Materials are classified as conductors, insulators, or semiconductors according to their electric conductivity. The classifications can be understood in atomic terms. Electrons in an atom can have only certain well-defined energies, and, depending on their energies, the electrons are said to occupy particular energy levels. In a typical atom with many electrons, the lower energy levels are filled, each with the number of electrons allowed by a quantum mechanical rule known as the Pauli exclusion principle. Depending on the element, the highest energy level to have electrons may or may not be completely full. If two atoms of some element are brought close enough together so that they interact, the two-atom system has two closely spaced levels for each level of the single atom. If 10 atoms interact, the 10-atom system will have a cluster of 10 levels corresponding to each single level of an individual atom. In a solid, the number of atoms and hence the number of levels is extremely large; most of the higher energy levels overlap in a continuous fashion except for certain energies in which there are no levels at all. Energy regions with levels are called energy bands, and regions that have no levels are referred to as band gaps.

The highest energy band occupied by electrons is the valence band. In a conductor, the valence band is partially filled, and since there are numerous empty levels, the electrons are free to move under the influence of an electric field; thus, in a metal the valence band is also the conduction band. In an insulator, electrons completely fill the valence band; and the gap between it and the next band, which is the conduction band, is large. The electrons cannot move under the influence of an electric field unless they are given enough energy to cross the large energy gap to the conduction band. In a semiconductor, the gap to the conduction band is smaller than in an insulator. At room temperature, the valence band is almost completely filled. A few electrons are missing from the valence band because they have acquired enough thermal energy to cross the band gap to the conduction band; as a result, they can move under the influence of an external electric field. The “holes” left behind in the valence band are mobile charge carriers but behave like positive charge carriers.

For many materials, including metals, resistance to the flow of charge tends to increase with temperature. For example, an increase of 5° C (9° F) increases the resistivity of copper by 2 percent. In contrast, the resistivity of insulators and especially of semiconductors such as silicon and germanium decreases rapidly with temperature; the increased thermal energy causes some of the electrons to populate levels in the conduction band where, influenced by an external electric field, they are free to move. The energy difference between the valence levels and the conduction band has a strong influence on the conductivity of these materials, with a smaller gap resulting in higher conduction at lower temperatures.

The values of electric resistivities listed in Table 2 show an extremely large variation in the capability of different materials to conduct electricity. The principal reason for the large variation is the wide range in the availability and mobility of charge carriers within the materials. The copper wire in Figure 12, for example, has many extremely mobile carriers; each copper atom has approximately one free electron, which is highly mobile because of its small mass. An electrolyte, such as a saltwater solution, is not as good a conductor as copper. The sodium and chlorine ions in the solution provide the charge carriers. The large mass of each sodium and chlorine ion increases as other attracted ions cluster around them. As a result, the sodium and chlorine ions are far more difficult to move than the free electrons in copper. Pure water also is a conductor, although it is a poor one because only a very small fraction of the water molecules are dissociated into ions. The oxygen, nitrogen, and argon gases that make up the atmosphere are somewhat conductive because a few charge carriers form when the gases are ionized by radiation from radioactive elements on Earth as well as from extraterrestrial cosmic rays (i.e., high-speed atomic nuclei and electrons). Electrophoresis is an interesting application based on the mobility of particles suspended in an electrolytic solution. Different particles (proteins, for example) move in the same electric field at different speeds; the difference in speed can be used to separate the contents of the suspension.

A current flowing through a wire heats it. This familiar phenomenon occurs in the heating coils of an electric range or in the hot tungsten filament of an electric light bulb. This ohmic heating is the basis for the fuses used to protect electric circuits and prevent fires; if the current exceeds a certain value, a fuse, which is made of an alloy with a low melting point, melts and interrupts the flow of current. The power P dissipated in a resistance R through which current i flows is given bywhere P is in watts (one watt equals one joule per second), i is in amperes, and R is in ohms. According to Ohm’s law, the potential difference V between the two ends of the resistor is given by V = iR, and so the power P can be expressed equivalently as

In certain materials, however, the power dissipation that manifests itself as heat suddenly disappears if the conductor is cooled to a very low temperature. The disappearance of all resistance is a phenomenon known as superconductivity. As mentioned earlier, electrons acquire some average drift velocity v under the influence of an electric field in a wire. Normally the electrons, subjected to a force because of an electric field, accelerate and progressively acquire greater speed. Their velocity is, however, limited in a wire because they lose some of their acquired energy to the wire in collisions with other electrons and in collisions with atoms in the wire. The lost energy is either transferred to other electrons, which later radiate, or the wire becomes excited with tiny mechanical vibrations referred to as phonons. Both processes heat the material. The term phonon emphasizes the relationship of these vibrations to another mechanical vibration—namely, sound. In a superconductor, a complex quantum mechanical effect prevents these small losses of energy to the medium. The effect involves interactions between electrons and also those between electrons and the rest of the material. It can be visualized by considering the coupling of the electrons in pairs with opposite momenta; the motion of the paired electrons is such that no energy is given up to the medium in inelastic collisions or phonon excitations. One can imagine that an electron about to “collide” with and lose energy to the medium could end up instead colliding with its partner so that they exchange momentum without imparting any to the medium.

A superconducting material widely used in the construction of electromagnets is an alloy of niobium and titanium. This material must be cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero temperature, −263.66° C (or 9.5 K), in order to exhibit the superconducting property. Such cooling requires the use of liquefied helium, which is rather costly. During the late 1980s, materials that exhibit superconducting properties at much higher temperatures were discovered. These temperatures are higher than the −196° C of liquid nitrogen, making it possible to use the latter instead of liquid helium. Since liquid nitrogen is plentiful and cheap, such materials may provide great benefits in a wide variety of applications, ranging from electric power transmission to high-speed computing.

