Mark Z. Jacobson Stanford University

CEE 176B/276B
100% Clean, Renewable Energy and

Storage for Everything
Chapter 4
Electricity Basics
Mark Z. Jacobson
Stanford University
Definitions
Electricity
Free flowing movement of charged particles, either
Negatively-charged electrons
Negatively-charged ions
Positively-charged ions
Electric current
Flow of electric charge through either air or wire
Types of electricity
Static electricity
Lightning
Wired electricity
Wired Electricity
In a wire, atomic nuclei stay in a fixed position and electrons far from
their nucleus freely move about.
These conduction electrons wander from atom to atom and their

movement constitutes an electric current.
1 C = charge of 6.242 x 1018 electrons

1 A = 1 C/s (1 C of charge passes a given spot in 1 s)
Current (A) = change in charge q (C) per unit time t

i = dq/dt
Direct Current vs Alternating Current
Charges can be + or -. Direction of current = direction of + flow 
electrons moving to right means current is flowing to left
Direct current
Charge flows at constant rate in one direction.
Alternating current
Electrons flows to right then left then right sinusoidally over time
U.S., AC current 60 Hz = 60 cycles per second
Europe, AC current 50 Hz
Circuit With Light Bulb, Battery, Switch
Drift Velocity
Drift velocity (m/s)
Average speed of the net flow of electrons
vd = current (C/s) / (e-/m3 x charge(C/electron) x area(m2))
Find drift velocity in copper wire of x-sect 3.31x10-6 m2 if current=20 A

Cu molecular weight 63.55 g/mol; density 8,960 kg/m3; one e-/atom
e-/m3 = 1 e-/atom x 6.023x1023atoms/mol x 1 mol/63.55g x 8.96x106g/m3

= 8.49x1028 e-/m3
 vd = 20 C/s / (8.49x1028 e-/m3 x 1.602x10-19 C/e- x 3.31x10-6 m2)
= 0.00044 m/s = 1.6 m/hr
Drift Velocity Versus Current
Thus, the bulk movement of electrons is slow, but they don’t need to
move fast to carry a large amount of current.
As electrons collide with each other, they transfer energy to each other
causing a wave of electricity to travel down a wire at nearly the speed of
light.
With AC electricity, electrons reverse direction 60 times per second, so

they barely move at all.
Kirchoff’s Current Law
At every instant of time the sum of the currents flowing into any node of
a circuit must equal the sum of the currents leaving the node.
Voltage
Amount of energy (J) per unit charge (C)
v = dw/dq
Just as a lifted mass gains potential energy; a charge with its voltage
raised gains electrical energy
A 12-V battery provides 12 J of energy for every 1 C of charge it stores
Voltage is measured across components. Voltage across battery is 12 V

Voltage rises across a battery 12 V and drops across a lightbulb
Current is measured through components. Current through battery =10 A
Kirchoff’s Voltage Law
The sum of voltages around any loop of a circuit at any time is zero.
Thus, if a voltage across the battery (from negative to positive node) is

+12 V, the voltage across the light bulb is -12 V.
Power
Power (W) = energy (J) per unit time
dw dw dq
p= = =vi
dt dq dt
 v=12 V battery delivering i=10 A to a load supplies p=120 W
Energy (J) = integral of power, or dw = pdt
 p=120 W over 1 min gives (120 J/s) x 60 s = 7,200 J of energy

Resistance
Resistors oppose the flow of electrons through them by dropping voltage
proportional to current (which stays constant)
v = iR, where R is resistance in Ohms (W)
i = v/R
Power dissipated in a resistor (where R must equal v/i)
2 v2
p =vi =i R =
R
Resistance Examples
2
v
p =vi =i 2 R =
R
What is the resistance of a filament in a lamp designed to consume 60 W
if the power source is 12 V?
R = v2 / p = 12 V x 12 V / 60 W = 2.4 W
What is the current that flows?

i = p / v = 60 W / 12 V = 5 A
What is the energy consumed over 100 h?

