Chapter 7 ELECTRIC CURRENT

• Introduction ELECTRIC CURRENT

• Electric current An electric current will flow if free charges occur in an
electric field. Electric current is the total charge that
• Charge conservation
passes through a given cross section area per unit time.
• Electric conductivity

=
• Microscopic picture 
The unit of current is the ampere= Coulomb/second.
• Electric power This is a convenient unit, typical home appliances draw
currents of a few amperes. However, currents can
• Electromotive force
range from 10−15  in sensitive circuits to 107 
• Kirchhoff’s rules in superconductors.
→
−
It is useful to define a current density j which
• Summary is the rate of charge flow per unit area through an in-
finitessimal area. Note that the current density is a
vector since current flow has a direction and magni-
INTRODUCTION tude. The current I flowing through a surface A is
given by the integral of the normal component of the
current density to the surface area;
The first six lectures have focussed on electrostatics.
Coulomb’s Law plus the Principle of Superposition,
both of which are experimental facts, led to corre- Z Z
sponding relations for flux and circulation of the vector − −
→ →
= j · S =  cos 
electrostatic field; namely;    
 

I Z Consider a collection of n charges per unit volume,

Φ =
−−→ − →
E · S =
1
 each of charge q and moving at a drift velocity − →v
  0  The number density, , times the charge, , gives the
I charge density. The charge ∆ that flows through an
−−→ − → area  in time ∆ is given by the charge density, ,
E · l = 0
and the volume of length ∆ and cross sectional area
The flux relation tells you that the field for a point .
charge has 12 dependence. The zero circulation is a
statement that the electric field in Coulomb’s law is ∆ = ()(∆) = ∆ = ∆
radial. The concepts of flux and circulation provide That is:
−
→
a general representation of Coulomb’s law that is ap- I =  −
→
v
plicable to both static and non static electric fields. 
The current density then is given by  i.e.:
You will see later that, for changing electromagnetic
fields, the circulation equation is modified with cru- −
→
j =  −
→
v
cially important consequences.
These laws led to introduction of the concept of That is, the current density is the charge density times
electric potential,  and the derivation of electric field the drift velocity. In matter, there can be several types
from electric potential. of charge carriers, with number density  and charge
−
→ →
−
E = −∇

This was applied to static electric fields and potentials

around electric conductors leading to capacitance and
the impact of dielectrics. The final discussion explored
the use of electrostatic energy.

The course will now introduce the dynamics of mov-

ing charges, that is electric currents. Figure 1 Current flow in a conductor.

51
 Figure 3 The behavior of ohmic and non ohmic
materials in an electric field.
Figure 2 Current flowing out of a closed surface
containing enclosed charge.
This statement of charge conservation, that relates
charge and current densities, is extremely important.
 , each with their own drift velocity   The net cur-
As you will see later it is a crucial and integral part of
rent density then is given by:
the Maxwell equations.

−
→ X
j =   −
→
v
 ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
Note that the current density does not differentiate
Experimentally it is found in most materials that the
between positive charges moving in the +− →v direction
→
− current density is approximately proportional to the
or negative charges moving in the − v direction. In
applied electric field. This can be written as:
a metal, the free charges are negatively-charged elec-
trons moving in the opposite direction to the current −
→ →
−
→
− j = E
density j . In a plasma there are both positive and
negative free charged ions, moving in opposite direc- where the constant of proportionality  is called the
tions with different drift velocities, both of which con- conductivity. The experimental fact that the conduc-
tribute to the current density. tivity is a fairly good constant independent of E for
At room temperature, the average thermal velocity many materials, is called Ohms Law. It is unfortunate
of an electron in a conductor is the order of 105  that this is called a law, since it is not a fundamental
In contrast to this, the drift speed of electrons in a physical law of nature, It is just an approximate linear
good conductor is very much smaller. Consider a 01 behavior of many materials. For non-ohmic materials,
amp current in a 1mm diameter copper wire. The the conductivity does depend on E. The proportional-
01 2 ity of current density and electric field can be expressed
current density  = (510 −4 )2 = 127 323  The

number density of electrons in copper is about 8 × in terms of the resistivity 

1028 3 and  = −1602 × 10−19  That is, −
→
→
− 1−→
 ' 1010 3  These give a drift speed − →
v = j =

j = E

10−5  = 36 that is, 10−10 of the thermal where the conductivity  and resistivity  are related
velocity of individual electrons. This remarkably small by;
drift velocity is a consequence of the very large charge
density in a metal which implies small drift velocities 1
for typical electric currents. =

Again, Ohm’s Law corresponds to assuming that  is
independent of the electric field.
CHARGE CONSERVATION Consider a cylindrical wire of cross sectional area
A, length d, of uniform conductivity  in a uniform
One of the basic laws of nature, discussed in chapter 1, electric field . Using Ohm’s Law the current in the
is the conservation of charge. For a current flowing out wire is:
of a closed surface, the conservation of charge implies Z
that the net current out must equal the rate of loss of → −
− →
= j · S = 
charge from the enclosed volume. For any arbitrary 
closed surface this can be expressed as: The potential difference across the wire is:
I Z Z
→ −
− →  → −
− →
j · S +  = 0 ∆ = E · l = 
  
  

52
 Figure 4 Current in a cylindrical wire of length d.

Eliminating E gives:
 Figure 5 The resistivity of copper as a function of
∆ = ( ) temperature.

