1 8 Current

Topic 8.
Direct Electric Current
The list of issues to be considered.
1. Electric Current.
2. Electromotive Force.
3. Ohm’s Law.
4. Electric Power and Energy. Joule-Lenz law.
Keywords: electric current, current density, electromotive force.
1. Electric Current.
An electric current is any ordered motion of electric charges in space.

The current through a certain surface S is the scalar quantity I , equal to the
first derivative of the charge q passing through this surface. Thus
dq
I .
dt
The SI unit of current is ampere (abbreviation A), named for the French physicist
André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836).
A current is said to be direct if its magnitude and direction remains constant in
time. For direct current
q
I ,
t
where q is the amount of charge passing through a given area in time t .
A direct current is numerically equal to the charge q transported through the surface
S in unit time.
The distribution of the electric current over the cross section S is

characterized by current density vector j . Its direction is toward the motion of the
positive charges and it is numerically equal to
dI
j ,
dS
where dI is the current through dS .
The ordered motion of electrons in a metal conductor is due to the action of the
external electric field. The current density is
 
j  ne  v  ,
where n is the number of conduction electrons per unit volume;
e is
 the charge of each electron;
 v  is the average velocity of ordered motion of the electrons; typically
drifting at speeds on the order of 10−4 m/s. Drift velocity is quite small, since there
are so many free charges. If we have an estimate of the density of free electrons in a
conductor, we can calculate the drift velocity for a given current. The larger the
density, the lower the velocity required for a given current.
It is important to realize that there is an electric field in conductors responsible

for producing the current, as illustrated in Figure 8.1. Unlike static electricity, where
a conductor in equilibrium cannot have an electric field in it, conductors carrying a
current have an electric field and are not in static equilibrium. An electric field is
needed to supply energy to move the charges.
Figure 8.1. An electric field in conductors is responsible for producing the current.
Atoms in a metallic conductor are packed in the form of a lattice structure.

Some electrons are far enough away from the atomic nuclei that they do not
experience the attraction of the nuclei as much as the inner electrons do. These are
the free electrons. They are not bound to a single atom but can instead move freely
among the atoms in a “sea” of electrons. These free electrons respond by accelerating
when an electric field is applied. Of course as they move they collide with the atoms
in the lattice and other electrons, generating thermal energy, and the conductor gets
warmer. In an insulator, the organization of the atoms and the structure do not allow
for such free electrons.
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2. Electromotive Force.
Electrostatic (Colomb’s) forces of electrostatic interaction between electric

charges cause these charges to redistribute in the conductor in such a manner that the
electric field in the conductor disappears and the potential becomes equalized at all
points in it. Consequently, a Colomb force field cannot maintain a direct (steady)
electric current.
A direct conduction current can be maintained only under the condition that the
intensity of electric field in the conductor is not zero and remains constant in the
course of time. A direct conduction current circuit should be closed and, in addition
to the electrostatic (Colomb’s) forces, the free electrons should be subjected to the
action of non-electrostatic forces, called external forces. An electric field of external
forces is set up in a circuit by connecting a seat of electromotive force (emf) into it.
We can describe a seat of emf as a device in which chemical, mechanical, or some
other form of energy is changed into electrical energy. Such seats may by galvanic
cell, storage batteries, electric generator, etc. By moving the electric charges and
maintaining a constant potential difference between any two points of a direct current
circuit, the external forces do work at the cost of the energy expended in the seat of
emf. Thus the latter is the source of energy in the circuit. The field of external forces
exists inside the seat of emf (Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.2. The seat of electromotive force.
In the parts of a direct current of circuit that contain no seats of emf, the
charges are transported by the action of the forces of an electrostatic field.
Units of emf are volts.
The emf  of a seat numerically equal to the work done by the external forces
in moving a unit positive charge in the seat.
  Aq ef
,
0
where Aef is the work done by the external forces in moving charge q0  0 .
3. Ohm’s Law.
A section of a circuit in which only electrostatic forces act on charges is called

homogeneous.
Ohm’s Law for the homogeneous segment of circuit states that the current is
direct proportional to the voltage U (potential difference) across the segment and
inversely proportional to the resistance R of conductor (Figure 8.3). The law had been
established by 1827 as a result of the investigations of the German physicist Georg
Simon Ohm.
U
I .
R
I R
Figure 8.3. The current in the homogeneous segment of circuit.
The resistance of materials for which Ohm’s law is valid does not change over
enormous ranges of voltage and current. Ohm’s law is not universally valid. The
many substances for which Ohm’s law holds are called ohmic. These include good
conductors like copper and aluminum, and some poor conductors under certain
circumstances. Ohmic materials have a resistance R that is independent of voltage U
and current I. An object that has simple resistance is called a resistor, even if its
resistance is small.
The SI unit of resistance is ohm (abbreviation  – upper case Greek omega).
Rearranging I = U/R gives R = U/I, and so the units of resistance are
1 ohm = 1 volt per ampere:
1  1 V
A
The resistance of an object depends on its shape and the material of which it is
composed. The cylindrical resistor is easy to analyze. The cylinder’s electric
resistance R is directly proportional to its length l, and is inversely proportional to the
cylinder’s cross-sectional area S:
R l
S
Resistivity ρ is an intrinsic property of a material of conductor. The quantity   1 is


called the conductivity.
The dependence of the resistivity ρ of a conductor on temperature is
   0 (1  t ),
where  0 is the resistivity of the conductor at temperature 0oC;

t is the temperature in deg C;
 is the temperature coefficient of resistivity.
Figure 8.4. The dependence of the resistivity of a metal conductor on temperature.
For most metals in the temperature range from 0oC to 100oC,  varies in the
range (3,3  6,2) 10 3 deg 1 .
Ohm’s Law for the closed electric circuit (Figure 8.5)
_ + I
Figure 8.5. The closed electric circuit.


I
Rr
where  is the electromotive force of current source, R is the external resistance, r is
the internal resistance of source.
Law of Ohm in a differential form (for current density):
 
j  E .
The current density in conductor is equal to the product of the electric
conductivity  of the material by the electric field intensity E .
4. Work and Power of Electric Current. Joule-Lenz law
For the direct current on a homogeneous conductor the work is :

2 U2
A  Uq  UIt  I Rt  t.
R
Power of current
A 2 U2
Р   UI  I R  .
t R
If a current passes through fixed conductors forming a circuit, all work of
current is expended in heating the conductors. The amount of heat Q generated in the
conductor corresponds to the work done and due to low of conservation of energy:
Q  A I 2 Rt .
This expression is the Joule–Lenz law.


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Topic 8.

Direct Electric Current

The list of issues to be considered.

Keywords: electric current, current density, electromotive force.

An electric current is any ordered motion of electric charges in space.

It is important to realize that there is an electric field in conductors responsible

Atoms in a metallic conductor are packed in the form of a lattice structure.

Electrostatic (Colomb’s) forces of electrostatic interaction between electric

Figure 8.2. The seat of electromotive force.

A section of a circuit in which only electrostatic forces act on charges is called

Figure 8.3. The current in the homogeneous segment of circuit.

Resistivity ρ is an intrinsic property of a material of conductor. The quantity   1 is

where  0 is the resistivity of the conductor at temperature 0oC;

Figure 8.4. The dependence of the resistivity of a metal conductor on temperature.

Figure 8.5. The closed electric circuit.

4. Work and Power of Electric Current. Joule-Lenz law

For the direct current on a homogeneous conductor the work is :

This expression is the Joule–Lenz law.

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