DC Circuit Theory

D.C. Theory involves the analysis of electrical circuits, consisting of voltage sources (such as batteries),
conductors and components called resistors. First we will consider the fundamental nature of voltage,
current and resistance. Then we will describe how the basic circuit laws (Ohm's Law and Kirchhoff’s law)
show the relationship between these quantities. This leads on to techniques for adding resistors together
when connected in series or parallel.

We will begin by considering a very simple circuit. The diagram below shows a simple electrical circuit.
It consists of a battery, some connecting wires, a switch and a bulb. We can actually learn a great deal
about electricity just by investigating how this simple circuit works.

After completing this section you should be able to:

 Explain what electrical current is.

 Explain what is meant by the terms charge and charged particle.
 Calculate values for current (I), quantity of charge (Q) or time (t) using the equation I=Q/t .
 Describe how the electrical current in a circuit is related to the voltage applied to the circuit and
it's resistance.
 Calculate values for current (I), voltage (V) or resistance (R) using Ohm's law.

In the later sections you will learn more about voltage and resistance.

Basic Circuit.

What happens when the circuit is switched on? (i.e. when the switch is closed.)

Electrons begin to flow around the circuit. They travel from the negative terminal of the battery to the
positive terminal. To do this they pass through the wires, the switch contacts and the filament of the bulb
in the circuit. When they arrive at the positive terminal of the battery, a chemical reaction, causes the
electrons to be transferred through the battery, back to the negative terminal. This process keeps current
flowing through the circuit, (until the battery is discharged, i.e., when all of the chemical energy is used
up and the chemical reactions stop.)

The electrons move around the circuit fairly slowly, typically about 1mm per sec (1mms-1).

Each electron carries a small packet of electrical charge. (A particle which possesses electrical charge is
called a charged particle).

Electrical current is a measure of the rate at which charge flows around a circuit.
Electric charge:

What is charge?

Charge is a fundamental physical property. We cannot describe what it is, we can only describe how
charged particles behave.

A particle that carries electrical charge is called a charged particle.

Electrons and protons are charged particles.
There are two types of charge, positive and negative.
Electrons carry negative charge and protons carry positive charge.
Opposite charges attract and like charges repel.

Measuring Charge.

The charge on an individual electron is too small, to be used as the base unit for measuring the quantity of
charge. Therefore, electrical charged is measured in units called Coulombs (C). One coulomb is equal to
the total charge, carried by 6.25 x 1018 electrons. (6.25 billion, billion electrons!)

An electron has 1.6 x 10-19 Coulombs of negative charge.

A proton has -1.6 x 10-19 (+1e) Coulombs of positive charge

Definition of Current.

Electrical current is a measure of the rate at which charge flows through a circuit. i.e. Current (I), is a
measure of the quantity (Q), of charge that passes a point in the circuit, in a time (t) of one second.

The equation of the motion of this charge is given by;

I = Q/t.

I is the current measured in Amps (A).

Q is the total charge measured in Coulombs (C).
t is the time taken for the charge, to flow past a point in a circuit, measured in seconds (s).
1 Amp = 1 coulomb per sec, 1A = 1Cs-1.
Example.

A charge of 60C flows through a circuit in 2 minutes, calculate the current in the circuit.

Q = 60C, t = 2minute = 120 seconds, I =?

I = Q/t
I = 60/120
Therefore I = 0.5A.

Voltage and Resistance.

Why does the current flow?

We will look at this question in more detail in the next section, but for the moment we take a very simple
view.

Voltage;

It is the pressure from an electrical circuit’s power source that pushes charged electrons (current) through
a conducting loop, enabling them to do work such as illuminating a light. An electrical power supply such
as a battery, produces a voltage. Voltage causes current to flow in an electrical circuit. The larger the
voltage is, then the larger the current will be. i.e. A 6V battery will produce more current in the same
circuit, than a 1.5V battery would. (This would be very apparent because the bulb would glow brighter
using the 6V battery.)

Resistance;

Current will flow very easily through some materials, (e.g. copper), but it is very difficult, to cause
current to flow through other types of material, (e.g. p.v.c.). i.e. You can produce a fairly large current
through some materials, using only a relatively small voltage. With other materials you will produce
virtually no current, even if you apply a very large voltage.

