EECE 210

Electric Circuits
Chapter 1- Circuit Variables
Main Topics
• Electric Circuit and the Electric Theory
• The International System of Units
• Circuit Analysis: An Overview
• Voltage and Current
• The Ideal Basic Circuit Element
• Power and Energy
 Electric Circuit and Electric Theory
▪ An electric circuit is a
mathematical model that
approximates the behavior of an
actual electrical system.
▪ An electric circuit is an
interconnection of “simple” circuit
elements or devices
▪ Circuit theory is a special case of
electromagnetic field theory which
is the study of static and moving
electric charges.
▪ Circuit theory is used to study a
physical system represented by
an electric circuit, based on some
assumptions
 Circuit Theory Assumptions
▪ Electrical effects happen instantaneously throughout a system
▪ Electric signals travel at or near the speed of light
▪ If the system is physically small, every point in the system is
affected simultaneously.
▪ Lumped-Parameter System (dependent variables of interest are
function of time alone and system elements are physically
separable)
▪ The net charge on every component in the system is always zero
▪ No component can collect a net excess of charge
▪ Some components can hold equal but opposite separated charges
▪ There is no magnetic coupling between the components in a system
The International System of Units
Derived Units in SI
Standardized Prefixes to Signify Powers of 10
Example #1

▪ If a signal can travel in a cable at 80% of the speed of

light, what length of cable, in inches, represents 1 ns?

Solution：
 Voltage and Current
▪ Electric charge (Q):

 Forms the basis for describing all electrical phenomena.

 Is a property of matter (protons, electrons, and neutrons).
 Is a fundamental quantity like mass and length.
 Is measured in unit called coulombs [C = A.s].
 Electronic charge = 1.6022*10-19 C
 Is bipolar: positive charges and negative charges.

▪ In circuit theory:

 Separation of charges creates an electric force, i.e., voltage.

 Motion of charges creates an electric flow, i.e., current.
 Voltage
▪ Voltage is defined between two points and is measured for
example at one point A relative to another point B.
▪ Voltage is always a difference, and it is also called “electric
potential difference”
▪ Whenever positive and negative charges (q) are separated,
energy (w) is expended.
▪ Voltage (v) is the energy per unit charge created by the
separation.
▪ Voltage has a unit “Volt” and can be calculated mathematically
in the form of a derivative function V = dw/dq
where,
▪ w: the energy in joules (J; q: the charge in coulombs (C)
▪ v: the voltage in volts (V) ; 1 V is the same as 1 J/C.
Signs of the Circuit Terminals

The placement of +sign in terminal 1 indicates that

terminal 1 is v volts positive with respect to terminal 2.
Note: A voltage can exist between a pair of electrical
terminals whether a current is flowing or not.
Example #2
+ 1 − 1
v=-5V v=5V
− 2 + 2
(a) (b)

+ 1 − 1
v=5V v=-5V
− 2 + 2
(c) (d)
• (a, b) Terminal 2 is 5V positive with respect to terminal 1;
• (c, d) Terminal 1 is 5V positive with respect to terminal 2.
• The definition of any voltage must include plus-minus sign pair
• The plus-minus pair of algebraic signs does not indicate the actual
polarity of the voltage, but it is the convention that enable to talk
unambiguously about the voltage across the terminal pair.
 Electric Current
▪ The motion of charges forms the electric current
in a wire

▪ The current (i) has both a numerical value and a

direction associated with it

▪ Current flows from high voltage to low voltage

▪ Electric current (i) is a measure of the rate at

which charge (q) is moving past a given reference
point in a specified direction.

▪ i: the current in amperes (A)

▪ q: the charge in coulombs (C)
▪ t: the time in seconds (s)
▪ 1 A is the same as 1 C/s.
▪ Mathematically i=dq/dt
 Electric Circuits and Water Pipes
▪ Current flows from high voltage to low
voltage as water flows from high
pressure to low pressure (or from higher
to lower altitudes by gravity).
▪ Batteries push charges through as
pumps push water through
▪ Because of the “pumping” nature of
electrical sources, we need to have a
complete circuit (closed loop) before we
have a current passing through it.

▪ If we have an air gap (or rubber gap) in

the circuit, no current will flow - just like
if we have a solid block (like a cap) in a
water circuit, no water will flow.
Open Circuit vs. Closed Circuit

• A circuit connected to a Voltage source Vin will “charge” the

circuit and create a Voltage drop Vin across its terminals
which will allow a current to flow when the circuit is closed.
• An Open Circuit means Voltage across the source terminals is
Vin and Current flowing I = 0
DC and AC
▪ A direct current (DC) is a current that remains constant with
time.
▪ An alternating current (AC) is a current that varies sinusoidally
with time. (reverse direction)

