Electron Theory

Elements of an Atom All matter is composed of molecules which are made up of a

combination of atoms. Atoms have a nucleus with electrons
orbiting around it. The nucleus is composed of protons and
neutrons (not shown). Most atoms have an equal number of
electrons and protons. Electrons have a negative charge (-).
Protons have a positive charge (+). Neutrons are neutral. The
negative charge of the electrons is balanced by the positive
charge of the protons. Electrons are bound in their orbit by
the attraction of the protons. These are referred to as bound
electrons.

Electron

Proton

Nucleus

Free Electrons Electrons in the outer band can become free of their orbit
by the application of some external force such as movement
through a magnetic field, friction, or chemical action. These
are referred to as free electrons. A free electron leaves a void
which can be filled by an electron forced out of orbit from
another atom. As free electrons move from one atom to the
next an electron flow is produced. This is the basis of electricity.


 Conductors, Insulators and Semiconductors

Conductors An electric current is produced when free electrons move

from one atom to the next. Materials that permit many
electrons to move freely are called conductors. Copper,
silver, aluminum, zinc, brass, and iron are considered good
conductors. Copper is the most common material used for
conductors and is relatively inexpensive.

Insulators Materials that allow few free electrons are called insulators.
Materials such as plastic, rubber, glass, mica, and ceramic are
good insulators.

An electric cable is one example of how conductors and

insulators are used. Electrons flow along a copper conductor to
provide energy to an electric device such as a radio, lamp, or a
motor. An insulator around the outside of the copper conductor
is provided to keep electrons in the conductor.
Rubber Insulator
Copper Conductor


Semiconductors Semiconductor materials, such as silicon, can be used
to manufacture devices that have characteristics of both
conductors and insulators. Many semiconductor devices will
act like a conductor when an external force is applied in one
direction. When the external force is applied in the opposite
direction, the semiconductor device will act like an insulator.
This principle is the basis for transitors, diodes, and other solid-
state electronic devices.

Transistor Diode

Review 1
1. List the three basic elements of an atom and state the
charge of each (positive, negative, or neutral).

Element Charge

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

2. An electron forced out of orbit by an external force is

called a ____________ ____________ .

3. Conductors allow ____________ free electrons to flow

when an external electric force is applied.

4. Which of the following materials are good conductors?

a. copper e. aluminum
b. plastic f. glass
c. silver g. iron
d. rubber h. mica

5. Semiconductor devices can be manufactured to allow

____________ electrons to flow in one direction and ___
_________ electrons to flow in the opposite direction.


 Electric Charges

Neutral State of an Atom Elements are often identified by the number of electrons in
orbit around the nucleus of the atoms making up the element
and by the number of protons in the nucleus. A hydrogen
atom, for example, has only one electron and one proton. An
aluminum atom (illustrated) has 13 electrons and 13 protons. An
atom with an equal number of electrons and protons is said to
be electrically neutral.

Outer Band

Positive and Electrons in the outer band of an atom are easily displaced by
Negative Charges the application of some external force. Electrons which are
forced out of their orbits can result in a lack of electrons where
they leave and an excess of electrons where they come to rest.
The lack of electrons is called a positive charge because there
are more protons than electrons. The excess of electrons has a
negative charge. A positive or negative charge is caused by an
absence or excess of electrons. The number of protons remains
constant.

Neutral Charge Negative Charge Positive Charge


Attraction and Repulsion of The old saying, “opposites attract,” is true when dealing with
Electric Charges electric charges. Charged bodies have an invisible electric
field around them. When two like-charged bodies are brought
together, their electric fields repel one body from the other.
When two unlike-charged bodies are brought together, their
electric fields attract one body to the other.

The electric field around a charged body forms invisible lines

of force. These invisible lines of force cause the attraction
or repulsion. Lines of force are shown leaving a body with a
positive charge and entering a body with a negative charge.
Unlike Charges Attract Like Charges Repel

Coulomb’s Law During the 18th century a French scientist, Charles A. Coulomb,
studied fields of force that surround charged bodies. Coulomb
discovered that charged bodies attract or repel each other
with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the
charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them. Today we call this Coulomb’s Law of Charges.
Simply put, the force of attraction or repulsion depends on the
strength of the charges and the distance between them.


