ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES

Important to consider the electrical property of materials when materials selection and processing
decisions are being made
Electrical property: response of a material to an applied electric field
Electric field: property of space surrounding an electric charge exerts a force on other electrically charged
objects
Electric charge: intrinsic property of protons and electrons, which make up all matter; SI Unit: coulomb (C)
The electric field: charge body produces or causes an electric field in the surrounding
Properties of electric charge
Electrostatic force: two electrically charged objects exert a force on one another
* opposite charges attract, like charges repel
* the further apart the charged thing are, the weaker the forces of attraction and repulsion are
Law of conservation of charge: the total amount of electric charge in the universe remains constant
Methods of charging:
1. By friction: direct rubbing (ex. comb and hair products)
2. By conduction: direct contact of material which already has a charge (ex. charging devices)
3. By induction: induce charges to move (electroscope)
Law of conservation of electric charge: net electric charge..
Application: photocopier and computer printers
Electrical conductor: a material through which charge may flow easily
Electrical insulator: a material through which charge flows poorly or not at all
Semiconductor: materials that are intermediate between conductors and insulators
Superconductor: highly conductive at a certain temperature

Current

rate at which electric charge passes

through a conductor

q
I=
t

Potential
difference/
voltage

work done by an external force in

moving a charge from one point to
another to the magnitude of the
charge

VAB = VA VB

Resistance

Resistivity
Conductivi
ty
Power

ability of the material to resist the flow

of charges when it is subject to a given
potential difference
measure indicating how strongly a
material opposes the flow of electric
current
measure how well a material
accommodates with transport of
electric charge
rate at which energy is either delivered
to or extracted from a circuit element

w
q

V
I

R=

R=

pL
A

1
p

P =IV =I2R =

V2
R

q: charge
(coulomb)
t: time (second)
VA: potential
point
w: work (joules)
q: charge
(coulomb)
V: voltage (volts)
I: current
(ampere)
L: length (meter)
A: cross-section
area

A (ampere)

V (volts)

(ohm)

m
(ohm-meter)

m)-1

W (watt)
*1W = 1J

Ohms Law: ohmic, non ohmic materials

Less resistance
less resistance
Greater resistance
greater resistance
Ex. An electric lamp draws a current of 0.33A when operated with a potential difference of 120V. What is its
resistance?
I= 0.33A
V=I/R
R=120V/0.33A
V=120V
R= V/I
= 363.6

Resistivity and Temperature

p

T
Metal: p increases with
T

T
Semiconductor: p decreases with
increasing T

T
Superconductor: p= 0 for
T<Tc