Capacitors and Capacitance

Chapter 27

Current and Resistance

• Electric current
• Resistance and resistors
• Ohm’s law
• Temperature dependence of resistivity
• Superconductor (optional)
• Electric power
Electric Current and Resistor
Most practical applications of electricity deal with electric currents.
Electric current is the rate of net flow of charge through some region of space.
It means the amount of charge flowing through an element per unit time.
The symbol for electric current is I.
The SI unit of current is the ampere (A). 1 A = 1 C / s

If ΔQ is the amount of charge that passes through A in time Δt,

then the average current is Δ𝑄
𝐼 𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
Δ𝑡
If the rate at which the charge flows varies with time, the instantaneous
current, I, is defined as the differential limit of average current as
𝑑𝑄
𝐼≡
2
𝑑𝑡
Direction of Current

The charged particles passing through the surface could be positive, negative or
both.
It is conventional to assign to the current the same direction as the flow of
positive charges.

It is common to refer to any moving charge as a charge carrier.

The charge carriers in ordinary conductors are electrons.

In an ordinary conductor, no positive charge can flow because only electrons are
allowed to move easily. When electrons in an ordinary conductor flows, the
direction of current flow is opposite to the direction of the flow of electrons.

3 Section 27.1
Current and Drift Speed
Charged particles move through a cylindrical conductor of
cross-sectional area A. ∆ 𝑥 /𝑣 𝑑 =∆ 𝑡
is the number of mobile charge carriers per unit volume.
is the total number of charge carriers in a segment.

The total charge is the number of carriers times the

charge per carrier,
∆ 𝑄=𝑁𝑞=(𝑛𝐴 ∆ 𝑥 )𝑞 ⃗𝐸∧⃗𝐹
𝑒
⃗
𝐹 ??
Assume the carriers move with a velocity vd parallel to the axis of the cylinder
such that they experience a displacement in a time interval . Then
∆ 𝑄=𝑛𝑞𝐴 𝑣 d ∆ 𝑡
is an average speed called the drift speed. (2.23 x 10-4 m/s for a copper wire
carrying a current of 10.0 A)
The averaged current is:
Charge Carrier Motion in a Conductor
In the absence of an electric field, the motion of the
conduction electrons is random (typical speed on the
order of 106 m/s). → Brownian motion
When a potential difference is applied across the
conductor, an electric field is set up in the conductor
which exerts an electric force on the electrons. ⃗
𝑭𝒆
The motion of the electrons is no longer random.
⃗𝑭
The zigzag black lines represents the motion of a 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
charge carrier in a conductor in the presence of an
electric field.
The sharp changes in direction are due to collisions.
The net motion of electrons is opposite to the direction
of the electric field.
The charge carriers slowly move along the conductor
with a drift velocity, , creating a current.

5 Section 27.1 Active Figure 27.3

 ∆𝑄
𝐼 avg= =𝑛𝑞𝐴 𝑣 d
∆𝑡

Current Density
The current density J of a conductor is defined as the current per unit area .

 This expression is valid only if the current density is uniform and is perpendicular
to the direction of the current.
has the SI unit of A/m2
Same as current, the current density is in the direction of the positive charge carriers.

Conductivity
A current density and an electric field are established in a conductor whenever a
potential difference is maintained across the conductor.
For some materials, the current density J is directly proportional to the field E.

J=σE
The constant of proportionality, σ, is called the conductivity of the conductor.
6 Section 27.2
Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law states that for many materials, the ratio of the current density to the
electric field is a constant σ that is independent of the electric field producing the
current.
 Most metals obey Ohm’s law
 Mathematically, J = σ E
 Materials that obey Ohm’s law are said to be ohmic
 Materials that do not obey Ohm’s law are said to be nonohmic.
Ohm’s law is not a fundamental law of nature
It is an empirical relationship valid only for certain materials.

7 Section 27.2
Resistance
In an ohmic conductor, the voltage applied across the ends of the
conductor is proportional to the current through the conductor.
𝛥𝑉
𝛥𝑉 =𝐼𝑅 ≡𝑅
𝐼
The constant of proportionality is called the resistance of the conductor.
SI units of resistance are ohms (Ω) and 1 Ω 1 V / A.
Resistance in a circuit arises due to collisions between the electrons carrying the
current with the fixed atoms inside the conductor.

8 Section 27.2
 𝐼=𝛥 𝑉 /𝑅
Ohmic Material, Graph
The resistance of an ohmic device is constant over
a wide range of voltages.
The relationship between current and voltage is
linear.
The slope is related to the resistance.

Nonohmic Material, Graph

Nonohmic materials are those whose resistance
changes with voltage or current.
The current-voltage relationship is nonlinear.
A junction diode is a common example of a
nonohmic device: low R for currents in one
direction and high R in the reverse direction.

9 Section 27.2
Resistors
Most electric circuits use circuit
elements called resistors to control the
current in the various parts of the
circuit.
Stand-alone resistors are widely used.
 Resistors can be built into
integrated circuit chips.
Values of resistors are normally
indicated by colored bands (optional).
 The first two bands give the first
two digits in the resistance value.
 The third band represents the
power of ten for the multiplier band.
 The last band is the tolerance.

10 Section 27.2
Resistor Color Codes

(Optional)

Red (=2) and blue (=6) give the first two digits: 26
Green (=5) gives the power of ten in the multiplier: 10 5
The value of the resistor then is 26 x 105 Ω (or 2.6 MΩ)
The tolerance is 10% (silver = 10%) or 2.6 x 10 5 Ω

11 Section 27.2
Resistivity
The inverse of the conductivity
is the resistivity: .
Resistivity has SI units of ohm-
meters (Ω . m)
An ideal conductor would
have zero resistivity.
An ideal insulator would
have infinite resistivity.
Resistance is also related to
resistivity : ℓ
𝑅=𝜌
𝐴
is the length of a wire
A is the cross-section
area of the wire

12 Section 27.2
 ℓ
𝑅=𝜌
𝐴

Resistance and Resistivity, Summary

Every ohmic material has a characteristic resistivity that depends on the
properties of the material and on temperature.
 Resistivity is a property of substances.
The resistance of a material depends on its geometry and its resistivity.
 Resistance is a property of an object.
Resistance depends on geometry and how we apply currents.

𝐼2
𝑅2 𝐼 4 𝑅4
𝜌 𝜌
𝐼1 𝑅3
𝑅1 𝐼3
, are different

13 Section 27.2
 Example 27.2 The radius of 22-gauge Nichrome wire is 0.32 mm.

(A) Calculate the resistance

per unit length of this wire.
ℓ
𝑅=𝜌
𝐴
 Example 27.2 The radius of 22-gauge Nichrome wire is 0.32 mm.

(A) Calculate the resistance (B) If a potential difference of 10 V is

per unit length of this wire. maintained across a 1.0-m length of the
ℓ Nichrome wire, what is the current in the
𝑅=𝜌 wire?
𝐴

What if the wire were composed of

copper instead of Nichrome? How
would the values of the resistance
per unit length and the current change?

0.053 /m & 190 A

Resistivity and Temperature of normal metal
For some metals, the resistivity is nearly
proportional to the temperature.
This is because the resistivity is due to collisions
between electrons and atoms. Since the atoms
vibrate a lot at higher temperatures, the
electrons become easier to collide with the
atoms which block their paths, resulting in a
higher resistivity at higher temperatures.
A nonlinear region always exists at very low
temperatures.
The resistivity usually reaches some finite value
as the temperature approaches absolute zero.
Electrical Power
Assume a circuit as shown is the system.
As a charge moves from a to b, the
electric potential energy of the system
changes by DV.
 The chemical energy in the battery
must decrease by the same amount.
This electric potential energy is
transformed into internal energy in the
resistor.
 Corresponds to increased vibrational
motion of the atoms in the resistor
The resistor is normally in contact with the
air, so its increased temperature will result
in a transfer of energy by heat into the air.
The resistor also emits thermal radiation.

17 Section 27.6
 𝑑𝑈
𝑃≡ Chap8, Phys I
𝑑𝑡

Electric Power, 2
After some time interval, the resistor reaches a constant temperature.
 The input of energy from the battery is balanced by the output of energy by
heat and radiation.
The rate at which the system’s potential energy decreases as the charge passes
through the resistor is equal to the rate at which the system gains internal energy
in the resistor.
The power is the rate at which the energy is delivered to the resistor.
The power is given by the equation .

Units: I is in A, R is in Ω, ΔV is in V, and P is in W.

18 Section 27.6
Answer If the applied potential difference were doubled, the current
would double and the power would be four times larger.
https://polyu.ureply.mobi Login with your ID session:2727

For the two lightbulbs shown in the right figure,

I1
find out the ratio I1 / I2.

𝑃1 𝐼 1 ∆ 𝑉
= =1/2
𝑃2 𝐼2 ∆ 𝑉
𝐼 1 I2
=1/ 2
(a) ½ 𝐼2

(b)
(c)
(d) 2
Resistance of a Cable (Optional)

Assume the polyethylene between the conductors

to be concentric elements of thickness dr.
The resistance of the hollow cylinder of
polyethylene is

The total resistance across the entire thickness is

This is the radial resistance of the cable.

The calculated value is fairly high, which is
desirable since you want the current to flow along
the cable and not radially out of it.

21 Section 27.2
Superconductors (Optional)
A class of materials and compounds
whose resistances fall to virtually zero Resistivity-temperature curve
below a certain temperature, TC.
of a superconductor
 TC is called the critical
temperature.
The graph is the same as a normal
metal above TC, but suddenly drops to
zero at TC.
The value of TC is sensitive to:
 chemical composition
 pressure
 molecular structure
Once a current is set up in a
superconductor, it persists without any
applied voltage because of R = 0.
22 Section 27.5
Superconductor Application (Optional)
Superconductor can block magnetic field and
levitate magnets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyOtIsnG71U

A small permanent magnet

levitated above a disk of the
superconductor.

Superconductor can also help producing

strong magnetic fields.
A superconducting magnet can be used in
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Example of MRI image for

medical use.

23 Section 27.5
Electrical Conduction – A Model (Optional)
Treat a conductor as a regular array of atoms plus a collection of free electrons.
 The free electrons are often called conduction electrons.
 These electrons become free when the atoms are bound in the solid.
In the absence of an electric field, the motion of the conduction electrons is
random (typical speed on the order of 106 m/s).
When an electric field is applied, the conduction electrons are given a drift
velocity.
Assumptions:
 The electron’s motion after a collision is independent of its initial motion.
 The excess energy acquired by the electrons in the electric field is
transferred to the atoms of the conductor when the electrons and atoms
collide.
 This causes the temperature of the conductor to increase.

24 Section 27.3
Conduction Model – Calculating the Drift Velocity (Optional)
The force experienced by an electron is
From Newton’s Second Law, the acceleration is
Applying a motion equation

 Since the initial velocities are random, their average value is zero.
Let t be the average time interval between successive collisions.
The average value of the final velocity is the drift velocity:
This is also related to the current density: J = nqvd = (nq2E / me)t
 n is the number of charge carriers per unit volume.
Using Ohm’s Law J = σE, we have

Note, according to this classical model, the conductivity and the resistivity do not depend
on the strength of the field, which is characteristic of a conductor obeying Ohm’s Law.

25 Section 27.3