We can describe this property of a material either as its conductance, (i.e. how well it allows electrical
current to pass through it), or its resistance, (i.e. how well a material resists current flow). Both
characteristics, are just a different way of looking at the same property of the material. Resistance is
referred to more commonly in d.c. theory. Resistance is measured in units called Ohms (Ω). The copper
wires in the circuit will typically have a resistance of less than 1Ω, while the p.v.c insulation, will have a
resistance of several Meg-ohms, (M Ω) (millions of ohms).

Ohm's Law.

Ohm's law states, that the current through a resistor, is directly proportional to the voltage across it. The
ratio of the voltage across a component, to the current flowing through it, is defined as resistance.

R = V/I.
Where;

R = resistance in ohms (Ω).

V = voltage in volts (V).
I = current in amps (A).

Resistance restricts the flow of current through a component and converts the electrical energy to heat.
Ohm's law can be used to determine current, voltage or resistance in a circuit, if two of the three
quantities are already known.

Example

Ohm's law allows us to calculate the current that will flow in a circuit, if we know the voltage that is
being applied and the total resistance of the circuit.

A 12V power supply is connected to a circuit. It the circuit's resistance is 5 Ohms, how much current will
flow through the circuit?

V = 12V, R = 5 Ω, I =?
R = V/I,
Therefore I = V/R, = 12/5, = 2.4A

Summary.

Electrical current is a measure of the rate at which charge flows around a circuit. I = Q/t.
In a simple lighting circuit, this charge is carried by electrons which move around the circuit.
Each electron carries 1.6 x 10-19 Coulombs of negative charge.
The voltage produced by the battery causes the current to flow, the larger the voltage, then the larger the
current will be.
The resistance of the circuit restricts the amount of current that flows. The larger the resistance, then the
smaller the current will be.
This relationship is described by Ohm's law, I = V/R.

Resistors in Series

Introduction.

Ohm's law can be used to calculate the amount of current that will flow from a power supply, when it is
connected to a single resistor, I = V/R.
However, in most circuits there will be more than one resistor and these resistors may be connected in
different ways. In these circuits, before we can calculate the current that will flow from the power supply,
we first need to calculate the combined resistance of the individual resistors in the circuit. In this section
we will look at the two possible ways of connecting resistors together and how to calculate the total
resistance in each case.

Series and Parallel Circuits

Series circuits;

In a series circuit (which is a single loop), the current only has one path to flow through and the current
will be the same at all points along this path.

As we have already seen from Kirchhoff’s voltage law, the sum of the voltage drops around the loop is
equal to the voltage of the applied e.m.f.

Resistors in Series

When resistors are connected end to end they are aid to be in series. The diagram below shows three
resistors connected in series. To show how to calculate the total resistance, we will use Kirchhoff’s
voltage law and ohms law.

In such an arrangement, the current passing through resistor is same but the p.d across each resistor is
different. According to Kirchhoff’s voltage law, the voltage of the e.m.f. is equal to the sum of the voltage
drops across each resistor.

VT = V 1 + V 2 + V 3

According to Ohm's law, V = IR. Therefore substituting for V gives;

IRT = IR1 + IR2 + IR3

(RT is the total resistance. I is the series current flowing through each resistor). Dividing both sides of the
equation by I, gives;

RT = R1 + R2 + R3

Therefore to find the total resistance of series resistors, we simply add the individual resistor values
together.

RT = R1 + R2 + R3

If there are n resistors in series the same argument can be used to show that
RT = R1 + R2 + R3 + --- + Rn

The equation implies that the combined resistance (R) of a number of resistors in series is equal to the
sum of the individual resistance

Resistors in Parallel

Parallel circuits.

If several branches are connected in parallel the voltage across each branch is the same.

The top ends of all three resistors are connected to the same potential and the bottom ends are also
connected to a common potential, so the potential difference across each must be the same. Using the
analogy we used in the section on Kirchhoff’s voltage law: Its similar to three staircases each running
from the top of a building to the bottom, obviously in this example the difference in height between the
top and bottom of each staircase will be the same.

