ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

ELECTRICITY
ELECTRICITY
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Alternating Current (AC) — An electric current that reverses its direction many times a second at regular
intervals.

• Ammeter — An instrument for measuring the flow of electrical current in amperes. Ammeters are always
connected in series with the circuit to be tested.

• Ampere-Hour (Ah) — A unit of measure for battery capacity. It is obtained by multiplying the current (in
amperes) by the time (in hours) during which current flows. For example, a battery which provides 5
amperes for 20 hours is said to deliver 100 ampere - hours.

• Ampere (A) — A unit of measure for the intensity of an electric current flowing in a circuit. One ampere is
equal to a current flow of one coulomb per second.

• Apparent Power — Measured in volt-ampers (VA). Apparent power is the product of the rms voltage and
the rms current.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Capacitance — The ability of a body to store an electrical charge. Measured in farads as the ratio of the
electric charge of the object (Q, measured in coulombs) to the voltage across the object (V, measured in
volts).
• Capacitor — A device used to store an electric charge, consisting of one or more pairs of conductors
separated by an insulator. Commonly used for filtering out voltage spikes.
• Circuit — A closed path in which electrons from a voltage or current source flow. Circuits can be in
series, parallel, or in any combination of the two.
• Current (I) — The flow of an electric charge through a conductor. An electric current can be compared
to the flow of water in a pipe. Measured in amperes.
• Cycle — The change in an alternating electrical sine wave from zero to a positive peak to zero to a
negative peak and back to zero. See Frequency.
• Demand — The average value of power or related quantity over a specified period of time.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Diode — A semiconductor device with two terminals, typically allowing the flow of current in one
direction only. Diodes allow current to flow when the anode is positive in relation to the cathode.
• Direct Current (DC) — An electric current that flows in only one direction.
• Electrolyte — Any substance which, in solution, is dissociated into ions and is thus made capable
of conducting an electrical current. The sulfuric acid - water solution in a storage battery is an
electrolyte.
• Electron — A tiny particle which rotates around the nucleus of an atom. It has a negative charge of
electricity.
• Electron theory — The theory which explains the nature of electricity and the exchange of "free"
electrons between atoms of a conductor. It is also used as one theory to explain direction of current
flow in a circuit.
• Farad — A unit of measure for capacitance. One farad is equal to one coulomb per volt.
• Frequency — The number of cycles per second. Measured in Hertz. If a current completes one
cycle per second, then the frequency is 1 Hz; 60 cycles per second equals 60 Hz.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Fuse — A circuit interrupting device consisting of a strip of wire that melts and breaks an electric
circuit if the current exceeds a safe level. To restore service, the fuse must be replaced using a similar
fuse with the same size and rating after correcting the cause of failure.

• Generator — A device which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

• Ground — The reference point in an electrical circuit from which voltages are measured, a common
return path for electric current, or a direct physical connection to the Earth.

• Hertz — A unit of measure for frequency. Replacing the earlier term of cycle per second (cps).

• Inductor — A coil of wire wrapped around an iron core. The inductance is directly proportional to the
number of turns in the coil.

• Insulator — Any material where electric current does not flow freely. Insulative materials, such as
glass, rubber, air, and many plastics have a relatively high resistance. Insulators protect equipment and
life from electric shock.

• Inverter — An apparatus that converts direct current into alternating current.

• Kilowatt-hour (kWh) — The product of power in kW and time in hours. Equal to 1000 Watt-hours.
For example, if a 100W light bulb is used for 4 hours, 0.4kWhs of energy will be used (100W x 1kW /
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Kilowatt-hour Meter — A device used to measure electrical energy use.
• Kilowatt (kW) — Equal to 1000 watts.
• Load — Anything which consumes electrical energy, such as lights, transformers, heaters and electric motors.
• Ohm — (Ω) A unit of measure of resistance. One ohm is equivilant to the resistance in a circuit transmitting a
current of one ampere when subjected to a potential difference of one volt.

• Ohm's Law — The mathematical equation that explains the relationship between current, voltage, and
resistance (V=IR).

• Ohmmeter — An instrument for measuring the resistance in ohms of an electrical circuit.

• Open Circuit — An open or open circuit occurs when a circuit is broken, such as by a broken wire or open
switch, interrupting the flow of current through the circuit.

