What is Electric Current Means?

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Electric current is the flow of charge particles, that as electrons or holes, these charge particles are moving through a space or electrical conductor such as electrical wires. It is defined as the rate at which electrical charge flows through a surface. The particles that move through the surface are charge carriers. Which may be different type of particles, it depends on the conductor type. 

• In electric circuit the charge carriers are electrons which move through a wire 
• In semiconductors the charge carriers are electron or holes 
• In electrolyte the carriers are ions 
• In plasma there is an ionized gas, so the charge carriers are ions and electrons. 

Its SI unit is ampere or amp, the flow of electric charge through a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. Electric current is measured on an ammeter or ampere meter. 

Electric current creates magnetic field when it moves through winding which is used in motors, generators, transformers, inductors. Electric currents are used in telecommunication to broadcast the information which is done through the time varying current. It causes joule heating which produces light which is used in incandescent light bulbs. 

The symbol of current is”I“

Definition of electric current

“The rate of flow of electron in a conductor is called current.”

Electron is a very small particle which exists in the molecular structure of a substance. Sometime electrons are tightly bounded, and sometime electrons are loosely bounded. The electrons which are loosely bound can move freely in the body of conductor.

Electrons are negative particles when they move, it means charges are moved and this movement of electron is called electrical current. It is an electron which brings the ability to the conductor to conduct electricity. There are some materials in which electrons can move better than the others, due to this property materials are classified into conductor and insulator. 

The Role of conductor in Electrical current?

Conductors are the materials which allow the charges to move freely its body. It allows the electron to move from body to another. The movement of electron inside the conductor creates current and the force which is required to move the charges in the conductor is called voltage. 

Example of conductor

Human body, solution of salt, and metals such as iron, silver and gold 

Note:

Silver and gold are a good conductor.

The Role of insulator in Electrical current?

Insulators are materials which do not allow charge particles to move freely. It restricts electrons from moving from one body to another. 

Example of insulator

The following are the best example of insulator. 

• Plastic 
•  Wood 
•  Glass 

Electrical circuits need energy sources like batteries which produce voltage. Without voltage electron flow randomly and undirected. Voltage moves electrons in one direction. An electrical circuit is a closed loop in which electron flow in one direction. 

How electrical current generate electromotive force (emf)? 

Electrons are flowing undirected in electrical circuit when no force is applied on them. Now to make them in a particular direction some extra force is required. The force which acts on the electron to give them a single direction is called electromotive force. It is also called voltage which is measured in volts. 

What is the Unit of an electric current?

Electric current is measured in ampere which is denoted by a latter A. ampere is defined as one Columb charge flow in per second. 

Difference between Conventional current flow vs electron flow

A lot of confusion is there in conventional current flow and electron flow lets solve this confusion. 

What is the Conventional current flow?

It is a flow of electric current from positive to the negative terminal and its direction is toward positive charges. 

What is an Electron flow?

It is a flow from negative to positive terminal. Electrons are negative charge particles so positive charge attracts negative charges. 

What are the Main Properties of electric current?

• Work is done in moving of electron in electrical conductor, this work sone is called electrical energy. Electrical energy ca be converted to other forms which include heat energy and light energy. 
• There is ae two types of electric current, which includes DC and AC. Direct current can move only in one direction, and it is mostly used in low voltage applications, alternating current can move in two directions, and it is used in high voltage applications. 
• There are two directing of electrical current which is conventional direction and electron direction. Conventional direction is from positive to negative, and electron direction is from negative to positive.  

 

What are the Effects of electrical current? 

Heating effect of electric current: when current flows through a conductor heat is produced like an iron box. 

Equation for heating effect 

Heating effect depend upon the following points which is.

• Time (t): longer the time in which current flow in a conductor move heat will produce. 
• Electrical resistance: the higher the resistance, the higher will be the. 
• Amount of current: the higher the current, the higher will be the heat. The lower the current, the lower will be the heat which will not be noticed. 

