EEE 101

ch4
POWER AND DC CIRCUITS
CH4 – Power and DC Circuits
 OBJECTIVES  Solve for all unknown values (current,
After completing this chapter, the student voltage, resistance, and power) in a
will be able to: series, parallel, or series-parallel
circuit.
 Define power as it relates to electric
circuits.  Understand the importance of voltage
dividers.
 State the relationship of current and
voltage.  Design and solve for all unknown values
in a voltage divider circuit.
 Solve for power consumption in an
electrical circuit.
 Determine the total power
consumption in aseries, parallel, or
series-parallel circuit.
Power and DC Circuits
 In addition to current, voltage, and resistance, a fourth quantity is important
in circuit analysis. This quantity is called power.
 Power is the rate at which work is done. Every time a circuit is energized,
power is expended.
 Power is directly proportional to both current and voltage.
Power
 Electrical or mechanical power relates to the rate at which work is being
done.
 Work is done whenever a force causes motion. If a mechanical force is used
to lift or move a weight, work is being done.
 Voltage is an electrical force that creates current to flow into a closed circuit.
When voltage exists between two points and current cannot flow, no work is
done.
 The instantaneous rate at which work is done is called the electric power
rate and is measured in watts.
 Power can be defined at the rate which energy is dissipated in a circuit. The
symbol for power is P.
Power
 A watt is equal to the voltage across a circuit multiplied by the current
through the circuit.
 It represents the rate at any given instant in which work is being done,
moving electrons through the circuit.
 The relationship of power, current, and voltage may be expressed as follows:

 I represents the current through the circuit and E represents the voltage
applied to the circuit being measured.
Power
Power
Power Application (Circuit Analysis)
 Resistive components in a circuit consume power. To determine the power
dissipated by a component, multiply the voltage drop across the component
by the current flowing through the component.

 The total power dissipated in a series or parallel circuit is equal to the sum of
the power dissipated by the individual components. This can be expressed as:
Power Application (Circuit Analysis)
 Example: How much power is consumed in the circuit shown in Figure
Power Application (Circuit Analysis)
DC Circuits
 In the study of electronics, certain circuits appear again and again. The most
commonly used circuits are the series circuit, the parallel circuit, and the
series-parallel circuit.
 This section applies information from the last few section to the solving of all
unknowns in these three basic types of circuits.
 Voltage dividers can make available several voltages from a single voltage
source. Voltage dividers are essentially series circuits with parallel loads.
 This section helps the student understand how significant voltage dividers are
as an application of series circuits and how to design one for a specific
application.
Series Circuits
 A series circuit (Figure) provides only one path for current flow. The
factors governing the operation of a series circuit are as follows:
 The same current flows through each component in a series circuit.

 The total resistance in a series circuit is equal to the sum of the

individual resistances.

 The total voltage across a series circuit is equal to the sum of the
individual voltage drops.

 The voltage drop across a resistor in a series circuit is proportional to

the size of the resistor.
 The total power dissipated in a series circuit is equal to the sum of
the individual power dissipations.
Series Circuits
 Example: Three resistors, 47 ohms, 100 ohms, and 150
ohms, are connected in series with a battery rated at
12 volts. Solve for all values in the circuit.
Series Circuits
Parallel Circuits
 A parallel circuit (Figure) is defined as a circuit having more than
one current path. The factors governing the operations of a
parallel circuit are listed here:
 The same voltage exists across each branch of the parallel circuit
and is equal to that of the voltage source.

 The current through each branch of a parallel circuit is inversely

proportional to the amount of resistance of the branch (I=E/R).
 The total current in a parallel circuit is the sum of the individual
branch currents.
 The reciprocal of the total resistance in a parallel circuit is equal
to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances.