• Parallel Circuit — A circuit in which there are multiple paths for electricity to flow. Each load connected in a
separate path receives the full circuit voltage, and the total circuit current is equal to the sum of the individual
branch currents.

• Polarity — A collective term applied to the positive (+) and negative ( - ) ends of a magnet or electrical
mechanism such as a coil or battery.

• Power — The rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. Measured in Watts.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Protective Relay — A relay device designed to trip a circuit breaker when a fault is detected.

• Rectifier — An electrical device that converts an alternating current into a direct one by allowing a current to
flow through it in one direction only.

• Relay — An electrical coil switch that uses a small current to control a much larger current.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Resistance — The opposition to the passage of an electric current. Electrical resistance can be compared to
the friction experienced by water when flowing through a pipe. Measured in ohms.

• Resistor — A device usually made of wire or carbon which presents a resistance to current flow, used to
reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages.

• Rotor — The rotating part of an electrical machine such as a generator, motor, or alternator. A device that
produces an alternating current.

• Semiconductor — A solid substance that has a conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most
metals, either due to the addition of an impurity or because of temperature effects. Devices made of
semiconductors, notably silicon, are essential components of most electronic circuits.

• Series-Parallel Circuit — A circuit in which some of the circuit components are connected in series and
others are connected in parallel.

• Series Circuit — A circuit in which there is only one path for electricity to flow. All of the current in the
circuit must flow through all of the loads.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:
• Short Circuit — When one part of an electric circuit comes in contact with another part of
the same circuit, diverting the flow of current from its desired path.
• Transistor — A semiconductor device with three connections, capable of amplification in
addition to rectification.
• VARS — A unit of measure of reactive power, it was expressed in an AC electric power
system. Vars may be considered as either the imaginary part of apparent power, or the power
flowing into a reactive load, where voltage and current are specified in volts and amperes.
• Variable Resistor — A resistor that can be adjusted to different ranges of value.
• Volt-Ampere (VA) — A unit of measure of apparent power. It is the product of the rms
voltage and the rms current.
• Volt (V) — A unit measure of voltage. One volt is equal to the difference of potential that
would drive one ampere of current against one ohm resistance.
DEFINITION OF ELECTRICAL TERMS AND UNITS:

• Voltage — An electromotive force or "pressure" that causes electrons to flow and can
be compared to water pressure which causes water to flow in a pipe. Measured in volts.
• Voltmeter — An instrument for measuring the force in volts of an electrical current.
• Watt-hour (Wh) — A unit of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of
one watt for one hour.
• Watt (W) — A unit of electrical power. A corresponding to the power in an electric
circuit in which the potential difference is one volt and the current one ampere. One
watt is equivalent to one joule per second; used to quantify the rate of energy transfer.
• Wattmeter — The wattmeter is an instrument for measuring the electric power (or the
supply rate of electrical energy) in watts of any given circuit.
• Waveform — A graphical representation of electrical cycles which shows the amount
of variation in amplitude over some period of time.
OHM’S LAW
Ohm's law shows a linear relationship between the voltage and the current in an electrical circuits. The resistor's
voltage drop and resistance set the DC current flow through the resistors, With water flow analogy we can
imagine the electric current as water current through pipe, the resistor as a thin pipe that limits the water flow,
the voltage as height difference of the water that enables the water flow.

Ohm's law formula:

The resistor's current I in amps (A) is equal to the resistor's voltage V in volts (V) divided by the resistance R in
ohms (Ω):

I=V/R
V is the voltage drop of the resistor, measured in Volts (V). In some cases Ohm's law uses the letter E to
represent voltage. E denotes electromotive force.

I is the electrical current flowing through the resistor, measured in Amperes (A).

R is the resistance of the resistor, measured in Ohms (Ω)

OHM’S LAW
Voltage calculation:
• When we know the current and resistance, we can calculate the [Link] voltage V in volts (V) is equal to
the to the current I in amps (A) times the resistance R in ohms (Ω):

V=I x R
Resistance calculation:
• When we know the voltage and the current, we can calculate the resistance. The resistance R in ohms (Ω) is
equal to the voltage V in volts (V) divided by the current I in amps (A):

R=V/I
Example #1:
• Find the current of an electrical circuit that has resistance of 50 Ohms and voltage supply of 5 Volts.
V=5v
R=50Ω
I=V / R