Define resistance R as:
The average  − →  is zero since the electron gas is
v 0
moving in all directions with equal probability. Thus
  the average drift velocity at the average collision time
≡ =    is
 
   −→
Ohm’s law states that the conductivity, or equiva- −
→
v = E
lently resistivity, are independent of E for many ma- 
terials. That is the resistance R is a constant inde- Thus the current density is given by:
pendent of voltage difference. Usually, Ohm’s law is
−
→ 2    −
→
written as: j =  −
→
v = E

 =  That is the conductivity is:
To conform with the usual notation, the potential dif-
1  2   
ference across the resistor, ∆ will be written as V = =
which is assumed to imply voltage difference, not volt-  
age relative to some reference potential. This relation implies Ohm’s law in that the con-
The unit of resistance is the Ohm = Volts/amperes. ductivity is independent of electric field. This proof
Thus the unit of resistivity  is ohm-m. It is convention assumed that, in collisions with the crystal lattice, the
to abbreviate the Ohm using the symbol Ω electron loses knowledge of the drift velocity and re-
bounds isotropically. This is understandable in view of
the factor of 1010 difference between the average ther-
MICROSCOPIC PICTURE OF mal velocity and the drift velocity of electrons. The
uniform drift velocity of a ball in a pin-ball machine
CONDUCTION is an example of this behaviour. Another example is
→
− →
− →
− the constant speed of falling rain drops which reach a
Since j =  − →
v  then Ohm’s law, j =  E  implies terminal velocity due to the viscous drag of the air.
 −→
that the average drift velocity −→v =  E  This is sur- Without this air drag, the droplets could strike you at
→
− →
− around 300 mph which would not be a pleasant expe-
prising in that, Newton’s Law, states that F =  E =
→
−
−→a  that is, the acceleration −→a =  
E in conflict rience.
with what Ohm’s law implies. The kinetic energy from acceleration of electrons in
The explanation for this behaviour can be found the electric field is dissipated as heat in the frequent
in the picture of a gas of free electrons moving in a collisions. This explains why the temperature of con-
crystal lattice. After a collision, the electron starting ductors in increased when an electric current flows.
with initial velocity −→ will accelerate in the E field
v0
The resistance of conductors increases with increase
resulting in an average velocity  − →v  at average in temperature because the larger amplitude of ther-
collision time    of mal motion of the atoms reduces the mean free path
between collisions and the time    to move the
mean free path between collisions of the faster-moving
→
− electrons is lower. This temperature dependence is il-
−
→ −
→ E lustrated in figure 5. The above free-electron model of
 v = v0  + 
 conduction is inadequate to fully explain conduction.
53
 This energy is converted to heat. It follows that the
power dissipated as heat  is:
 
 = =
 
However, the electric current  =    Thus we have
that the electric power dissipated is:

 =
This is generally true whether the material is ohmic or
non-ohmic.
The units of power are  =  × .
Note that the watt is the rate of energy dissipation,

