ELECTRIC CURRENT

ELECTRIC CURRENT
Examples of electric currents abound and involve many professions.
Meteorologists are concerned with lightning and with the less dramatic slow
flow of charge through the atmosphere. Electrical engineers are concerned
with countless electrical systems, such as power systems (picture 1),
lightning protection systems, information storage systems, and music
systems. Space engineers monitor and study the flow of charged particles
from our Sun because that flow can wipe out.
picture 1
An electric current is a flow of electric charge.
In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons
The moving charged particles in
in a wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both
an electric current are called
ions and electrons such as in an ionised gas (plasma).
charge carriers (or latter).
In a conductor the free electron move randomly, much like gas molecules in a
container. They do so with high speed. This random motion does not result in
electric current –as many electrons move to the right as to the left (picture 2-a).
A current is produced if there is an electric field inside a conductor. As soon as (a)
the electric field is established every free electron in conductor starts moving at
drift velocity (all charge carriers have velocity components in the direction of the
electric field) so electron current is established in conductor much faster than the
velocity of the electron making up the current. It follows that an electric current (b)
can be defined as the ordered motion of electric charges (picture 2-b). picture 2
The flow of electric current causes the following effects in a conductor:
heating effect, chemical effect, magnetic effect.

Heating effect: When electric current

flows through a conductor, the heat
energy is generated in the conductor.
picture 3
The heating effect of electric current is used in electrical application like electrical heater, electrical iron, electrical
room heater, electrical kettle, hair dryer (picture 3) etc.. All these application have a coil of wire called an element.
When electric current flows throught the element it becomes hot and gives out heat.

Chemical effect: When electric

current passes through a conducting
solution, it causes chemical reaction.
Chemical effect of electric current
may cause: formation of gas bubbles
at the electrodes, deposit of metal on
the electrodes, change in colour of
the solution
picture 4
Magnetic effect: When electric current flows through a wire, it behaves like a magnet.
Take the cardboard tray from a match box. Wind an electric wire a
few times around the cardboard tray. Place a small compass
needle inside it (picture 5). Connect the free ends of the wire to an
electric cell through a switch. When the switch is on the compass
needle deflects. When the switch is off the compass needle back
to its original position. picture 5

►Conventional current direction

In the conductor, the electric current flows from higher to lower electric potential, so the direction of
electric current is directed from the positive to the negative and electric current may be referred as
conventional current.
𝑉1 𝑉2 𝑉1 𝑉2
+ - + -
(a)
picture 6
(b)
direction of positive charge direction of electron
direction of conventional current direction of convential current

In the conductor, positively charged carriers move from higher to lower potential (picture 6-a), while negatively
charged carriers move from lower to higher potential (picture 6-b). Thus:
Conventional current is defined as the direction that positive charges flow (picture 6-a).
Conventional current flows opposite the direction of electrons in a conductor (picture 6-b).
 ELECTRIC CURRENT STRENGTH

Electric current strength I This formula is valid when:

is the amount of charge q 𝑞 the electric current strength
that moves through the 𝐼= is the same in any cross
𝑡
cross-section area A per section (the amount of
picture 7 unit interval of time t: charge in any cross section
is conserved quantity).

Suppose Δq is the amount of charge that flows through an area A in a time interval Δt ∆𝑞
and that the direction of flow is perpendicular to the area. Then the average electric 𝐼 𝑎𝑣 =
current strength is equal to the amount of charge divided by the time interval:
∆𝑡

Electric current is the same for planes a, b, and c and indeed for ′ ′ ′
all planes that pass completely through the conductor, no matter 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
what their location or orientation(picture 8). 𝑖
This follows from the fact that charge is conserved.
In the same way, if we have a steady flow of water through a
garden hose, a drop of water must leave the nozzle for every 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
drop that enters the hose at the other end.
The amount of water in the hose is a conserved quantity. picture 8
SI unit: coulomb/second (C/s), or the ampere (A).
Note that one ampere of current is equivalent to one coulomb of charge 1𝐶
1 𝐴=
passing through the cross-sectional area in a time interval of 1 s. 1𝑠
CURRENT DENSITY
Sometimes we are interested in the current I in a particular conductor. At other times we take a localized view
and study the flow of charge through a cross section of the conductor at a particular point. To describe this flow,
we can use the current density which has the same direction as the velocity of the moving charges if they are
positive and the opposite direction if they are negative. For each element of the cross section, the magnitude j
is equal to the current per unit area through that element:

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CURRENT DENSITY AND VELOCITY OF CHARGE CARRIERS

I Contentration of charge carriers in conductor is given by:

A

picture 9
𝑞 𝑁 ∙𝑒 𝐼
𝐼= = =𝑛∙ 𝑒 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝑣 𝑗= = 𝑛∙ 𝑒 ∙ 𝑣
𝑡 𝑡 𝐴
1. 1A of current is flowing throught a cooper wire.How many electrons pass throught the wire in 10
minutes?

Data: Solution:

𝑞
𝐼=
𝑡 𝑞 𝐼 ∙𝑡 1 𝐴 ∙600 𝑠 19
𝑛= = = =375 ∙10
𝑒 𝑒 − 19
1 ,6 ∙ 10 𝐶
𝑞=𝑛 ∙ 𝑒

2,The electric current uniformly increases during 40s, from 0 to 20A. Find the quantity of charge that
passes through the conductor for a given time?
(Solve the problem by calculation and graphically).

Data:
USING CALCULATIONS:
𝐼 1+ 𝐼 2 20 𝐴
∆ 𝑞= 𝐼 𝑎𝑣 ∙ ∆𝑡 = ∙∆ 𝑡= ∙ 40 𝑠= 400 𝐶
2 2

USING GRAPH:

𝑎 ∙ 𝑏 40 𝑠 ∙ 20 𝐴
∆ 𝑞= 𝐴 = = =400 𝐶
2 2
𝐴

3. Current density in copper conductor is If the molar mass of copper is and density of
copper is find the velocity of electron in the conductor. Use that Avogadro number is
(Solution: