ELECTRIC CURRENT: -

The flow of electric charges through a conductor constitutes electric current.

OR

Electric current in a conductor across an area held perpendicular to the direction of flow of charge is defined as the
amount of charge flowing across that area per unit time.

OR

The flow of charges through an area with respect to time is called electric current.

OR

The rate of transfer of charges from one side of the area to the other.

OR

If charge del Q is crosses an area in time del t.

When flow of charges is not changing with time, so uniform current is,

SI unit of current,

- SI unit of current is ampere.

- If one coulomb of charge crosses an area in one second, then the current through that area is one ampere
(A).
- Ampere is a basic SI unit.
- Electric current is a scaler quantity, it has magnitude and direction, but it doesn’t follow vector law of
addition.
- Q = ne

Direction of current,
STEADY CURRENT: - A steady flow of current means the electric current remains constant with time — its magnitude
and direction do not change.

A steady flow of current, also called direct current (DC), refers to the continuous and uniform movement of electric
charge through a conductor. In such a flow:

 The current (I) does not vary with time.

 The source of EMF (like a battery) maintains a constant potential difference.

 The rate of flow of charge (Q/t) stays unchanged.

EMF (ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE): -

The electromotive force of a source may be defined as the work done by the source in taking a unit positive charge
from lower to higher potential.

Hence the emf of a source is equal to the maximum potential difference between its terminals when it is in the open
circuit i.e., when it is not sending any current in the circuit.

EMF VS. POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE: -

CURRENT DENSITY(j): - It is a vector representation of electric current. It is a vector quantity, direction having
the same direction as that of the motion of the positive charge or in the direction of current.

- The current density at any point inside a conductor is defined as the amount of charge flowing per second
through a unit area held normally to the direction of the flow of charge at that point.

At a point P, we draw a small area S through P perpendicular to the flow of charges (figure) If i be the current
through the area S, the average current density is,

If a current i is uniformly distributed over an area S and is perpendicular to it,

If the normal to the area makes an angle  with the direction of the current(figure), the current density is,

Vector form,

The current (I) through a particular surface S in a conductor is the flux of j(vector) through that surface and is given
by the surface integral,

SI Unit: - The SI unit of current density is ampere per square meter (Am^-2) and its dimensions are [AL^-2].
DRIFT VELOCITY AND RELAXATION TIME: - The parameter Vd is called drift velocity of electrons. It may
be defined as the average velocity gained by the free electrons of a conductor in the opposite direction of the
externally applied electric field.

Metals have a large number of free electrons, nearly 10^28 per cubic meter. The remaining material is a collection of
relatively heavy positive ions which we call lattice. These ions keep on vibrating about their mean positions. room
temperature, they move with velocities of the order of 10^5 ms^-1 .

Because of their random motion the number of electrons crossing an area ∆S from one side very nearly equals the
number crossing from the other side in any given time interval. The electric current through the area is, therefore,
zero.

The average velocity of N electrons,

Now when we placed conductor in an electric field(E), free electrons get some force i.e. F=-e*q opposite to the
electric field, the acceleration,

Because of this acceleration an electron gains a velocity component (in addition to its random velocity) in a direction
opposite to E. However, the gain in velocity lasts for a short time and is lost in the next collision.

Now If an electron having random thermal velocity u1 accelerates for time t(before it suffers next collision), then it
will attain a velocity,
Electrons doesn’t get any acceleration due to collisions between electrons

So the electric field only provides velocity to the free electrons.

It is proportional to the electric field E and to the average collision-time τ.

The constant k depends on the material of the conductor and its temperature(because t depends on the
temperature and material).

The relation between the current density and the drift speed.

Conductor of cross-sectional area A in which an electric field E exists.If there are n free electrons per unit volume of
the wire, the number of free electrons in this portion is nAvd t. All these electrons cross the area A in time t. Thus,
the charge crossing this area in time t is
OHM’S LAW

Ohm’s law tells us that the conductivity (or resistivity) of a material is independent of the electric field existing in the
material. This is valid for conductors over a wide range of field.

where  depends only on the material of the conductor and its temperature. This constant is called the electrical
conductivity of the material.

The resistivity of a material is defined as,

Suppose we have a conductor of length l and uniform cross sectional area A (figure 32.4a). Let us apply a potential
difference V between the ends of the conductor.

Electric field,

E = V/L

Current is i

Current density,

J = i/A

Ohm’s law j  E then becomes,

R is called the resistance of the given conductor An object of conducting material, having a resistance of desired
value, is called a resistor. The quantity 1/R is called conductance.

ANOTHER FORM OF OHM’S LAW:-

The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference applied across its ends,
provided the temperature and other physical conditions remain unchanged.

V=I*R
R depends on the nature of the conductor, its length and area of cross-section and physical conditions like
temperature, etc.