that is,  = sec  . You are familiar with the
term watts. The watt is the power generated when a
force of 1 N displaces an object with a speed of 1m/s.
Another common unit of power is the  =
746 . At full power my 300 hp car engine produces
Figure 6 Resistivities, conductivities and temperature 300746 = 2238 of power.
coefficients at 200  for common materials. The total energy dissipated is just the product of
power and time interval. The normal unit of work is
the joule. However, another energy unit that is often
One needs to use quantum physics for a full explana- used is the kW-Hour. The kilowatt-hour = 3 6x10 6 
tion. For example, a 100 bulb will burn 100 × 3600 ×
Figure 6 lists the resistivities, conductivities and 24 = 8 640 000 of energy per day, or 24 −hr per
temperature dependence for many commonly used ma- day. If the power costs 8cents/kW-hr, then the 100
terials. Note that the resistivities range in value over bulb costs 0.8 cents per hour, or 19.2 cents per day, to
twenty orders of magnitude. operate. A typical power station can produce 300 
At very low temperatures, certain materials lose all of power.
of their resistance abruptly at a critical temperature. Note that for ohmic materials one can use  = 
When the material has a zero resistance it is called in the power relation to get that the power dissipated
a superconductor. Superconductors have remarkable is:
properties with interesting applications. Most materi-
als are superconductors only at very low temperatures; 2
 =  2 =
typically 200 . During the past couple of decades, 
a new class of superconductors has been discovered Thus if a 100 light bulb dissipates 100 of energy,
that become superconducting at temperatures around and if the potential difference is 100 , then it must
2000 , that is at liquid nitrogen temperatures. This draw 1 ampere. Note that in Europe, power in the
new class of superconductors is potentially of great im- home is distributed at 240 rather than the 110 used
portance to science and engineering. Electric currents in the USA. For a given power demand by some appli-
in a superconductor can persist for up to 109 years. ance, the current needed is  =   The power lost due
The explanation of superconductivity and possible ap- to the resistance  in the wires carrying the current
plications requires knowledge of quantum physics and to the appliance is much lower for the higher voltage
thus cannot be discussed usefully at this stage. distribution system because of the reduced current. It
is for this reason that long-distance power distribution
utilizes 500kV. For safety this high voltage is trans-
formed to a lower voltage before local distribution to
ELECTRIC POWER users.

Resistance in a conductor is analogous to drag in that

the electric energy derived from acceleration of charges ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE
in the electric field is converted to thermal energy. The
potential energy lost can be calculated since we know For electrostatics we know that current will flow in a
that a charge ∆ moving through a potential differ- conductor until a charge distribution builds up to can-
ence  loses an energy: cel the applied electric field in the conductor. How-
ever, if the conductor is connected to a power source,
∆ = ∆ such as a battery, then the voltage difference across
54
 resistance. A bad car battery may read 12V when a
low current voltage meter is used, whereas the voltage
across the battery will drop significantly when a large
current is drawn by an external circuit.

KIRCHHOFF’S RULES
These apply to systems having steady currents and
Figure 7 Source of emf,  and internal resistance r charges.
connected to resistance R. Loop Rule: The algebraic sum of all potential
differences around a closed circuit is zero. This is
Maxwell’s statement that for steady currents, around
the conductor, and the resultant electric current will
a closed circuit:
be maintained. The power source supplies a certain
I
voltage difference,  across the output terminals even → −
− →
when a current is drawn. That is, for a current I, E · l = 0
the power supply provides  watts of power. In the
That is, going clockwise around the circuit given in
power source, energy is derived from; chemical energy
figure 7, the voltage drop across the resistors balances
for a battery, mechanical energy in a Van de Graaff,
the emf:
kinetic energy of falling water in a hydroelectric power
 −  −  = 0
station, and sunlight in a solar cell. The voltage pro-
vided by the power source is called the electromotive Obviously the electric field E points downward be-
force  usually abbreviated as emf. The source of the tween the terminals of the source of emf, both via
emf can be thought of as a charge pump that pumps the power source and via the resistors.
charge from a region of low electric potential to one Node Rule: The algebraic sum of all currents
at a higher potential. That is, it pumps charge up leaving a node is zero for a steady state system. This
through a potential difference of  volts. is a statement of the conservation of charge, that is,
An ideal power source will maintain the emf across the net charge flowing into a junction must equal the
the terminals independent of the current flow. In prac- net charge flowing out, if there is no source or sink of
tice, there is an internal resistance to the power source current at the junction.
causing the effective emf to vary with current. Con- Kirchhoff’s Rules are applicable to both direct cur-
sider the simple circuit shown in figure 7. The power rent, DC, and alternate current, AC, circuits. How-
source, with emf , and internal resistance r, is con- ever, handling of AC circuits requires knowledge of
nected to a resistor R. both the amplitude, frequency and phase of the cur-
The potential at point a is related to that at point rents and voltages which becomes mathematically com-
b by: plicated. Thus at this stage it is better to focus on DC
circuits.
 =  +  −  Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules is straightforward. The
The voltage difference V across the terminals is first step is to arbitrarily assign a label and direction to
the current in each leg of the circuit and draw this on
 =  −  =  −  the circuit diagram. It does not matter which direction
you assume that each current flows, the derived current
This voltage difference must equal the voltage drop will be negative if you chose the wrong direction.
across the external resistor:

 =  =  − 
DC CIRCUITS
Thus we have:
As a first example consider the following series and
parallel resistor circuits shown in figure 8.
 Resistors in series:
=
+ Applying the Node rule is simple, obviously there
is only one current . Applying the Loop Rule to the
The typical internal resistance of a 12V car battery
three series resistors shown in figure 8 gives:
is 0.01 Ωwhereas a flashlight battery has an inter-
nal resistance of about 0.1Ω Thus the car battery can
1 + 2 + 3 −  = 0
provide the order of 100 amps needed to start a car en-
gine. The indication of a bad battery is a high internal That is:
55
 Figure 8 Series and parallel connection of resistors.