As we have already seen from Kirchhoff's current law, the sum of the current entering a junction is equal
to the sum of current leaving the junction.

Resistors in Parallel

When resistors are arranged side by side such that their corresponding ends join together at two common
junctions as shown below, the setup is known as a parallel arrangement of resistors. In such an
arrangement, the p.d across the resistors is the same but the current through each resistor is different

The diagram below shows three resistors connected in parallel. To show how to calculate the total
resistance, we will use Kirchhoff's current law and ohms law.

According to Kirchhoff’s current law, the sum of the currents flowing out of the junction (and through
each resistor), is equal to the current flowing into the junction.

IT = I1 + I2 + I3

According to Ohm's law, I = V/R. Therefore substituting for I gives;

V/RT = V/R1 + V/R2 + V/R3.

(RT is the total resistance and V is the common voltage across each resistor). Dividing both sides of the
equation by V, gives;

1/RT = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3.

Therefore to calculate the total resistance of resistors in parallel;

1/RT = 1/R1+ 1/R2 + 1/R3 solving this equation for two resistors in parallel gives

R1 R2 product
RT = =
R 1+ R 2 ∑ ¿ ¿

For three resistors in parallel it gives

R 1 R2 R3
RT =
R 2 R3 + R 1 R3 + R1 R 2

For n resistors in parallel we get;

R1 R 2 R3 … Rn
RT =
R 2 R3 … Rn + R1 R3 … R n + R1 R 2 … Rn +… R 1 R2 R 3 … R n−1

Product
a summary of the equation remains RT
∑ ¿¿

Arrangement of Cell

The total e.m.f of the cell arranged in series is equal to the sum of the individual e.m.f of each cell.

E= E1 + E2 + E3

The internal resistance, r, of the series arrangement is the sum of the internal resistance of each cell.

r = r1 + r2 + r3

What is a Magnetic Field?

Magnetic Field is the region around a magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the
force of magnetism acts. It has a unit of Tesla (T)

Illustration of Magnetic Field

Typically, a magnetic field can be illustrated in two different ways.

 Magnetic Field Vector

 Magnetic Field Lines

The magnetic field can be mathematically described as a vector field. The vector field is a set of many
vectors that are drawn on a grid. In this case, each vector points in the direction that a compass would
point and has a length dependent on the strength of the magnetic force.

Magnetic Field Lines

Field lines is an alternative way to represent the information contained within a magnetic vector field.
Magnetic field lines are imaginary lines.

Magnetic field lines are a visual tool used to represent magnetic fields. They describe the direction of the
magnetic force on a north monopole at any given position.

The density of the lines indicates the magnitude of the field. Taking an instance, the magnetic field is
stronger and crowded near the poles of a magnet. As we move away from the poles, it is weak, and the
lines become less dense (see figure b).

Properties of Magnetic Field Lines

 Magnetic field lines never cross each other

 The density of the field lines indicates the strength of the field
 Magnetic field lines always make closed loops
 Magnetic field lines always emerge or start from the North Pole and terminate at the South Pole.
 How can we “see” the forces in a magnetic field?

Sometimes we draw field lines to show the direction of the forces at different locations within a magnetic
field. Field lines exit the magnet at its north pole, travel around in the air, and re-enter the magnet through
its south pole. Field lines don’t start in one place and stop in another; magnets travel in “closed paths,”
which means they will continue to travel the same path again and again.

Remember that the magnetic field is present everywhere around the magnet, not just along the field lines
that we draw, but even between the field lines. The lines simply help us visualize the direction the field is
flowing at various locations around the magnet and even within the magnet.

a) b)

A great way to see field lines within a magnetic field is to use iron filings. Set a bar magnet down on a
table and cover it with a sheet of paper. Then sprinkle the filings onto the paper and watch as they form
patterns of lines that are close together at one pole, more spread out as they leave that pole, and close
together again at the magnet’s other pole. The filings are lining up along the bar magnet’s field lines!

Lorentz Force

What is Lorentz Force?

The Lorentz force is a fundamental concept in electromagnetism, named after Hendrik Lorentz. It
describes the force exerted on a charged particle, like an electron or proton, when it moves through the
space containing electric as well as the magnetic field. The Lorentz force equation is given by;

F=q (E+V × B)

Where:
- F is the Lorentz force
- q is the charge of the particle
- E is the electric field
- V is the velocity of the particle
- B is the magnetic field
- × denotes the cross product

The Lorentz force has two components:

 Electric force qE ): Due to the electric field, acting in the direction of the field.
 Magnetic force (qV × B ): Due to the magnetic field, acting perpendicular to both the velocity and
magnetic field.

The Lorentz force is a cornerstone of classical electromagnetism, and its understanding is essential for
many technological advancements!

What is the importance of the Lorentz force?

Lorentz’s force explains the mathematical equations along with the physical importance of forces acting
on the charged particles that are travelling through the space containing electric as well as the magnetic
field. This is the importance of the Lorentz force.

Biot- Savart Law

We know that current carrying wire produced magnetic field around them. So in this lecture, let us figure
out exactly how to calculate the strength of that magnetic field. To do that, we employ the law of biot-
savart law. It is an empirical law named in honor of two scientists who investigated the interaction
between a straight current carrying wire and a permanent magnet. The law enables us to calculate the
magnitude and direction of the magnetic field produced by a current in a wire

Statement of Biot Savart’s law:

Biot Savart law states that the magnetic field due to a tiny current element at any point is proportional to
the length of the current element, the current, the sine of the angle between the current direction and the
line joining the current element and the point, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance of
that point. The direction of the magnetic field is in the direction of dl cross r. You can also use the right
hand rule to figure out the direction
Because we are
considering a tiny
piece of wire (current
element), we use dB

The Biot- Savart Law is given by

⃗ × r^
μ o I dl
⃗
dB=
4 π r2 1

The magnitude of ⃗
dB is now

2
 μ o I dlsinθ
dB=
4 π r2

Where θ is the angle between dl and r^ . Notice if θ is zero then dB=0 which means the field produced by
a current element ⃗Idl has no component parallel to ⃗ dl , μo is the permeability of free space equal to
4 π × 10 T . m/ A , the infinitesimal wire segment ⃗
−7
dl is in the same direction as the current I (assumed
positive), r is the distance from ⃗
dl to point P and r^ is a unit vector that points from ⃗
dl to P i.e. it point in
the direction of r as shown in the figure above

The magnetic field due to a finite length of current-carrying wire is found by integrating equation 2 along
the wire given us the usual form of the biot - savart law as follows

⃗ × r^
μ o I dl
B=∫ ⃗
⃗ dB=∫ For ⃗
dl × r^ =dlsinθ
4 π r2

μo I
⃗
B=
4πr
2 ∫ dl
μo I For ∫ dl=2 πr
B= 2
(2 πr )
4πr

μo I 3
B=
2r
¿ ¿
Or more generally, B=μ o∋
2r

Where N is the number of turns

Ampere law

Ampere’s Law is one of the useful Laws which relates the net Magnetic field along the closed-loop to the
Electric current which passes through the loop. The Law was discovered by André-Marie Ampere in
1826. The expression for the relation between the Magnetic field and the current which produces it is
termed Ampere’s Law.

There is a relationship between electric current and magnetic field which we have studied using the biot-
savart law. Another method again that relates electric current and magnetic field is the Ampere law which
enables us to find magnetic field in a more complex system like the symmetrical situation which is
difficult to find using biot- savart law. Ampere law stated that the source of magnetic field is electric
current. Now how much of magnetic field is produced by the electric current can be obtained from biot-
savart law and ampere law.
Ampere’s law is one of the standard laws of physics. According to it, “the magnetic field formed by an
electric current is proportional to the magnitude of the current passing through the conductor and the
constant of proportionality is equal to the permeability of space.”

Statement of Ampere’s law:

Ampere law states that for any close looped path, the sum of the length elements times the magnetic field
in the direction of the length is equal to the permeability times the electric current enclosed in the loop.

