Chap1 Basic Concepts

林彥亨 教授
生物醫學工程系 長庚大學

1.1 Introduction
• An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical
elements.
Electric circuit of
Examples: a flash-light.

Electric circuit of
a radio receiver.

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 1.2 System of Units

• International System of Units

(SI)

1.3 Charge and Current

• The most basic quantity in an electric circuit is the
electric charge, measured in coulombs (C)
• All matter is made of fundamental building blocks
known as atoms
– Electrons, protons, and neutrons
• Electric charge
– e = -1.60210-19 C
– 1C = 1/ 1.60210-19 = 6.241018 electrons
– law of conservation of charge (charges can neither be
created nor destroyed, only transferred)
• Realistic or laboratory values of charges are on the
order of pC, nC, or μC.

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 Current and Charge Flow

• Positive charges move in one direction while negative

charges movie in the opposite direction.
• The motion of charges creates electric current.
• It is conventional to take the current flow as the
movement of positive charges. That is, opposite to the
flow of negative charges.
• This is found by Benjamin Franklin.

Electric Current

• Electric current is the time rate of change of

charge, measured in amperes (A)

dq t
i  

 Q  idt
dt t0

• 1 ampere = 1 coulomb/second

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 DC and AC 重點在電流方向

The two most common types of current:

• Always flow in the same direction
=> direct current (dc)

• The current flows in both directions

(sinusoidal current) is called
alternating current (ac)

Direction of Current Flow

Current is resulted from the movement of charge. The
direction of current flow is conventionally taken as the
direction of positive charge movement.

The same direction of current flow: (a) positive current flow, (b)
negative current flow.

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How much charge is represented by 4,600 electrons?

Solution:
Each electron has −1.602 × 10−19 C. Hence 4,600 electrons will have
−1.602 × 10−19 C/electron × 4,600 electrons = −7.369 × 10−16 C

Ex. 1.2
The total charge entering a terminal is given by q
= 5t sin 4t mC. Calculate the current at t = 0.5 s.

Solution:
dq
i  (5 sin 4t  20t cos 4t ) mA
dt

At t  0.5,
i  (5 sin 2  10 cos 2 )  10  31.42 mA

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 Ex. 1.3
Determine the total charge entering a terminal
between t = 1 s and t = 2 s if the current passing
the terminal is i = (3t2-t) A.

Solution:
2
Q   idt
t 1
2
  (3t 2  t )dt
1

 3 t2  2 1
  t    (8  2)  (1  )  5.5 C
 21 2

1.4 Voltage
• To move the electron in a conductor in a particular direction
requires some work or energy transfer
– External electromotive force (emf)
– Voltage or potential difference
• Voltage is the energy required to move a unit charge through
an element, measured in volts (V).
• The voltage vab between two points a and b in an electric
circuit is the energy needed to move a unit charge from a to b.

 dw
v ab 
dq
• 1 volt = 1 joule (J) / coulomb (C)
= 1 newton-meter/coulomb

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 Representation of Voltage
Voltage v 為一相對值，需取參考點。
• Two equivalent representations of the same voltage vab: (a)
point a is 9V above point b, (b) point b is -9V above point a.

vab = -vba 

1.5 Power and Energy

• Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy,
measured in watts (W).

• The power p is a time-varying quantity and is called the

instantaneous power.

 dw dw dq
p   vi
dt dq dt

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 Absorbed and Supplied Power

• In Fig. a, p = +vi or vi > 0 implies that

the element is absorbing power.

• If p= -vi or vi < 0 (Fig. b), the element is

releasing or supplying power.

Absorbed and Supplied Power

• Two cases of an element
with an absorbing power of
+12 W (because a positive
current enters the positive
terminal).

• Two cases of an element

with a supplying power of
+12W (because a positive
current enters the negative
terminal).

+Power absorbed = −Power supplied

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 Law of Conservation of Energy
• Law of conservation of energy must be obeyed => sum of
power must be zero.

p0
• Total power supplied to the circuit must balance the total
power absorbed.
t t
• Energy can be written as: w   pdt   vidt
t0 t0

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

• 1 Wh = 3,600 J

Ex. 1.4
An energy source forces a constant current of 2 A for
10 s to flow through a light bulb. If 2.3 kJ is given off
in the form of light and heat energy, calculate the
voltage drop across the bulb.

Solution:
The total charge is
q  it  2  10  20 C
The voltage drop is
w 2.3 103
v   115 V
q 20

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 Ex. 1.5
Find the power delivered to an element at t = 3 ms if
the current entering its positive terminal is i = 5cos
60t A and the voltage is v = 3di/dt.
Solution:
We find the voltage and the power as
d (5cos 60 t )
p  vi  3  5cos 60 t
dt
 4500 sin 60 t cos 60 t W

Ex. 1.6
How much energy does a 100-W electric bulb consume
in two hours?

Solution:
w  pt  100 (W)  2 (h)  200 Wh
or  100 (W)  2 (h)  60 (min/h)  60 (s/min)
 720000 J  720 kJ
 ?度  ?$

１度電 ＝ 1 kWh
若１度電費為 4.5元  0.2 kWh 4.5 = 0.9 元

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電量分析 (資料來源：
台灣電力公司)

1.6 Circuit Elements

Passive elements and active elements
• Passive elements:
Resistors, capacitors, and inductors

• Active elements:
Generators (voltage or current sources) and
operational amplifiers

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 Independence Source
• Independent source
– Ideal independent source is an active element that
provides a specified voltage or current that is
completely independent of other circuits

Independent voltage sources Independent current source

Dependent Source
• Dependent source Diamond-shaped symbols
– Ideal dependent source is an active element in which the
source quantity is controlled by another voltage or current
• A voltage-controlled voltage source (VCVS)
• A current-controlled voltage source (CCVS)
• A voltage-controlled current source (VCCS)
• A current-controlled current source (CCCS)

Dependent voltage and Current-controlled

current sources voltage source

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 Ex. 1.7
Calculate the power supplied or absorbed by each element.

Solution:

For p1, the 5-A current is out of

the positive terminal  p1 = 20(-5)
= -100 W (supplied power)

For p2 and p3, the current flows into the positive terminal of the
element,
 p2 = 12(5) = 60 W (absorbed power)
 p3 = 8(6) = 48 W (absorbed power)
For p4, the voltage is 8 V (positive at the top), and the current flows
out of the positive terminal  p4 = -0.2I(8) = -8 W (supplied power)
p1+p2+p3+p4 = -100 + 60 + 48 - 8 = 0 Conservation of energy

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