 

what is the Magnetic effect of the current? 

When electric current flows in conductor it produces magnetic field. When compass is place near the conducting wire which carries electric current. When the needle of the compass deflect it means magnetic field produced. 

What is the Chemical effect of the electric current?

When electric current passes through a solution, the solution gets ionized and breaks into ions because chemical reaction occurs in it. When electric current passes through a solution the following effects can occur. 

• It can change the color of the solution. 
• It can create a metallic deposit on the electrode of the conductor. 
• It can release gas. 
• It can produce bubbles in the solution. 

  

What is Mean by Convention of Electric current?

The direction of current, also called the conventional direction, is from positive to negative in a conductor in electrical circuit the positive charge is fixed that as not move while the negative charge is the carrier. In semiconductors the carrier can be positive or negative. The positive charge carrier gives the same amount of current as negative, but the direction will be opposite. 

Reference direction of the current:  

A current in a wire or electrical circuit can flow in either direction. Usually, arrows represent the direction of the current which is called the reference direction of the current. When analyzing the circuit, the direction of the current is unknown till the analysis is completed. When the analysis is solved, the negative value gives the actual direction of the current. 

Mathematically current can be express as 

 I=dq / dt 

Here I express current, Q is charge and T is time.

What is Mean by Alternating and direct current 

What is Mean by Alternating current 

In alternating current, the current reverses its direction periodically such as sine wave. Triangular, square wave, audio wave and video wave are also examples of alternating current. AC current is used in residences, offices, and in industries.  

What is the Advantage of Alternating Current? 

• Generation: alternating current can generate easily that rotate a coil of wire in magnetic field or rotate a magnet around a coil. Commutator and rectifier are not required in AC generation while in DC it is needed. 
• Transformation: Alternating current can step up and step down through transformer. Transformer is a device which uses electromagnetic induction to change the level of current and voltage while frequency keeps constant. 
• Power factor correctio: alternating current can be adjusted for improving power factor. 

What are the Applications of Alternating Current? 

• Alternating current is used in power generation, transmission and conversion. 
• Alternation current is used in electric Moters. An electric motor is a device which is used to convert one form of power to another form. 
• It is used in electric heating and lighting which is installed in homes and offices. 
• It is used in communication devices that use AC signals for transmitting and receiving information. 
• It is used in battery power devices.  

What is Mean by a Direct current?

In direct current the current is only in one direction. DC current is also called unidirectional or unidirectional current. Direct current is generated by batteries, solar cells, commutators. 

What is the Advantage of DC current?

• Power efficiency: DC power is more efficient than AC power. Mainly for clean sources of energy which include wind and solar power. 
• Compatibility: there are many electronic devices which are operated by DC power. 
• Speed control: it is used to control the speed of DC motors in electric and hybrid cars. 
• Power quality: its power quality is high, and installation cost is lower. 

What is the Application of DC current?

• Electroplating: direct current is used in electroplating. Electroplating is a process in which a thin layer of metal is coated by another metal and this process is done through electrolysis. 
• Electronic devices: there are many electronic devices in which DC power is used such as smartphones, laptops, television etc. 
• Electric vehicle: it is used in hybrid and electronic cars. 
• Telecommunication: it is used in telecommunication and data centers. 

How to Measure an Electrical current?

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Ammeter is used to measure the current. But it can also be measured through galvanometer, but to use this method we must break the circuit, which is sometime give wrong reading, by rectification the AC current can be converted to DC current.

 

Different measuring method of Electrical current

• Hall effect 
• Magneto resistive 
• Current clamps 
• Shunt resistors. 

 

Frequently asked question FAQs 

What is an Ammeter? 

Ans: ammeter is a device which is used to measure the electric current. The ammeter is connected in series with the circuit to measure the current 

What is a clamp meter? 

Ans: clamp meter is also used to measure the electric current, but it is used to measure high voltage. Whether the current is AC or DC. 

Where does electric charge exist?

Ans: when there is a flow of charge the electric current will exit.