Potential difference:
A potential difference between two points gives rise to a "force" called an
electromotive force or emf that tends to push electrons or other chargecarriers from one point to the other. A potential difference is generated
between the ends of an electrical conductor that moves perpendicular to a
magnetic field. Between two points in an electrical circuit the potential
difference is equal to the difference in their electrical potentials.
The potential difference is defined as the amount of work per charge needed
to move electric charge from the second point to the first, or equivalently,
the amount of work that unit charge flowing from the first point to the
second can perform. In the SI system of units, potential difference, electrical
potential and electromotive force are measured in volts, leading to the
commonly used term voltage and the symbol V. Named after Alessandro
Volta, one volt is defined to be one joule of energy per coulomb of charge.
Current:
In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal
wire or some other electrical conductor. Conventional current was defined
early in the history of electrical science as a flow of positive charge, although
we now know that, in the case of metallic conduction, current is caused by a
flow of negatively charged electrons in the opposite direction. Despite this
misunderstanding, the original definition of conventional current still
stands. The symbol typically used for the amount of current (the amount of
charge flowing per unit of time) is I, from the German word Intensitt, which
means 'intensity'. The SI unit of electrical current is the ampere.
Current density is the current per unit (cross-sectional) area.
In metallic conductors, such as wires, currents are caused by a flow of
electrons (negatively charged particles), but this is not the case in most nonmetallic conductors. Electric currents in electrolytes are flows of electrically
charged atoms (ions), which exist in both positive and negative varieties. For
example, an electrochemical cell may be constructed with salt water (a
solution of sodium chloride) on one side of a membrane and pure water on
the other. The membrane lets the positive sodium ions pass, but not the
negative chlorine ions, so a net current results. Electric currents in plasma
are flows of electrons as well as positive and negative ions. In ice and in
certain solid electrolytes, flowing protons constitute the electric current.
There are also instances where the electrons are the charge that is
physically moving, but where it makes more sense to think of the current as
the positive "holes" (the spots that should have an electron to make the
conductor neutral) as being what moves. This is the case in a p-type
semiconductor.
RESISTANCE:
Electrical resistance is a measure of the degree to which an electrical
component opposes the passage of current. It is the ratio of the potential
difference (i.e. voltage) across an electric component (such as a resistor) to
the current passing through it:
where
R is the resistance of the component.
V the voltage across the component, measured in volts
I is the current passing through the component, measured in amperes
Resistance is thus a measure of the component's opposition to the flow of
electric charge. The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm. Its reciprocal
quantity is electrical conductance measured in siemens.
Capacitance:
Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to store potential difference or
voltage for a given amount of stored charge. The SI unit of capacitance is the
farad.
where
C is the capacitance, measured in farads
Q is the charge, measured in coulombs
V is the potential difference, measured in volts
A capacitor has a capacitance of one farad when one coulomb of charge
causes a potential difference of one volt across the capacitor. Since the farad
is a very large unit, values of capacitors are usually expressed in
microfarads (F), nanofarads (nF) or picofarads (pF).
The above equation is only accurate for values of Q which are much larger
than the electron charge e = 1.60210-19 C. For example, if a capacitance of 1
pF is charged to a voltage of 1 V, the equation would predict a charge Q =
10-19 C, but this is impossible as it is smaller than the charge on a single
electron.
The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor constructed of two identical
plane electrodes of area A at constant spacing d is approximately equal to
the following:
Where
C is the capacitance in farads
0 is the electrostatic permittivity of vacuum or free space, measured in
farad per metre
r is the dielectric constant or relative permittivity of the insulator used
A is the area of each plane electrode, measured in square metres
d is the separation between the electrodes, measured in metres
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