Chapter 17

Current and Resistance

 Current
• Practical applications were based on static
electricity.
• A steady source of electric current allowed
scientists to learn how to control the flow of
electric charges in circuits.

Introduction
 Electric Current
• The current is the rate at which the charge flows
through a surface.
– Look at the charges flowing perpendicularly through a
surface of area A.

• The SI unit of current is Ampere (A)

– 1 A = 1 C/s

Section 17.1
 Instantaneous Current
• The instantaneous current is the limit of the average
current as the time interval goes to zero:

• If there is a steady current, the average and

instantaneous currents will be the same.
• SI unit: A

Section 17.1
 Electric Current, Cont.
• The direction of the current is the
direction positive charge would
flow.
– This is known as conventional
current direction.
• In a common conductor, such as
copper, the current is due to the
motion of the negatively
charged electrons.
• It is common to refer to a moving
charge as a mobile charge carrier.
– A charge carrier can be positive
or negative.

Section 17.1
 EXAMPLE 17.1
The amount of charge that passes through the
filament of a certain lightbulb in 2.00 s is 1.67 C.
(a) Compute the average current in the lightbulb.

(b) Find the number of electrons passing through

the filament in 5.00 s.
 EXAMPLE 17.1
(c) What total energy is delivered to the lightbulb
filament? What is the average power?
 Power
• In a conductor carrying a current, the electric
potential of the charges is continually
decreasing.
• Positive charges move from regions of high
potential to regions of low potential.
• ΔUcharges = q ΔV is negative
– Often only the magnitude is desired
• The power delivered to the circuit element is
the energy divided by the elapsed time.
Section 17.1
 Current and Drift Speed
• Charged particles move
through a conductor of
cross-sectional area A.
• n is the number of charge
carriers per unit volume.
• n A Δx is the total number
of charge carriers.

Section 17.2
 Current and Drift Speed, Cont.
• The total charge is the number of carriers times the
charge per carrier, q
– ΔQ = (n A Δx) q
• The drift speed, vd, is the speed at which the carriers
move.
– vd = Δx/ Δt
• Rewritten: ΔQ = (n A vd Δt) q
• Finally, current, I = ΔQ/Δt = nqvdA

Section 17.2
 Current and Drift Speed, Final
• If the conductor is isolated, the electrons
undergo random motion.
• When an electric field is set up in the
conductor, it creates an electric force on the
electrons and hence a current.

Section 17.2
 Charge Carrier Motion in a Conductor
• The zig-zag black line
represents the motion of a
charge carrier in a
conductor.
– The net drift speed is small.
• The sharp changes in
direction are due to
collisions.
• The net motion of electrons
is opposite the direction of
the electric field.

Section 17.2
 Electrons in a Circuit
• Assume you close a switch to turn on a light.
• The electrons do not travel from the switch to the
bulb.
• The electrons already in the bulb move in response
to the electric field set up in the completed circuit.
• A battery in a circuit supplies energy (not charges) to
the circuit.
 Electrons in a Circuit, Cont.
• The drift speed is much smaller than the average
speed between collisions.
• When a circuit is completed, the electric field travels
with a speed close to the speed of light.
• Although the drift speed is on the order of 10-4 m/s,
the effect of the electric field is felt on the order of
108 m/s.

Section 17.2
 Circuits
• A circuit is a closed path of some sort around
which current circulates.
• A circuit diagram can be used to represent the
circuit.
• Quantities of interest are generally current
and potential difference.

Section 17.3
 Meters in a Circuit – Ammeter

• An ammeter is used to measure current.

– In line with the bulb, all the charge passing through the
bulb also must pass through the meter.

Section 17.3
 Meters in a Circuit – Voltmeter

• A voltmeter is used to measure voltage (potential

difference).
– Connects to the two contacts of the bulb

Section 17.3
 Georg Simon Ohm
• 1787 – 1854
• Formulated the concept
of resistance
• Discovered the
proportionality
between current and
voltages

Section 17.4
 Resistance
• In a conductor, the voltage applied across the
ends of the conductor is proportional to the
current through the conductor.
• The constant of proportionality is the
resistance of the conductor.

