When certain insulating materials are
rubbed together negatively charged
electrons will be scraped off one and
dumped on the other
Theyll leave a positive static charge on one
and a negative static charge on the other
Electrically charged objects attract
small objects near them
Only Electrons move never positive charges
Positive and negative electrostatic
charges are only ever produced by the
movement of electrons. The positive
charges do not move
A positive static charge is always caused by
electrons moving away elsewhere. The material
that loses electrons loses some negative charge
and is left with an equal positive charge
Like Charges repel opposite charges attract
When two charged objects
are brought together they
exert a force on one another
Two things with opposite charges are attracted to each other
Two things with the same electric charge will repel each other
These forces get weaker the further apart the two things are
Charges can move easily through Conductors
Metals are good conductors
Current and Potential difference
Current is the flow of electric charge
round the circuit. Current will only flow
through a component if there is a potential
difference across that component (A)
Potential difference if the driving force that pushes the current round (V)
Resistance is anything in the circuit which slows down the flow down (ohms)
The greater the resistance across a
component the smaller the current
that flows (for a given potential
difference across the component)
Total charge through a circuit depends on current and time
When current flows past a
point in a circuit (I) for a length
of time (t) then the charge (Q)
that has passed
Current = Charge / time
I = Q / t
Potential difference (P.D.) is the work done per unit charge
The potential difference (or voltage) is the
work done (the energy transformed
measured in J) per coulomb of charge that
passes between two points in an electrical
circuit
P.D. = Work done / Charge
V = W/Q
So the potential difference is the
amount of energy that is
transferred by that electrical
component per unit of charge
Voltage and potential difference mean the same thing
Circuits the basics
Circuit symbols
Fuse
LED
Diode
LDR
Thermistor
Standard test circuit
If you want to know the resistance of a component
Find the resistance by measuring current
through and the potential difference across
the component
The ammeter measures
the current (A) it has to be
placed in series never in
parallel
Voltmeter measures the potential
difference (V) must be placed in parallel
around the component under test
Resistance and V= I xR
Potential different current graphs
Diode - Current will only
flow through a diode in one
direction as shown. The
diode has very high
resistance in the opposite
direction
Different resisters - The current
through a resistor is directly
proportional to P.D.. Different resistors
have different resistances
Filament lamp - As the temperature
increases the resistance increases
hence the curve
Resistance increases with temperature
When electrical charge flows
through a resistor some of the
electrical energy is transferred to
heat energy and the resistor get
hot. This heat energy causes ions
in the conductor to vibrate more.
With the ions moving around its
harder for the charge carrying
electrons to get through the
resistor. The current cant flow as
easily.
Resistance, Potential
difference and Current
Potential Difference = current x resistance
V = I x R
If the graph curves it means
the resistance is changing