 = (1 + 2 + 3 ) = 
That is:
Figure 9 Jump start a car with dead battery

X
  = 


Resistors in parallel:
Applying the Node Rule to the parallel system of
three resistors, shown in figure 8, implies that the sum
of the currents through the resistors equals the total
current from the power source. That is:
Figure 10 Two battery DC circuit
  = 1 + 2 + 3
Also the voltage drop across each resistor must equal
 from the Loop Rule, that is: The correct way to connect that batteries is posi-
tive to positive and negative to negative as shown in
the upper circuit of Fig 9. In this case the charging
 = 1 1 = 2 2 = 3 3
current is given by
Thus:
1 − 2 12 − 11
= = = 20
1 1 1   + 1 + 2 005
  = ( + + )=
1 2 3   The wrong way to connect that batteries is positive
That is: to negative and negative to positive as shown in the
lower circuit of Fig 9. In this case the charging current
is given by
1 1 1 1 1 + 2 12 + 11
( + + )= = = = 460
1 2 3    + 1 + 2 005
Jump start car: Connected the wrong way the batteries may explode
A common problem in colder climates is having to in a shower of sulphuric acid due to the large current
jump start a car that has a dead battery as illustrated draw.
in figure 9. Clearly there is a correct way and a danger- Two battery circuit
ous wrong way to connect the batteries. Assume that The circuit shown in figure 10 is interesting to con-
the good battery has an emf of  1 = 12 . Assume the sider since there are two batteries involved as well as
bad battery has an emf of  2 = 11 Let the internal three resistors. Let us first derive the currents in
resistance of both batteries is 1 = 2 = 002Ω while the resistors. The first step is to choose symbols and
the resistance of the jumper cables is  = 001Ω directions for the currents in each leg.
56
 Apply the Kirchhoff’s Node rule gives

 = 1 + 2

Apply the Loop rule to the loop abcdef

12 − 22 − 5 − 3(1 + 2 ) = 0

Apply the Loop rule to the loop abef

12 − 41 − 3(1 + 2 ) = 0

Solving these three equations gives that

1 = 15
Figure 11 Wheatstone Bridge.
2 = 05

Now it is interesting to calculate the power pro-

vided by the batteries and dissipated in the resistors. 2 5
=
The power dissipated in a resistor is given by 3 6
If the resistance of three of the resistors is known, then
 =  2  the fourth can be deduced. Standard bridges for mea-
suring resistance use the Wheatstone bridge. The cur-
Thus the power dissipated is:
rent in meter 4 is very sensitive to small differences
4 = 12 4 = 90 in resistances in the bridge, a feature used extensively
in instrumentation.
2 = 22 2 = 05
3 = [1 + 2 ]4 = 120

Thus the total power dissipated in the resistors is

SUMMARY
4 + 2 + 3 = 215
The concept of electric current I and current density
The power provided by the 12 battery is given by →
−
j have been introduced. Ohm’s law, an approximate
linear behavior of many materials is
12 = (1 + 2 )12 = 24
−
→ →
−
j = E
The power provided by the 5 battery is
where the conductivity  and resistivity  are re-
5 = −2 12 = −25
lated by  = 1 
That is the 5 battery is being charge by absorbing For a resistor R, Ohm’s law can be expressed as
25 power.
 = 
Wheatstone Bridge:
A more complicated system used extensively in elec- Electric power dissipated in a circuit carrying cur-
trical instruments is the Wheatstone Bridge shown in rent I and voltage drop V is P=VI.
figure 6. Using Kirchhoff’s Rules one gets six equa- Kirchhoff’s Rules are:
tions: Loop Rule: The algebraic sum of all potential dif-
Node a: 1 − 2 − 5 =0 ferences around a closed circuit is zero.
Node b 2 − 3 − 4 =0 Node Rule: The algebraic sum of all currents leav-
Node c 4 + 5 − 6 =0 ing a node is zero for a steady state system.
Loop 1  − 1 1 − 2 2 − 3 3 =0 Kirchhoff’s rules were used to solve the response of
Loop 2 −5 5 + 4 4 + 2 2 =0 DC circuits.
Loop 3 −6 6 + 3 3 − 4 4 =0 Reading assignment: Giancoli Chapters 25, 26.1-
26.4.
These six equations can be solved for the six un-
knowns. The interesting case is when it is used as a
bridge, where 4 is a sensitive meter and the ratio of
R5 and R6 are adjusted until the meter reads I4 = 0
For this null technique 2 = 3 and 5 = 6  Therefore:
57