RESISTANCE. The resistance of a conductor is the property by virtue of which it opposes the flow of charges
through it. The more the resistance, the less is the current Ifor a given potential difference.

R=V/I
SI unit of R is ohm,

The resistance of a conductor is said to be 1 ohm if a current of 1 ampere flows through it on applying a potential
difference of 1 volt across its ends.

- Any material that has some resistance is called a resistor.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE RESISTANCE : RESISTIVITY

At a constant temperature, the resistance ofaconductor depends on the following factors

1. Length. The resistance Rofaconductor is directly proportional to its length

2. Area of cross-section. TheresistanceRofauniform conductor is inversely proportional to its areaof cross section A

3. Nature of the material. The resistance of a conductor also depends on the nature of itsmaterial.

where rho is the constant of proportionality called resistivity of the material of the conductor. It depends on the
material of the conductor and temperature and pressure but it is independent of its size or shape.

- SI unit of resistivity is ohm-metre.

CONDUCTANCE is the ability of a conductor to allow electric current to flow through it. It is the
reciprocal of resistance, and is given by:

- The SI unit of conductance is ohm^-1 mho or siemens (S)

CONDUCTIVITY. The reciprocal of the resistivity of a material iscalleditsconductivity and isdenoted by sigma.

COMMON COMMERCIAL RESISTORS. The commercial resistors are of two major types :

1. Wire-bound resistors. These are made by winding the wires of an alloy like manganin, constantan or
nichrome on an insulating base. They are relatively insensitive to temperature. But inconveniently large
length is required for making a high resistance.
 2. Carbon resistors. They are made from mixture of carbon black, clay and resin binder which are pressed and
then moulded in to cylindrical rods by heating. The rods are enclosed in a ceramic or plastic jacket.

The carbon resistors are widely used in electronic circuits of radio receivers, amplifiers, etc. They have the
following advantages :
(i) They can be made with resistance values ranging from few ohms to several million ohms.
(ii) They are quite cheap and compact.
(iii) They are good enough for many purposes.

Colour code for resistors. A colour code isused to indicate the resistance value of a carbon resistor and its
percentage accuracy.

For example, suppose the colours on the resistor shown in figure (32.5) are brown, yellow, green and gold as
read from left to right. Using table (32.1),
the resistance is (14 × 10^5 ± 5%)Ω = (1.4 ± 0.07) MΩ.
Ifthe fourth band isabsent, it implies a tolerance of ±20%.

Resistors are used to:

 Limit current

 Divide voltage

 Protect components

 Set signal levels

 Control circuit behavior

RESISTANCES IN SERIES AND PARALLEL

If a combination of two ormore resistances in any electric circuit can be replaced by a single resistance such that is
no change in the current in the circuit and in the potential difference between the terminals of the combination,
then the single resistance is called the equivalent resistance of the combination.
Resistances in series.- If anumber of resistances are connectedend to end so that the same current flows through
each one of them in succession, then they are said tobe connected in series.

ByOhm's law, the potential drops across the three resistances are

VI= IR1, V2 =IR2, V3= lR3

If Rs is the equivalent resistance of the series combination, thenwemust have V= IRs

But V=Sum of the potential drops across the individual resistance

For n numbers of resitors connected in series combination.

Resistances in parallel:- If a number of resistances are connected in between two common points so that each of
them provides a separate path for current, then they are said to be connected in parallel.

Let I1, I2 and I3 be the currents through the resis tances R1 , R2 and R3 respectively.

Then the current in themain circuit must be , I =I1 +12+13

The equivalent resistance Rp of n resistances connected inparallel isgiven by,

- Equivalent resistance is less than the smallest individual resistance.

MOBILITY OF CHARGE CARRIERS - The conductivity in the material is due to its mobile charge carriers. These may be
electrons in metals, positive and negative ions in electrolytes.

- The mobility of a charge carrier is the drift velocity acquiredby it inaunit electricfield.

- Relation between electric current and mobility for a conductor.

TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF RESISTIVITY

- Temperature dependence ofresistivity.

the conductivity decreases with the increase in temperature.

Formost ofthemetals, resistivity increases linearly with the increase in temperature, around and above the
room temperature.

- where Po is the resistivity at a lower reference .temperature to(usually 20°qand a. is the coefficient
ofresistivity.
- in terms of resis tances as

Ohmic conductors. The conductors which obey Ohm's law are called Ohmic conductors. Ametallic conductor for
small currents.

Non-ohmic conductors. The conductors which do not obey Ohm's law are called non-ohmic conductors. it is
current dependent.
INTERNAL RESISTANCEOFACELL- The resistance offered by the electrolyte of a cell to the flow of current
between its electrodes is called internal resistance of the cell.