DC AC
 Example #3

Solution:
a) From the definition of current
given in Eq. 1.2, the expression for
No charge exists at the upper charge accumulation due to current
terminal of the element for t < 0. flow is
At t = 0, a 5 A current begins to
flow into the upper terminal.
a) Derive the expression for the Therefore, we have
charge accumulating at the upper
terminal of the element for t > 0.
b)The total charge that accumulates
b) If the current is stopped after at the upper terminal in 10 seconds
10 seconds, how much charge due to a 5 A current is 5(10) = 50 C.
has accumulated at the upper
terminal?
Reference Direction
▪ If v is positive
▪ Voltage drop from terminal 1 to 2
▪ Voltage rise from terminal 2 to 1

▪ If i is positive

▪ Positive charge flowing from terminal 1 to 2

▪ Negative charge flowing from terminal 2 to 1

▪ If v and i are negative

▪ Opposite statements
Reference Direction Details

(5 V for example) (-5 V for example)

Ideal Basic Circuit Element
▪ Ideal: Allows for a simple mathematical relationship
between v and i that models the actual element

▪ Basic: The element cannot be subdivided into other

elements
▪ Interested in how the element behaves at its terminals
not in its internal behavior v=f(i)
 Electric Power
▪ Electric Power (p) is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy (w).
▪ The useful output of a circuit is often non-electrical and is conveniently
expressed in terms of Power or Energy
▪ Voltage and current calculations alone are not sufficient because all
practical devices have limitations on the power that they can handle.

dw dw dq
▪ Mathematically, p= =  = vi
dt dq dt
where,
• p: the power in watts (W)
• w: the energy in joules (J)
• t: the time in seconds (s)
• q: the charge in coulombs (C)
• v: the voltage in volts (V)
• i: the current in amperes (A)
Electric Power and Energy
Passive Sign Convention
▪ Passive sign Convention: Whenever the reference direction for the
current in an element is in the direction of the reference voltage drop
across the element, use the positive sign in any expression that
relates the voltage to the current. Otherwise, use a negative sign.

▪ In this case: p = vi
Electric Power
Passive Sign Convention

The algebraic sign of power is based on charge movement through

voltage drops and rises. As positive charges move through a drop in
voltage, they lose energy, and as they move through a rise in
voltage, they gain energy.
 Power Expression (Polarity Reference for V
and I and the Expression of Power)

Note: If the reference direction for the current is in the direction of the reference voltage drop
Across the circuit terminals then P=VI . Otherwise, it must be written as P= -VI
Algebraic Sign of Power
▪ If the power is positive (P>0)
▪ Power is being delivered to the circuit inside the box

▪ If the power is negative (P<0)

▪ Power is being extracted from the circuit inside the box

Circuit 1: Direction of the current is the same as the direction of the

Voltage drop; therefore, Power is equal to P=VI=20x4= 80W (Delivered)
Circuit 2: Direction of the current is in the direction of the voltage drop
and P=IV=(-60)(-10)=600 W (Delivered)
Example #4
▪ If the power is positive (that is, if p > 0), power is
being delivered to the circuit inside the box. If the
power is negative (that is, if p < 0), power is being
extracted from the circuit inside the box.
▪ Compute the power absorbed by each element in the
following:
Solution for the Example #4
▪ In (a), with +3 A flowing into the positive reference terminal, we
compute P = (2 V) (3 A) = 6 W of power absorbed

▪ In (b) we have a current of -3 A flowing into the positive

reference terminal. However, the voltage as defined is negative.
This gives an absorbed power P = (-2 V) (-3 A) = 6 W

▪ In (c), we again apply the passive sign convention rulers and

compute an absorbed power P = (4 V) (-5 A) = - 20 W Since the
computed value is negative absorbed power, this tells us that the
element in (c) is supplying +20 W (i.e., it’s a source of energy).
Balancing Power
▪ The law of conservation of energy
p=0
▪ The Linear Circuits we study have NO NET POWER. The sum of
Power associated with the circuit components must be Zero
▪ If the total power for a circuit is zero, we say the power balances
▪ This means that all the power generated in the circuit is absorbed
by the circuit, so the net power is zero.
▪ If the net power is not zero, then we have made some errors in our
calculations

▪ Energy is the capacity to do work, measured in joules (J).

t t
▪ Mathematically, w =  pdt =  vidt
t0 t0
Example #5
Something is wrong—if the values for voltage and current in
this circuit are correct, the total power should be zero
Example 6
▪ A high voltage direct current transmission line

▪ What is the resulting power?1800Ax800000V= 1440 MW (Following the

Passive Sign Convention, it is1440 MW as seen from the Oregon end.
Since the power is +ve this implies that Oregon is supplying power)
▪ What is the direction of power flow? From Oregon to California
Example 7
▪ Assume i = 30 A

▪ Which car has the dead battery? The Red Car

▪ If this connection is kept for 1 min, how much energy is transferred
to the dead battery? E=P*t=V*I*t=12x30x60 J
Review - What we have Learned
▪ Voltage
▪ Current
▪ Ideal basic circuit element
▪ Passive sign convention
▪ Power