Section 17.4
 Resistance, Cont.
• Units of resistance are ohms (Ω)
–1Ω=1V/A
• Resistance in a circuit arises due to collisions
between the electrons carrying the current
with the fixed atoms inside the conductor.

Section 17.4
 Ohm’s Law
• Experiments show that for many materials, including
most metals, the resistance remains constant over a
wide range of applied voltages or currents.
• This statement has become known as Ohm’s Law.
– ΔV = I R
• Ohm’s Law is an empirical relationship that is valid
only for certain materials.
– Materials that obey Ohm’s Law are said to be ohmic.

Section 17.4
 Ohm’s Law, Cont.
• An ohmic device
• The resistance is constant
over a wide range of
voltages.
• The relationship between
current and voltage is linear.
• The slope is related to the
resistance.

Section 17.4
 Ohm’s Law, Final
• Non-ohmic materials are
those whose resistance
changes with voltage or
current.
• The current-voltage
relationship is nonlinear.
• A diode is a common
example of a non-ohmic
device.

Section 17.4
 Resistivity
• The resistance of an ohmic conductor is proportional
to its length, L, and inversely proportional to its
cross-sectional area, A.

– ρ is the constant of proportionality and is called the

resistivity of the material.
– See table 17.1

Section 17.4
 EXAMPLE 17.3
(a) Calculate the resistance per unit length.

(b) Find the current in a 1.00-m segment of the wire

if the potential difference across it is 10.0 V.
 EXAMPLE 17.3
(c) If the wire is melted down and recast with twice its
original length, find the new resistance as a multiple
of the old.
 Temperature Variation of Resistivity
• For most metals, resistivity increases with
increasing temperature.
– With a higher temperature, the metal’s
constituent atoms vibrate with increasing
amplitude.
– The electrons find it more difficult to pass through
the atoms.

Section 17.5
Temperature Variation of Resistivity, Cont.
• For most metals, resistivity increases approximately
linearly with temperature over a limited temperature
range.

– ρ is the resistivity at some temperature T

– ρo is the resistivity at some reference temperature To
• To is usually taken to be 20° C
–  is the temperature coefficient of resistivity

Section 17.5
 Temperature Variation of Resistance
• Since the resistance of a conductor with
uniform cross sectional area is proportional to
the resistivity, you can find the effect of
temperature on resistance.

Section 17.5
 EXAMPLE 17.4
A resistance thermometer, which measures
temperature by measuring the change in resistance of
a conductor, is made of platinum and has a resistance
of 50.0 V at 20.0°C.
(a) When the device is immersed in a vessel
containing indium at its melting point, its resistance
increases to 76.8 V. From this information, find the
melting point of indium.
 EXAMPLE 17.4
(b) The indium is heated further until it reaches a
temperature of 235°C. Estimate the ratio of the new
current in the platinum to the current Imp at the
melting point, assuming the coefficient of resistivity
for platinum doesn’t change significantly with
temperature.
 Electrical Energy in a Circuit
• In a circuit, as a charge moves through the battery,
the electrical potential energy of the system is
increased by ΔQΔV.
– The chemical potential energy of the battery decreases by
the same amount.
• As the charge moves through a resistor, it loses this
potential energy during collisions with atoms in the
resistor.
– The temperature of the resistor will increase.

Section 17.6
 Energy Transfer in the Circuit
• Consider the circuit
shown.
• Imagine a quantity of
positive charge, Q,
moving around the
circuit from point A
back to point A.

Section 17.6
Energy Transfer in the Circuit, Cont.
• Point A is the reference point.
– It is grounded and its potential is taken to be zero.
• As the charge moves through the battery from
A to B, the potential energy of the system
increases by QV.
– The chemical energy of the battery decreases by
the same amount.

Section 17.6
Energy Transfer in the Circuit, Final
• As the charge moves through the resistor, from C to
D, it loses energy in collisions with the atoms of the
resistor.
• The energy is transferred to internal energy.
• When the charge returns to A, the net result is that
some chemical energy of the battery has been
delivered to the resistor and caused its temperature
to rise.

