HOMEPAGE | ELECTRICAL REFERENCES | FAVORITE INTERNET LINKS | HVAC/R | APPLIANCES | SAFETY PAGE | FEEDBACK

Return to Reference Page

ELECTRICAL THEORY

        I consider the very basics of the electrical craft to be
        whats called theory, which is where electricity comes from,
        what is it and how does it react to different actions.

        To be able to work with electricity proficiently you should
        have a basic understanding of what it is and where it comes
        from.

        Electricity is one of the few things of nature that God gives
        man the opportunity to control to some extent, for his own benifit.
        It is the movement of electrons a component of the atom which is
        a part of a molecule.
        It has it's laws that are always the same; regardless of what 
        man may try to impose on it, electricity always reacts in a 
        predictable manner. Knowing and understanding these laws gives
        you and I the ability to control electricity (the movement of 
        electrons).

        Electricity and electronics are related to the movement of electrons
        through some conducting medium to constitute what is known as
        Current Flow. Electron movement also creates fields that must
        be understood for their relation to the construction of such
        things as generators, transformers, capacitors, and numerous
        other electrical components and systems.

        The atom is a very small component consisting of a central core
        called a Nucleus and one or more electrons revolving around
        the core. These electrons are called planetary electrons
        because they revolve around the nucleus at different distances
        much the same as planets revolve around the sun.

        In a fashion much the same as the gravitational pull between the
        sun and the planets, there is an attraction between the electrons
        and its nucleus. The potential energy represented by the 
        attraction between the nucleus and any particular planetary
        electron of the atom is known as a charge. To distinguish 
        between the charge of an electron and a nucleus the electron
        is given a charge of negative or minus and the nucleus is 
        given a charge of positive or plus. The positive charge of 
        the nucleus however simply indicates the predominant or primary
        charge of the nucleus. It may consist of a number of positivly
        charged particles known as protons as well as a number of
        particles with no charge known as neutrons.

        In a normal atom, the total value of the positive charge of the
        nucleus is equal to the total negative charge established by the
        planetary electrons surrounding the nucleus. Since the nucleus
        has a positive value and the electrons have a negative value,
        they are equal though opposite in their charge relationship,
        the atomic structure as a whole may be considered as having
        a neutral charge.

        Because the nucleus has a positive charge and the electrons have
        a negative charge, an attraction is created between the nucleus
        and a planetary electrons. This attraction is in conformity with
        one of the most basic laws of electricity:
	UNLIKE CHARGES ATTRACT AND LIKE CHARGES REPEL.
	 Hence, the individual electrons having like charges (negative),
	repel each other; yet all are attracted to the positive nucleus.

        There are many different types of atoms, the number of electrons
        in its orbit as well as the composition of the nucleus determines
        it's type. The various types of atoms form the fundimental 
        structure of all substances or matter that exists on earth.
        When identical atoms are grouped together, they combine to form
        an element, and all matter is made up of either a single element
        or a combination of various elements.

        Elements that have the ability to lose electrons are usually metals
        while elements with a capacity for acquiring electrons are non
        metalic. Because it's electrons can be easily influenced copper
        is often used in electrical applications. If copper is formed
        into a length of wire, electron flow can be produced from one
        end to the other by applying pressure to the electrons through
        the use of a battery or other source of electical force.

        In copper, as in other elements, millions of atoms make up the
        structure. The single electron in the outer shell, as it travels
        in its orbit, may become equidistant between its own atom and the
        adjacent one. When this happens,, it is not under the exclusive
        attraction of either nucleus and can leave its own orbit to travel
        and enter another orbit of an adjacent atom. Hence, the electric
        pressure that is applied to such a free electron causes it to
        leave one atom and move on to the next. The second atom thus has
        a force applied to it, in the form of an arriving electron, and
        in turn transfers a free electron to the next atom. This progression
        of electrons through the copper wire is known ascurrent flow.