μo =permeability of free space=

−15 2
4 π × 10 N /A

∮⃗
B.⃗
dl line integral of B around
a closed loop
This is written as

∮⃗
B.⃗
dl=μo i enclosed

B and ⃗
Because ⃗ dl are parallel (cosθ=1) at all points on the amperian loop we can write

∮ Bdl=μo ienclosed
Again since magnetic field B is uniform at all points on the amperian loop we can as well write

μo i enclosed =B∮ dl

μo i enclosed =B 2 πr

μo i enclosed
B=
2 πr

For a loop with N number of turns the magnetic field is generally given by;

μo ¿enclosed
B=
2 πr

Note whether the coil is a regular coil or an irregular coil, the ampere’s circuital law holds true for all.

Magnetic Dipole Moment

We already know that a current carrying loop generates its own magnetic field and we draw the field lines
we immediately see that it resemble that of a bar magnet as shown above. From the figure above, we can
say in other words that a current loop behaves like a tiny magnet. In a more technical term, we say a
current loop behaves like a “magnetic dipole”. Well that’s a great news to know because if we want to use
magnet in an experiment we can make use of the current loop instead of the actual magnet. The advantage
of the current loop is that we can control the strength of the magnetic field produced by increasing the
amount of current. This will mean a stronger current brings about a stronger magnetic dipole and a
weaker current means a weaker magnetic dipole. The question now is … what determines the strength of
that magnetic dipole or you could also say what determines the strength of the tiny magnet? A more
technical way to write this question we say… what is the “magnetic dipole moment”? The symbol used is
m . Now what determines the magnetic dipole moment? We can see from the following that the magnetic
dipole moment is proportional to Current, I , Number of loops which means if we have two loops we
would have twice as much of the magnetic moment which also mean if we have N loops we will have N
times of the magnetic moment. It also turns out that it also depend on the area of the loop. Following the
above parameters we can measure the magnetic dipole moment as; 1

m=NIA

It has a unit of ampere meter squared [Am2] where N is the number of turns or number of loops.

We may want to ask if the magnetic dipole moment is actually a vector quantity or a scalar quantity.
Since the magnetic field depends on the direction of the current it will make sense to think of the
magnetic dipole moment as a vector quantity. Already we know its magnitude using equation 1 above.
One way the direction can be detected is if we actually consider the direction of the magnetic field
produced around it, it actually moves from South to North Pole (see figure above) which follows that the
direction of the magnetic dipole moment is from south to North Pole. Another way we could look at the
direction of the magnetic dipole moment is by considering the right hand thumb rule which states that, “if
you imagine holding a current carrying wire in your right-hand with your thumb pointing towards the
direction of electric current flow then the direction in which the your fingers curl, gives the direction of
lines of force of the magnetic field. We could also state it that if your four fingers are curled in the
direction of the current then direction of your thumb shows the direction of the magnetic dipole moment.

A simple definition of the magnetic dipole moment is that… It is a measurement of the strength of the
magnetic field that the magnetic dipole generates

Expression for the Magnetic field intensity due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) along its axis and
perpendicular to its axis
The magnetic field intensity due to a magnetic dipole (bar magnet) can be derived for two cases: along its
axis and perpendicular to its axis.

When a magnetic dipole is placed along its axis, the magnetic field intensity at a point on the axis can be
determined using the formula below

B= ( μ4 πI ) 2rm
o
3

Where,m , is magnetic dipole moment and r is the distance from the pole

Magnetic field intensity due to a magnetic dipole perpendicular to its axis is given by;

B= ( μ4 πI ) mr
o
3

Dielectric Materials

Dielectrics are essential in the technologies we use every day for examples

 They are used for energy storage in capacitors and to enhance devices based on semiconductors
 They are also present in liquid crystal displays
 They are present in industrial coatings
 They are present in cooling processes

In other word, modern society wouldn’t even exist without dielectric materials.

What are this dielectric materials?

Dielectrics, in general, can be described as materials that are very poor conductors of electric current.
They are basically insulators and contain no free electrons. Dielectrics can be easily polarized when an
electric field is applied to it, and thus, their behavior in an electric field is entirely different from that of
conductors. They are often called insulators because they are the exact opposite of conductors. But
usually when people call insulators “dielectrics,” it’s because they want to draw attention to a special
property shared by all insulators: polarizability.