 The total power consumed in a parallel circuit is equal to the sum

of the power consumed by the individual resistors.
Parallel Circuits
 Example: Three resistors, 100 ohms, 220 ohms, and 470 ohms, are
connected in parallel with a battery rated at 48 volts. Solve for all
values of the circuit.
Series- Parallel Circuits
 Most circuits consist of both series and parallel circuits. Circuits of this type are
referred to as series-parallel circuits (Figure).
 The solution of most series-parallel circuits is simply a matter of applying the laws
and rules discussed earlier.
 Series formulas are applied to the series part of the circuit, and parallel formulas are
applied to the parallel parts of the circuit.
Voltage Divider Circuits
 One of the more common uses of resistors is voltage division, which is used
extensively in electronics.
 Voltage dividers are often used to set a bias or operating point of various
active electronic components such as transistors or integrated circuits.
 A voltage divider is also used to convert a higher voltage to a lower one so
that an instrument can read or measure a voltage above its normal range.
This often referred to as scaling.
 Ohm’s law states that the current through a circuit is directly proportional to
the voltage across the circuit and inversely proportional to the resistance.
Voltage Divider Circuits
 Figure 1 depicts the simplest of circuits. It
 In Figure 2, the original 10 kΩ resistor in
has a single voltage source of 10 volts, which
Figure 1 is shown divided into two equal
is connected to a single 10 kΩ resistor. By
resistors, R1 and R2.
Ohm’s law, 1 milliampere of current is
flowing in this circuit.  This circuit still has the same total resistance
as Figure 1 and therefore has the same
amount of current flowing through it (i.e., 1
mA).
 Ohm’s law can be used to determine the
voltage across each of the resistors.
 Voltage Divider Circuits
 A generalization can be stated for voltage dividers of this
nature. The voltage drop is equal to the percentage of the
dropping resistor to the sum of the dropping network.

 The voltage source is the standard automotive accessory power

source of 14.8 volts. What is desired is a voltage divider
network that will divide this 14.8 volt source into a lower-
voltage source specified by the manufacturer of a tape or CD
player.
 The first voltage desired is 3 volts, and the load for this voltage
will draw 150 mA.
 The second voltage required is 6 volts, and this voltage’s load
will draw 400 mA. The final voltage required is 9 volts, and its
load draws 600 mA.
 Reviewing Figure indicates that both series and parallel
networks are involved. It is necessary to know the load currents
for each voltage in advance.
 Voltage Divider Circuits
 Analyzing the circuit…
 Wheatstone Bridge  In the circuit, RX is the unknown resistor value. RC
 A Wheatstone bridge is a measuring instrument is a potentiometer and is adjusted until the
that was invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in voltage from the second voltage divider is equal to
1833. voltage from the voltage divider containing RX.
 In 1843, a talented and versatile scientist named  When the voltage values are equal, the bridge
Sir Charles Wheatstone improved on the original balanced. The balance point can be detected by
design connecting either a voltmeter or an ammeter
 of the Wheatstone bridge. across the output terminals.
 He did not claim to have invented the circuit  Both meters will give a zero reading when a
named after him, but he was the first to use the balance is achieved.
circuit effectively for making resistance
measurements.
 The Wheatstone bridge consists essentially of two
voltage dividers (Figure 1). It is used to measure an
unknown electrical resistance by balancing one leg
that includes the unknown component against
another leg of known components, with one being
variable.
 Wheatstone Bridge
 In a balanced circuit, the ratio RX/RA is  The circuit for a Wheatstone bridge as
equal to the ratio RB/RC. designed by Wheatstone is shown in Figure
 This is how the circuit is drawn for
applications using it.

 In other words, if the values of RA, RB, and

RC are known, it is easy to calculate RX. RC
would have to be measured with a meter to
determine its value after adjusting for a
zero reading.
 Wheatstone Bridge
 Wheatstone bridge circuits are rarely used today to measure
resistance values. They are now used for designing sensing circuits
such as strain gauges for transforming a strain applied to a
proportional change of resistance, widely used in industry;
variometers to detect changes in air pressure for alerting glider
pilots to updrafts or thermals so height can be gained allowing for
longer flights; and explosimeters for sampling the amount of
combustible gases in a space.