E = p t = 60 W x 100 h = 6 kWh
Resistance in Series
Resistors wired in series: v=iR1 + iR2 + iR3 = iRS
 Total resistance of R1 and R2 in series is RS=R1+R2 +R3
Example. Total resistance in the circuit below is 1000 W = 1 kW

Resistance in Parallel
From Kirchoff‘s Current Law: i = i1 + i2 = v/R1 + v/R2 = v/RP

1
 R p =
1 1
+
R1 R 2
 v=i RP
The combined resistance in parallel is always less than either individual

resistance
Capacitor
Device to store electric charge; also
used to smoothen voltage in DC power
lines
Made of two parallel conducting

plates separated by a non-conducting
dielectric insulator, such as air or
paper.
Capacitor
When voltage from battery is
applied, negative charges from
negative side of battery accumulate
on plate attached to that end of wire,
creating a negative charge there.
Electrons from other plate flow to +
side of battery, creating + charge on
second capacitor plate. The charge
difference creates an electric field,
where electrostatic energy stored.
Capacitance
Describes ability of a capacitor to store electric charge (energy) in an
electric field (units of Farads, F)
q
C=
v
If plate area (A) is large relative to distance between (d) plates
 C=e0A/d e0=permittivity in a vacuum (F/m)

Current Through, Power in a Capacitor
Power needed to initiate a capacitor‘s change in voltage with time
dq dv dv
i = =C pc =vi =Cv
dt dt dt
If voltage change with time were infinite, then power would also be
infinite, which is impossible
 Capacitors resist rapid changes in voltage and are used to smoothen

DC voltage in power lines
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
A magnet moving toward or away from a coiled wire along a circuit

creates an electric current in the wire.
An electrical current flowing through a wire creates a circular magnetic

field around the wire.
Electromagnetism
Faraday’s August 29, 1831 experiment creating a brief current
Electromagnetism
Another Faraday experiment to create a current
DC Versus AC Electricity
DC electricity current flows in one direction. DC current and voltage are
independent of time. AC electricity current changes direction and
magnitude with time.
AC Generator (Alternator)
Rotation of magnetic field around set of stationary wire coils creates AC
voltage across the wire coils. The faster the shaft turns, the greater the
frequency that the current alternates.
AC Electricity
With AC electricity, current and voltage switch sign and magnitude
sinusoidally. Left: no phase angle; Right: 30o angle. Phase angles from
capacitors or inductors along circuit; affect current only
Frequency = number of full waves per second

U.S.: 60 Hz (60 waves/s); Europe, 50 Hz
3-Phase Electricity
Smoothens current (reduces flicker) relative to single phase
Electricity generated by three equally-spaced coils of wire moving
through a magnetic field (left) or a magnetic field moving through three
pairs of coiled wires (right)
AC Electricity
Voltage & current vary sinusoidally
v(t)=Vmcoswt
i(t)=Imcos(wt+f)
w=angular freq (rad/s)=2pf
f=frequency (1/s)
Period T=1/f
f=phase angle (rad)=fractional period difference between i(t), v(t) peaks

AC Electricity
With AC electricity, v, i are root-mean-square (rms) values and p is an
average value. Thus, 120 V AC is Vrms
v=Vrms=√[(Vm2cos2wt)avg]=Vm/√2
i=Irms=√[(I2mcos2 (wt+f))avg]=Im/√2
p=vi=VrmsIrms=Pavg
Find resistance and current for 60 W bulb powered by 120 V AC:

R=v2/p=1202/60=240 W
AC Electricity With Capacitor
Current leads voltage with capacitor since current must flow before
capacitor shows voltage
AC Electricity With Inductor
Current lags voltage since must supply voltage to inductor before current
flows
Inductor
Used with transmission systems to limit abnormal currents
Insulated wire coiled around iron core. When current passes through
coil, creates magnetic field in which energy is stored.
Analogous to a capacitor, which store energy in an electric field
Oppose changes in current by dropping voltage proportional to the

change in current with time
v(t)=Ldi(t)/dt, L=inductance (Henrys)

Reactive Power
Real power
Energy/time used to run a motor or heat a home. It is the result of a
circuit with resistive components only.
Reactive power
“Imaginary” power that does not do useful work but moves back and
forth within power lines. Byproduct of an AC system that has inductive
and/or capacitive loads and arises due to a phase difference (f) between
voltage and current. It represents the product of Volts x Amperes that are
out of phase with each other
Reactive Power
DC circuit: p=iv (active, or real power)
AC circuit
Apparent power S=iv = vector sum of
Active power p=ivcosf
Reactive power Q=ivsinf
f is phase angle between current and voltage.
Purely resistant AC circuit (iron, heater,

filament bulbs), f=0, so Q=0 and S=p
Power factor = p/S. Should be >0.95 for

Highest efficiency
Reactive Power
Reactive power important for 3 reasons:
1) Smoothens voltage on transmission grid by supplying or absorbing it
2) A sufficient amount of reactive power is needed to avoid blackouts
3) Transformers, motors, and generators require reactive power to

produce magnetic flux
Reactive Power
Generators are used to supply or absorb reactive power to maintain a