        When the outer shell or orbit of an atom is filled or almost 
        filled with electrons, movement through the element is difficult
        to produce and consequently the substance is called aninsulator
        which means it is a nonconductor of electricity or electrical
        current. When only a few electrons are part of the outer shell
        of the atoms the substance has the ability to permit current to
        flow through it on application of electric pressure and thus is
        known as aconductor.

Magnetism

        The changing of the number of electrons in the atoms of a substance
        causes fields to form in the area of the substance. There are two
        types of fields, electrostatic and electromagnetic. Electrostatic
        fields are created when a condition of either insufficient or excessive
        electrons exist. Magnetic fields are created by the alignment of 
        orbital spins of electrons. Electrostatic fields can be produced
        by applying friction to objects, which also produces electron
        movement. If for instance, a silk cloth is rubbed against a glass
        rod, it will tear electrons away from the rod and absorb them into
        its own atomic structure. As a result, the affected atoms of the 
        glass rod will have an electron deficiency and hence the rod is 
        said to be positively charged. An atom with one or more of it's
        normal quota of electrons removed becomes a positive ion and the
        net charge of the atom is positive. A group of such atoms, constituting
        a particular element, will cause that element to have a positive
        charge. Thus, rubbing the glass rod with silk caused an electron
        movement from the glass to the silk and created a positive charge 
        in the rod and a negative charge in the silk.

Fields

        A charged particle producesfieldsthat emanate from it.
        These fields can be likened to tenticles of electricity that,
        though invisible, extend out from the charged particle in all
        directions and are capable of influencing other charged materials.
        Thus, if two charged rods are suspended next to each other they
        will repel each other since the polarities of the fields are the
        same.

Lines of Force

        A common term used to describe electrostatic fields (as well as the
        magnetic fields) islines of force.This is a concept originating
        withMichael Faraday(1791-1867) the British physicist and 
        chemist who visualized the fields as having tension or stress.
        The lines of force are referenced as originating from the north
        pole or positive charge and terminating at the south pole or
        negative charge. A charged particle will hold it's charge in a 
        dormant or static state until it is discharged. The terms
        electrostatic charge and electrostatic lines of force are based
        on the word static.
        Charles Coulomb(1736-1806) was the first to state the law
        of charged bodies:

                The force between two electrically charged bodies is
                inversely proportional to the square of the distance
                between the two, and directly proportional to the 
                product of the two charges.

        The electrostatic charge unit is called the Coulomb in 
        honor of this French scientist, and the unit is the quantity
        of charge carried by electrons in the amount of 6.28 times the
        product of 10 multiplied by itself 18 times. Thus, to represent
        such a large number of electrons, a long string of zeros would
        be necessary, but there are abbreviated methods of writing them.
        The Coulomb is used to determine the amount of force applied
        between two magnetically charged objects.

             Force= m1 x m2 devided by D squared

        Where m1 and m2 represent the strength of each pole and D 
        represents the distance in centimeters between the two poles.

        As with other basic priciples of electronics and electricity
        early scientist focused their attention on magnetism and
        attempted to evaluate and explain it, as well as to set up
        fundamental laws governing its behavior. One of these earlier
        scientists was the German physicist Wilhelm Weber (1804-1891),
        who made the proposition that each molecule of a magnetic
        substance was a permanent magnet in itself. Later Sir James
        Ewing (1855-1935) the Scottish engineer and physicist offered
        an explanation of magnetism based on Weber's earlier theory. In 
        consequence the Weber-Ewing concepts are known as the
	molecular theory of magnetism. According to this theory
        the magnet molecules of magnetic material such as iron and steel
        are normally in a random arrangment, and their effect on each
        other is a neutralizing one; that is, the magnetic material has
        no overall polarity and no attraction for the other magnetic
        materials. When the material is magnetized the molecules are in
        orderly arrangement and one magnetic particle aids the other to
        form a north polarity at one end and a south polarity at the other,
	then it is a magnet or is said to be magnetized.
Top of Page