
If we wanted a higher power light bulb, should we have a bigger resistance or a smaller resistance for the light bulb?
We have two relations for power that involve resistance: P=I*V; V=I*R; eliminating V gives: P = I2*R and
P=I*V; I=V/R; eliminating I gives:
P = V2 / R .
In the first case, Power goes up as R goes up; in the second case, Power goes down as R goes up. Which one do we use to answer the above question?
Example extended
Answer: In this case, the voltage is being held
constant due to the nature of the batteries. This means that the current will change as we change the resistance. Thus, the P = V2 / R would be the most straight-forward equation to use. This means that as R goes down, P goes up. (If we had used the
P = I2*R formula, as R goes up, I would decrease so it would not be clear what happened to power.)
The answer: for more power, lower the resistance. This will allow more current to flow at the same voltage, and hence allow more power!
high V R1 R2
low
Series
If we include a battery as the voltage source, the series circuit would look like this: R1 + Vbat R2
Note that there is only one way around the circuit, and you have to go through BOTH resistors in making the circuit - no choice!
Parallel
In a parallel hook-up, there is a branch point that allows you to complete the circuit by going through either one resistor or the other: you have a choice!
R1
High V Low V
R2
Parallel Circuit
If we include a battery, the parallel circuit would look like this:
+ Vbat + R1 + R2
Niagara Falls
Thus Itotal = I1 = I2 . Also, the voltage drop across the two resistors add to give the total voltage drop:
(The total height that the water fell is the addition of the two heights of the falls.)
Vtotal = (V1 + V2). Thus, Reff = Vtotal / Itotal = (V1 + V2)/Itotal = V1/I1 + V2/I2 = R1 + R2.
Vbat
-
I1
R1 I2
R2
1/Reff =
= 1/R1 + 1/R2.
Review:
Resistors: V = IR
R = rL/A Power = IV Series: Reff = R1 + R2 Parallel: 1/Reff = 1/R1 + 1/R2
series gives largest Reff , parallel gives smallest Reff .
Computer Homework
The Computer Homework, on Resistors, Vol 3, #6, gives both an introduction and problems dealing with resistors. (For PHYS
202 you only need to do the first 5 questions.)
Capacitance
A water tower holds water. A capacitor holds charge. The pressure at the base of the water tower depends on the height (and hence the amount) of the water. The voltage across a capacitor depends on the amount of charge held by the capacitor.
Capacitance
We define capacitance as the amount of charge stored per volt: C = Qstored / DV. UNITS: Farad = Coulomb / Volt Just as the capacity of a water tower depends on the size and shape, so the capacitance of a capacitor depends on its size and shape. Just as a big water tower can contain more water per foot (or per unit pressure), so a big capacitor can store more charge per volt.
Capacitance
While we normally define the capacity of a water tank by the TOTAL AMOUNT of water it can hold, we define the capacitance of an electric capacitor as the AMOUNT OF CHARGE PER VOLT instead. There is a TOTAL AMOUNT of charge a capacitor can hold, and this corresponds to a MAXIMUM VOLTAGE that can be placed across the capacitor. Each capacitor DOES HAVE A MAXIMUM VOLTAGE.
Capacitance
What happens when a water tower is overfilled? It can break due to the pressure of the water pushing on the walls. What happens when an electric capacitor is over-filled or equivalently a higher voltage is placed across the capacitor than the listed maximum voltage? It will break by having the charge escape. This escaping charge is like lightning - a spark that usually destroys the capacitor.
Capacitors
As we stated before, the capacitance of a capacitor depends on its size and shape. Basically a capacitor consists of two separated (at least electrically separated) conductors (usually pieces of metal) so that we can pull charge from one and deposit it on the other. In the next slide we look at a common type of capacitor, the parallel plate capacitor where the two conductors are plates that are aligned parallel to each other; each of area, A; separated by a distance, d; and containing a Top plate non-conducting A material between Material between plates d the plates.
