Electrical Quantities

Definitions

Charge

Charge is a fundamental property of some particle. It is the cause of the electromagnetic force, and it is a basic aspect of describing electrical effects

Coulombs

Charge is measured in coulombs, C. One coulomb is the quantity of charge that passes a point in a conductor per second when one ampere of current is flowing in the conductor

Voltage

The electrical quantity Voltage is a measure of the amount of energy a component transfer per unit of charge passing through it

Equations

Electromotive Force (EMF)

Supply Voltage

Ampere

Ampere is the movement of one coulomb of charge per second

Electrical Current

Rate of Flow of Charge

Electron Volt

Is the amount of energy an electron gains by passing through a voltage of 1V

Resistance

Is the opposition to the flow of electrical current

Ohm's Law

States that the current through a component is directly proportional to the voltage across it, providing the temperature remains the same.

Resistivity

Of a material is defined as the same value as the resistance between opposite faces of a cubic metre of the materials

Drift Velocity

The slow overall movement of the charges in a current

Semiconductors

Have a lower resistivity than insulators, but higher than conductors. they usually only have small numbers of delocalised electrons that are free to conduct

Valence Band

The valance band is a range of energy ammounts that electrons in a solid material can have which keeps them close to one aprticular atom

Conduction Band

The conduction band is a range of energy ammounts that electrons in a solid material can have which delocalises them to move more freely though the sold

Critical Temperature

The critical temperature for a material is that below which its resistivity instantly drops to zero

Charge on Single Electron (C)

e=1.6x10^-19 C

Current (A)

Current (A) = Charge Passing a point (C) / Time for that Charge to pass (s)

Voltage (V) = Energy Transferred (J) / Charge Passing (C)

Electromotive Force (EMF)

EMF (V) = Energy Transferred (J) / Charge Passing (C)

Resistance (Ω)

Resistance (Ω) = Potential Difference (V) / Current (A)

Drift Velocity / Transport Equation (m/s)

Resistance (Ω) = (Resistivity (Ω m) x Sample Length (m)) / Cross-Sectional Area (M^2)

Drift Velocity (m/s) = Current / (Free electron Density (m^-3) x Charge of electron (C) x Cross-Sectional Area (m^2))