Electrical Circuit

ENG 303/ENG-331

Lecture 1 – Basic Concepts

 Basic Concepts - Chapter 1

1.1 Systems of Units.

1.2 Electric Charge.

Chapter 1

1.3 Current.

1.4 Voltage.
Basic Concepts

1.5 Power and Energy.

1.6 Circuit Elements.

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 1.1 System of Units
Six basic units

Quantity Basic unit Symbol

Chapter 1

Length meter m
Mass kilogram Kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Basic Concepts

Thermodynamic kelvin K
temperature
Luminous intensity candela cd
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 1.1 System of Units
The derived units commonly used in electric circuit theory
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts

Decimal multiples and

submultiples of SI units
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 1.2 Electric Charges

› Charge is an electrical property of the atomic particles of which matter

consists, measured in coulombs (C).

Chapter 1

› The charge e on one electron is negative and equal in magnitude to 1.602

Basic Concepts

 10-19 C which is called as electronic charge. The charges that occur in

nature are integral multiples of the electronic charge.

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 1.3 Current - Definition
› Electric current i = dq/dt. The unit of
ampere can be derived as 1 A =
1C/s. (q is charge in coulomb)
Chapter 1

› A direct current (dc) is a current

that remains constant with time
(figure 1).
Basic Concepts

› An alternating current (ac) is a

current that varies sinusoidally with
time. (reverse direction)

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1.3 Current
› The direction of current flow:

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 1.3 - Current - Reference direction

i >0 means the real direction is i <0 means the real direction is
same to the reference direction opposite to the reference direction
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts

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1.3 Current - Example
Example 1

A conductor has a constant current of 5 A.

How many electrons pass a fixed point on the conductor in one

minute?

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1.3 Current - Example
Solution

Total no. of charges pass in 1 min is given by:

5 A = (5 C/s)(60 s/min) = 300 C/min

Total no. of electrons pass in 1 min is given:

300 C/min
19
 1.87 x10 21
electrons/ min
1.602 x10 C/electron

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1.4 Voltage
› Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy required to move a unit
charge through an element, measured in volts (V).

› Mathematically, vab 
(volt) dw / dq
– w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulomb (C).

› Electric voltage, vab, is always across the circuit element or between two
points in a circuit.
– vab > 0 means the potential of a is higher than potential of b.
– vab < 0 means the potential of a is lower than potential of b.
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1.5 Power and Energy
› Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy, measured in
watts (W).
dw dw dq
› Mathematical expression: p    vi
dt dq dt
P=VI in a DC circuit
i i

+ +

Power absorbed = - Power supplied

v v

– –
Passive sign convention
P = +vi p = –vi
absorbing power supplying power
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1.5 Power and Energy
The law of conservation of energy

p0
The algebraic sum of power in a circuit, at any instant of time, must be
zero.

• Energy is the capacity to do work, measured in joules (J).

• Mathematical expression:

t t
w   pdt   vidt
t0 t0
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 1.6 Circuit Elements - Definition
 An electrical circuit is an interconnection of electrical
circuit elements.

 A circuit element is basically just a component that

Chapter 1

makes up a complete electrical circuit.

 They are like building blocks that can be combined to

Basic Concepts

create interesting circuits and model real world

electronics.

 Some examples include conductors, voltage sources,

current sources, and resistors.
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 1.6 Circuit Elements - Types
› These elements can be categorized into two types:
1) Active elements and
2) Passive elements
Active Elements Passive Elements
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts

A dependent source is an active element in

Independent which the source quantity is controlled by
sources Dependent another voltage or current.
sources
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 Active Circuit Elements

 An Active Circuit Element is a component in a circuit which is

capable of producing or generating energy.

Chapter 1

 Active circuit elements are thus sources of energy (or simply

Basic Concepts

sources) and can be categorized into:

i) Voltage sources and

ii) Current sources.

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 Circuit Elements - Example
Example 2

Obtain the voltage v in the branch shown in the below figure P for i2 = 1A.
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts

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 Circuit Elements - Example
Solution:

Voltage v is the sum of the current-independent 10-V source and

Chapter 1

the current-dependent voltage source vx.

Note that the factor 15 multiplying the control current carries the
units Ω.
Basic Concepts

Therefore, v = 10 + vx = 10 + 15(1) = 25 V

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 Passive Circuit Elements
 The most basic of the passive circuit elements are:
1) Resistance,
Chapter 1

2) Inductance and
3) Capacitance.
 Passive elements do not generate (convert from non-electrical
energy) any electricity.
Basic Concepts

 They may either consume energy (i.e. convert from electrical

form to a non-electrical form such as heat or light), or store
energy (in electrostatic and electromagnetic fields).
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 Resistance

Unit: ohm, Ω
Chapter 1

Letter symbol: R , r
Basic Concepts

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 Symbols of Resistance
R
i(t)
v(t)
(a) (b)
Chapter 1

 The common circuit symbols for the Resistor are shown in

figure.

Figure (a) is the common symbol used for the general resistor,
Basic Concepts

especially when hand-written.

 Figure (b) is the most general symbol for the resistor, especially
when in printed form.

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Thank you.