constant voltage (“voltage support”) when voltage is too low or high on
the grid.
Such generators have high heat losses so don’t produce much real power.
They are paid for reactive power.
Transformers
Transformers
1882 Edison’s first electric utility used DC power
DC voltages were low, currents were high, and power losses (pw =i2Rw)
were high, so voltages dropped significantly along lines
Westinghouse introduced AC generation and used transformers to boost

voltage entering transmission lines in order to reduce current. Voltage
was reduced back down to safe levels at customer locations.
Decreasing Current Reduces Line Losses
Doubling v along a transmission line reduces i by a factor of 2 at same
power since p=vi.
Since power loss along a wire, pw=vwi=i2Rw, where vw=iRw is the voltage
loss across the wire, cutting i in half decreases power loss by a factor of
4.
Raising voltages by a factor of 10 decreases line losses by a factor of

100. Modern systems generate 12-25 kV. Transformers boost that to 100-
1000 kV and down again to 4-35 kV
Step-Up Transformer
Analogous to toothed gears
Transformers
A transformer steps voltage up or down from a powered coil to an
unpowered coil.
The AC voltage induced in the unpowered coil equals that in the

powered coil x ratio of secondary coil turns to primary coil turns.
Transformers don’t work with DC

Step-Up Transformer
When transmitting power over long distances, most efficient with
stepped-up voltages and stepped-down currents to minimize i2Rw power
losses, then step the voltage back down and current up for consumers.
HVDC Transmission
High-voltage direct current (HVDC) uses DC for most of the
transmission distance. It has lower line losses than AC and cost less. But,
for short distance, AC costs less because of greater conversion
equipment for DC.
HVDC uses voltages 100 kV to 1,500 kV.

120 V – 240 V Outlets
Home wall receptor receives 60 Hz AC power at 120 V (110-125 V).
Some appliances (e.g., dryer) require 240 V.
Transformer on power pole steps down voltage from utility distribution

from 4.16-34.5 kV to 120 V or 240 V.

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Mark Z. Jacobson Stanford University

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CEE 176B/276B

100% Clean, Renewable Energy and

These conduction electrons wander from atom to atom and their

1 C = charge of 6.242 x 1018 electrons

Current (A) = change in charge q (C) per unit time t

Find drift velocity in copper wire of x-sect 3.31x10-6 m2 if current=20 A

e-/m3 = 1 e-/atom x 6.023x1023atoms/mol x 1 mol/63.55g x 8.96x106g/m3

With AC electricity, electrons reverse direction 60 times per second, so

A 12-V battery provides 12 J of energy for every 1 C of charge it stores

Voltage is measured across components. Voltage across battery is 12 V

Thus, if a voltage across the battery (from negative to positive node) is

Energy (J) = integral of power, or dw = pdt

 p=120 W over 1 min gives (120 J/s) x 60 s = 7,200 J of energy

v = iR, where R is resistance in Ohms (W)

Power dissipated in a resistor (where R must equal v/i)

What is the current that flows?

What is the energy consumed over 100 h?

 Total resistance of R1 and R2 in series is RS=R1+R2 +R3

Example. Total resistance in the circuit below is 1000 W = 1 kW

From Kirchoff‘s Current Law: i = i1 + i2 = v/R1 + v/R2 = v/RP

The combined resistance in parallel is always less than either individual

Made of two parallel conducting

 C=e0A/d e0=permittivity in a vacuum (F/m)

 Capacitors resist rapid changes in voltage and are used to smoothen

A magnet moving toward or away from a coiled wire along a circuit

An electrical current flowing through a wire creates a circular magnetic

Frequency = number of full waves per second

w=angular freq (rad/s)=2pf

f=phase angle (rad)=fractional period difference between i(t), v(t) peaks

Find resistance and current for 60 W bulb powered by 120 V AC:

Oppose changes in current by dropping voltage proportional to the

v(t)=Ldi(t)/dt, L=inductance (Henrys)

Purely resistant AC circuit (iron, heater,

Power factor = p/S. Should be >0.95 for

1) Smoothens voltage on transmission grid by supplying or absorbing it

2) A sufficient amount of reactive power is needed to avoid blackouts

3) Transformers, motors, and generators require reactive power to

Generators are used to supply or absorb reactive power to maintain a

Westinghouse introduced AC generation and used transformers to boost

Raising voltages by a factor of 10 decreases line losses by a factor of

The AC voltage induced in the unpowered coil equals that in the

Transformers don’t work with DC

HVDC uses voltages 100 kV to 1,500 kV.

Transformer on power pole steps down voltage from utility distribution

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