 Current

Electricity is the flow of free electrons in a conductor from

one atom to the next atom in the same general direction. This
flow of electrons is referred to as current and is designated
by the symbol “I”. Electrons move through a conductor at
different rates and electric current has different values. Current
is determined by the number of electrons that pass through
a cross-section of a conductor in one second. We must
remember that atoms are very small. It takes about
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms to fill one cubic
centimeter of a copper conductor. This number can be simplified
using mathematical exponents. Instead of writing 24 zeros after
the number 1, write 1024. Trying to measure even small values
of current would result in unimaginably large numbers. For this
reason current is measured in amperes which is abbreviated
“amps”. The letter “A” is the symbol for amps. A current of one
amp means that in one second about 6.24 x 1018 electrons
move through a cross-section of conductor. These numbers are
given for information only and you do not need to be concerned
with them. It is important, however, to understand the concept
of current flow.

Units of Measurement The following chart reflects special prefixes that are used when
dealing with very small or large values of current:

Prefix Symbol Decimal

1 kiloampere 1 kA 1000 A
1 milliampere 1 mA 1/1000 A
1 microampere 1 mA 1/1,000,000 A


Direction of Current Flow Some authorities distinguish between electron flow and
current flow. Conventional current flow theory ignores the
flow of electrons and states that current flows from positive
to negative. To avoid confusion, this book will use the electron
flow concept which states that electrons flow from negative to
positive.

_ + _ +
Electron Flow Conventional
Current Flow

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Voltage

Electricity can be compared with water flowing through a pipe.

A force is required to get water to flow through a pipe. This
force comes from either a water pump or gravity. Voltage is the
force that is applied to a conductor that causes electric current
to flow.
Water Flow Through a Pipe

Current Flow Through a Conductor

Electrons are negative and are attracted by positive charges.

They will always be attracted from a source having an excess
of electrons, thus having a negative charge, to a source having
a deficiency of electrons, giving it a positive charge. The force
required to make electricity flow through a conductor is called
a difference in potential, electromotive force (emf), or voltage.
Voltage is designated by the letter “E”, or the letter “V”. The unit
of measurement for voltage is volts which is also designated by
the letter “V”.

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Voltage Sources An electrical voltage can be generated in various ways. A
battery uses an electrochemical process. A car’s alternator and
a power plant generator utilize a magnetic induction process.
All voltage sources share the characteristic of an excess of
electrons at one terminal and a shortage at the other terminal.
This results in a difference of potential between the two
terminals.
Shortage of Electrons

Excess of Electrons

+ _

Batter y

Voltage Circuit Symbol The terminals of a battery are indicated symbolically on an

electrical drawing by two lines. The longer line indicates the
positive terminal. The shorter line indicates the negative
terminal.

+
_

Units of Measurement The following chart reflects special prefixes that are used when
dealing with very small or large values of voltage:

Prefix Symbol Decimal

1 kilovolt 1 kV 1000 V
1 millivolt 1 mV 1/1000 V
1 microvolt 1 mV 1/1,000,000 V

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 Resistance

A third factor that plays a role in an electrical circuit is

resistance. All material impedes the flow of electrical current
to some extent. The amount of resistance depends upon
composition, length, cross-section and temperature of the
resistive material. As a rule of thumb, resistance of a conductor
increases with an increase of length or a decrease of cross-
section. Resistance is designated by the symbol “R”. The unit of
measurement for resistance is ohms (W).

Resistance Circuit Symbols Resistance is usually indicated symbolically on an electrical

drawing by one of two ways. An unfilled rectangle is commonly
used. A zigzag line may also be used.

Resistance can be in the form of various components. A

resistor may be placed in the circuit, or the circuit might contain
other devices that have resistance.

Units of Measurement The following chart reflects special prefixes that are commonly
used when dealing with values of resistance:

Prefix Symbol Decimal

1 kilohm 1 kW 1000 W
1 megohm 1 MW 1,000,000 W

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