Chapter 4: Electricity- Magnetic and Heating
Effects
Introduction of Electricity:
- Electricity is the flow of tiny particles called electrons.
- It can also mean the energy you get when electrons flow from place to place.
- Scientists have also learned how to generate, or create, electricity.
- This is useful because electricity that is generated can be controlled and sent through
wires.
- It can then power such things as heaters, light bulbs, and computers.
How Electricity works:
- Everything in the universe is made of tiny objects called atom.
- Each atom has even tinier particles called protons, electrons and neutron.
- Electron swirl around nucleus continuously.
- Nucleus consist of neutron and proton
- An electron has a negative charge.
- A proton has a positive charge.
- A neutron don’t have any charge.
An electric current is a flow of electrons, moving through an electrical conductor.
Magnetic field
The region around a magnet or a current carrying wire where its magnetic effect can be felt is
called magnetic field.
Magnetic effects of Current carrying wire:
When electric current flows through a conductor (like a wire), it produces a magnetic field
around it. This phenomenon is known as the magnetic effect of electric current.
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Take an insulated copper wire and connect it to a battery and switch. Keep a magnetic compass
near to wire.
When switch is in ‘off’ mode, compass don’t show deflection as shown in figure 1.
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When the battery is switched ‘on’, the current passes through the wire, the compass shows
deflection as shown in figure 2
Characteristics of Magnetic Field Due to Current Carrying Conductor
• It encircles the conductor.
• It lies in a plane perpendicular to the conductor.
• Reversal in the current flow direction reverses the field’s direction.
• Strength of the field is directly proportional to the magnitude of the current.
• Strength of the field at any point is inversely proportional to the distance of the point
from the wire.
Applications of magnetic effects of electric current:
Electromagnet, electric bell, motors, fans, loudspeaker and many more.
Electromagnet:
- Electromagnets are made out of a coil of wire (wire curled in series).
- This is more effective in producing a magnetic field than just a wire running straight.
- This effect can be strengthened by winding a wire tightly around a powerful core made
of magnetic material, such as iron.
- The picture above shows a coil wound around an iron nail.
- On its own, the iron nail is not magnetic.
Factors affecting to magnetic field produced by electromagnet:
1. Numbers of turns of wire around core
2. Core material
3. Electric current
4. Material of wire
Uses of electromagnet:
1. Generators, motors, and transformers
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2. Electric buzzers and bells
3. Headphones and loudspeakers
4. Data storage devices like VCRs, tape recorders, hard discs, etc.
5. Induction cooker
6. Magnetic locks
7. MRI machines
Heating effects of electric current:
- When an electric current flows through a conductor, it encounters resistance.
- This resistance is due to the collisions between the moving electrons and the
atoms within the conductor.
- These collisions convert some of the electrical energy into heat, causing the
conductor to warm up.
- Room heater, electric stove, electric kettle, electric iron, water heater, hair dryer
are appliances which are working on the principle of heating effects of electric
current.
- Heating effects of electric current can cause problems, like energy loss in wires
during transmission.
- Overheating in appliances may cause damage to plugs and sockets where plastic
parts may melt, or even lead to fires.
- In household circuits, there are safety devices (fuse, MCB, ELCB) placed in the
circuit to minimise such incidents.
World of battery:
Electrolyte: It’s a type of solution which allows free charges to pass through it.
Electrodes: Conducting rods which allows electric current to pass from electrolyte.
Voltaic cell:
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How it works?
- It contains two metal plates made of different materials and a liquid called an
electrolyte, placed in a glass or plastic container.
- The plates, called electrodes, are partly dipped in the electrolyte, which is usually a
weak acid or salt solution.
- A chemical reaction between the plates and the electrolyte produces electricity.
- When the circuit is connected, electric current flows from the positive terminal through
the circuit to the negative terminal.
- Over time, the chemicals get used up, and the cell stops working.
- It is then called ‘dead’ and cannot supply any more electricity.
Dry Cell:
- Voltaic cells were an important discovery, but they are not convenient for everyday use.
- Instead, dry cells are one of the most widely used electric cells today.
- They are called ‘dry’ because the electrolyte is not a liquid but a thick moist paste.
- The structure of a dry cell is shown in above figure.
- It consists of a zinc container which acts as a negative terminal and a carbon rod at the
centre covered with metal cap that acts as the positive terminal.
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- The carbon rod is surrounded by the paste-like electrolyte.
- The dry cell is a single use cell, meaning once it is used up, it has to be disposed of.
Rechargeable batteries:
- There are many different kinds of rechargeable batteries that are used for different
applications from small batteries used in watches and phones to batteries used in laptops
and tablet to bigger batteries that run inverters or drive electric vehicles.
- However, rechargeable batteries also do not last forever. After being charged and used
many times, they slowly wear out.