Section 17.6
 Electrical Energy and Power, Cont.
• The rate at which the energy is lost is the
power.

• From Ohm’s Law, alternate forms of power are

Section 17.6
 Electrical Energy and Power, Final
• The SI unit of power is Watt (W).
– I must be in Amperes, R in ohms and V in Volts
• The unit of energy used by electric companies
is the kilowatt-hour.
– This is defined in terms of the unit of power and
the amount of time it is supplied.
– 1 kWh = 3.60 x 106 J

Section 17.6
 EXAMPLE 17.5
A circuit provides a maximum current of 20.0 A at an
operating voltage of 1.20  102 V.
(a) How many 75.0 W bulbs can operate with this
voltage source?
 EXAMPLE 17.5
(b) At $0.120 per kilowatt - hour, how much does it
cost to operate these bulbs for 8.00 h?
 EXAMPLE 17.6
An electric heater is operated by applying a potential
difference of 50.0 V to a Nichrome wire of total resistance
8.00 .
(a) Compute the current and power output.
 EXAMPLE 17.6
(b) How long does it take to heat the gas?
 Superconductors
• A class of materials and
compounds whose
resistances fall to virtually
zero below a certain
temperature, TC
– TC is called the critical
temperature
• The graph is the same as a
normal metal above TC, but
suddenly drops to zero at TC

Section 17.7
 Superconductors, Cont.
• The value of TC is sensitive to
– Chemical composition
– Pressure
– Crystalline structure
• Once a current is set up in a superconductor, it
persists without any applied voltage.
– Since R = 0

Section 17.7
 Superconductor Timeline
• 1911
– Superconductivity discovered by H. Kamerlingh Onnes
• 1986
– High temperature superconductivity discovered by Bednorz and
Müller
– Superconductivity near 30 K
• 1987
– Superconductivity at 96 K and 105 K
• Current
– Superconductivity at 150 K
– More materials and more applications

Section 17.7
 Superconductor, Final
• Good conductors do not
necessarily exhibit
superconductivity.
• One application is the
construction of
superconducting
magnets.

Section 17.7
 Electrical Activity in the Heart
• Every action involving the body’s muscles is
initiated by electrical activity.
• Voltage pulses cause the heart to beat.
• These voltage pulses are large enough to be
detected by equipment attached to the skin.

Section 17.8
 Operation of the Heart
• The sinoatrial (SA) node
initiates the heartbeat.
• The electrical impulses
cause the right and left
artial muscles to contract.
• When the impulse reaches
the atrioventricular (AV)
node, the muscles of the
atria begin to relax.
• The ventricles relax and the
cycle repeats.

Section 17.8
 Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• A normal EKG
• P occurs just before the
atria begin to contract.
• The QRS pulse occurs in the
ventricles just before they
contract.
• The T pulse occurs when
the cells in the ventricles
begin to recover.

Section 17.8
 Abnormal EKG, 1
• The QRS portion is
wider than normal.
• This indicates the
possibility of an
enlarged heart.

Section 17.8
 Abnormal EKG, 2

• There is no constant relationship between P and QRS pulse.

• This suggests a blockage in the electrical conduction path
between the SA and the AV nodes.
• This leads to inefficient heart pumping.

Section 17.8
 Abnormal EKG, 3

• No P pulse and an irregular spacing between the QRS pulses

• Symptomatic of irregular atrial contraction, called fibrillation
• The atrial and ventricular contraction are irregular.

Section 17.8
 Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator
(ICD)
• Devices that can monitor,
record and logically process
heart signals
• Then supply different
corrective signals to hearts
that are not beating
correctly

Section 17.8
 Functions of an ICD
• Monitor atrial and ventricular chambers
– Differentiate between arrhythmias
• Store heart signals for read out by a physician
• Easily reprogrammed by an external magnet

Section 17.8
 More Functions of an ICD
• Perform signal analysis and comparison
• Supply repetitive pacing signals to speed up or
slow down a malfunctioning heart
• Adjust the number of pacing pulses per
minute to match patient’s activity

Section 17.8