Bottom plate
+Q
DV
-Q
V or DV ?
When we deal with height, h, we usually refer to the change in height, Dh, between the base and the top. Sometimes we do refer to the height as measured from some reference point. It is usually clear from the context whether h refers to an actual h or a Dh. With voltage, the same thing applies. We often just use V to really mean DV. You should be able to determine from the context whether we really mean V or DV when we say V.
+Q
DV
-Q
Example (cont.)
We can see from the previous example that
a Farad is a huge capacitance! If we have a DV = 20 volts, then to calculate the charge, Q, we can use: C = Q/V to get: Q = C*V = 11 x 10-12 F * 20 volts = 2.2 x 10-10 Coul = 0.22 nCoul = 220 pCoul.
Remember that we often drop the D in front of the V since we often are concerned by the change in voltage rather than the absolute value of the voltage - just as we do when we talk about height!
Capacitance
Note that if we doubled the voltage, we would not do anything to the capacitance. Instead, we would double the charge stored on the capacitor. However, if we try to overfill the capacitor by placing too much voltage across it, the positive and negative plates will attract each other so strongly that they will spark across the gap and destroy the capacitor. Thus capacitors have a maximum voltage!
Energy Storage
If a capacitor stores charge and carries voltage, it also stores the energy it took to separate the charge. The formula for this is: Estored = (1/2)QV = (1/2)CV2 , where in the second equation we have used the relation: C = Q/V .
Energy Storage
Note that previously we had: PE = q*V , and now for a capacitor we have: E = (1/2)*Q*V . Why the 1/2 factor for a capacitor?
Energy Storage
The reason is that in charging a capacitor, the first bit of charge is transferred while there is very little voltage on the capacitor (recall that the charge separation creates the voltage!). Only the last bit of charge is moved across the full voltage. Thus, on average, the full charge moves across only half the voltage!
high V C1 C2
low V
Series
If we include a battery as the voltage source, the series circuit would look like this: C1 + Vbat C2 Note that there is only one way around the circuit, and you have to jump BOTH capacitors in making the circuit - no choice!
+ + -
Parallel
In a parallel hook-up, there is a branch point that allows you to complete the circuit by jumping over either one capacitor or the other: you have a choice!
+ -
High V
C1
+ -
Low V
C2
Parallel Circuit
If we include a battery, the parallel circuit would look like this: + Vbat + C1 +
C2
+Q
+
Vbat
-
C2
-Q
( +Qtotal)
C1
+
(+Q1 )
+Q1
-Q 1
+Q2
Vbat
-
C2
-Q2
( +Qtotal)
[1/Ceff] = (V1 + V2) / Qtotal = V1/Q1 + V2/Q2 = 1/C1 + 1/C2 = 1/Ceffective . Note: this is the opposite of resistors when connected in series! Recall that R =V/I where V is in the numerator; but with capacitors C = Q/V where V is in the denominator!
Parallel Circuit
For parallel, both plates are across the same voltage, so Vtotal = V1 = V2 . The charge can accumulate on either plate, so: Qtotal = (Q1 + Q2). Since the Qs are in the numerator of C = Q/V, we have:
+Q1 -Q1 C2
+Q2 -Q2
Review of Formulas
For capacitors in SERIES we have: 1/Ceff = 1/C1 + 1/C2 . For capacitors in PARALLEL we have: Ceff = C1 + C2 . Note that adding in series gives Ceff being smaller than the smallest, while adding in parallel gives Ceff being larger than the largest!
Review:
Capacitors: C = Q/V
PE = CV2; C// = KA/[4pkd] Series: 1/Ceff = 1/C1 + 1/C2 Parallel: Ceff = C1 + C2
series gives smallest Ceff , parallel gives largest Ceff .
Resistors: V = IR
Computer Homework
The Computer Homework on Capacitors, Vol 3, #5, gives both an introduction and problems dealing with capacitors. (For
PHYS 202 you only need to do the first four questions.)