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Making connections: take-home investigation—filament observations

Find a lightbulb with a filament. Look carefully at the filament and describe its structure. To what points is the filament connected?

Section summary

  • Electric current I size 12{I } {} is the rate at which charge flows, given by
    I = Δ Q Δ t ,
    where Δ Q is the amount of charge passing through an area in time Δ t .
  • The direction of conventional current is taken as the direction in which positive charge moves.
  • The SI unit for current is the ampere (A), where 1 A = 1 C/s. size 12{1" A "=" 1 C/s."} {}
  • Current is the flow of free charges, such as electrons and ions.
  • Drift velocity v d size 12{v rSub { size 8{d} } } {} is the average speed at which these charges move.
  • Electrical signals travel at speeds about 10 12 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"12"} } } {} times greater than the drift velocity of free electrons.

Conceptual questions

Can a wire carry a current and still be neutral—that is, have a total charge of zero? Explain.

Car batteries are rated in ampere-hours ( A h size 12{A cdot h} {} ). To what physical quantity do ampere-hours correspond (voltage, charge, . . .), and what relationship do ampere-hours have to energy content?

Why are two conducting paths from a voltage source to an electrical device needed to operate the device?

In cars, one battery terminal is connected to the metal body. How does this allow a single wire to supply current to electrical devices rather than two wires?

Why isn’t a bird sitting on a high-voltage power line electrocuted? Contrast this with the situation in which a large bird hits two wires simultaneously with its wings.

Problems&Exercises

What is the current in milliamperes produced by the solar cells of a pocket calculator through which 4.00 C of charge passes in 4.00 h?

0.278 mA

A total of 600 C of charge passes through a flashlight in 0.500 h. What is the average current?

What is the current when a typical static charge of 0 . 250 μ C size 12{0 "." "250" mC} {} moves from your finger to a metal doorknob in 1.00 μ s size 12{1 "." "00" ms} {} ?

0.250 A

Find the current when 2.00 nC jumps between your comb and hair over a 0 . 500 - μ s size 12{0 "." "500"-μs} {} time interval.

A large lightning bolt had a 20,000-A current and moved 30.0 C of charge. What was its duration?

1.50ms

The 200-A current through a spark plug moves 0.300 mC of charge. How long does the spark last?

(a) A defibrillator passes 12.0 A of current through the torso of a person for 0.0100 s. How much charge moves? (b) How many electrons pass through the wires connected to the patient? (See figure two problems earlier.)

(a) 0.120 C

(b) 7 . 50 × 10 17 electrons size 12{7 "." "50"´"10" rSup { size 8{"17"} } " electrons"} {}

A clock battery wears out after moving 10,000 C of charge through the clock at a rate of 0.500 mA. (a) How long did the clock run? (b) How many electrons per second flowed?

The batteries of a submerged non-nuclear submarine supply 1000 A at full speed ahead. How long does it take to move Avogadro’s number ( 6 . 02 × 10 23 size 12{6 "." "02"´"10" rSup { size 8{"23"} } } {} ) of electrons at this rate?

96.3 s

Electron guns are used in X-ray tubes. The electrons are accelerated through a relatively large voltage and directed onto a metal target, producing X-rays. (a) How many electrons per second strike the target if the current is 0.500 mA? (b) What charge strikes the target in 0.750 s?

A large cyclotron directs a beam of He ++ size 12{"He" rSup { size 8{"++"} } } {} nuclei onto a target with a beam current of 0.250 mA. (a) How many He ++ size 12{"He" rSup { size 8{"++"} } } {} nuclei per second is this? (b) How long does it take for 1.00 C to strike the target? (c) How long before 1.00 mol of He ++ size 12{"He" rSup { size 8{"++"} } } {} nuclei strike the target?

(a) 7.81 × 10 14 He ++ nuclei/s

(b) 4.00 × 10 3 s

(c) 7.71 × 10 8 s

Practice Key Terms 3

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Source:  OpenStax, Concepts of physics. OpenStax CNX. Aug 25, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11738/1.5
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