Electromotive force

A 12-volt automobile battery can deliver current to a circuit such as that of a car radio for a considerable length of time, during which the potential difference between the terminals of the battery remains close to 12 volts. The battery must have a means of continuously replenishing the excess positive and negative charges that are located on the respective terminals and that are responsible for the 12-volt potential difference between the terminals. The charges must be transported from one terminal to the other in a direction opposite to the electric force on the charges between the terminals. Any device that accomplishes this transport of charge constitutes a source of electromotive force. A car battery, for example, uses chemical reactions to generate electromotive force. The Van de Graaff generator shown in Figure 13 is a mechanical device that produces an electromotive force. Invented by the American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff in the 1930s, this type of particle accelerator has been widely used to study subatomic particles. Because it is conceptually simpler than a chemical source of electromotive force, the Van de Graaff generator will be discussed first.

An insulating conveyor belt carries positive charge from the base of the Van de Graaff machine to the inside of a large conducting dome. The charge is removed from the belt by the proximity of sharp metal electrodes called charge remover points. The charge then moves rapidly to the outside of the conducting dome. The positively charged dome creates an electric field, which points away from the dome and provides a repelling action on additional positive charges transported on the belt toward the dome. Thus, work is done to keep the conveyor belt turning. If a current is allowed to flow from the dome to ground and if an equal current is provided by the transport of charge on the insulating belt, equilibrium is established and the potential of the dome remains at a constant positive value. In this example, the current from the dome to ground consists of a stream of positive ions inside the accelerating tube, moving in the direction of the electric field. The motion of the charge on the belt is in a direction opposite to the force that the electric field of the dome exerts on the charge. This motion of charge in a direction opposite the electric field is a feature common to all sources of electromotive force.

In the case of a chemically generated electromotive force, chemical reactions release energy. If these reactions take place with chemicals in close proximity to each other (e.g., if they mix), the energy released heats the mixture. To produce a voltaic cell, these reactions must occur in separate locations. A copper wire and a zinc wire poked into a lemon make up a simple voltaic cell. The potential difference between the copper and the zinc wires can be measured easily and is found to be 1.1 volts; the copper wire acts as the positive terminal. Such a “lemon battery” is a rather poor voltaic cell capable of supplying only small amounts of electric power. Another kind of 1.1-volt battery constructed with essentially the same materials can provide much more electricity. In this case, a copper wire is placed in a solution of copper sulfate and a zinc wire in a solution of zinc sulfate; the two solutions are connected electrically by a potassium chloride salt bridge. (A salt bridge is a conductor with ions as charge carriers.) In both kinds of batteries, the energy comes from the difference in the degree of binding between the electrons in copper and those in zinc. Energy is gained when copper ions from the copper sulfate solution are deposited on the copper electrode as neutral copper ions, thus removing free electrons from the copper wire. At the same time, zinc atoms from the zinc wire go into solution as positively charged zinc ions, leaving the zinc wire with excess free electrons. The result is a positively charged copper wire and a negatively charged zinc wire. The two reactions are separated physically, with the salt bridge completing the internal circuit.

Figure 14 illustrates a 12-volt lead-acid battery, using standard symbols for depicting batteries in a circuit. The battery consists of six voltaic cells, each with an electromotive force of approximately two volts; the cells are connected in series, so that the six individual voltages add up to about 12 volts (Figure 14A). As shown in Figure 14B, each two-volt cell consists of a number of positive and negative electrodes connected electrically in parallel. The parallel connection is made to provide a large surface area of electrodes, on which chemical reactions can take place. The higher rate at which the materials of the electrodes are able to undergo chemical transformations allows the battery to deliver a larger current.

In the lead-acid battery, each voltaic cell consists of a negative electrode of pure, spongy lead (Pb) and a positive electrode of lead oxide (PbO₂). Both the lead and lead oxide are in a solution of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and water (H₂O). At the positive electrode, the chemical reaction is PbO₂ + SO−/4 ⁻ + 4H⁺ + 2e⁻ → PbSO₄ + 2H₂O + (1.68 V). At the negative terminal, the reaction is Pb + SO−/4 ⁻ → PbSO₄ + 2e⁻ + (0.36 V). The cell potential is 1.68 + 0.36 = 2.04 volts. The 1.68 and 0.36 volts in the above equations are, respectively, the reduction and oxidation potentials; they are related to the binding of the electrons in the chemicals. When the battery is recharged, either by a car generator or by an external power source, the two chemical reactions are reversed.

Direct-current circuits

The simplest direct-current (DC) circuit consists of a resistor connected across a source of electromotive force. The symbol for a resistor is shown in Figure 15; here the value of R, 60Ω, is given by the numerical value adjacent to the symbol. The symbol for a source of electromotive force, E, is shown with the associated value of the voltage. Convention gives the terminal with the long line a higher (i.e., more positive) potential than the terminal with the short line. Straight lines connecting various elements in a circuit are assumed to have negligible resistance, so that there is no change in potential across these connections. The circuit shows a 12-volt electromotive force connected to a 60Ω resistor. The letters a, b, c, and d on the diagram are reference points.

The function of the source of electromotive force is to maintain point a at a potential 12 volts more positive than point d. Thus, the potential difference V_a − V_d is 12 volts. The potential difference across the resistance is V_b − V_c. From Ohm’s law, the current i flowing through the resistor is

Since points a and b are connected by a conductor of negligible resistance, they are at the same potential. For the same reason, c and d are at the same potential. Therefore, V_b − V_c = V_a − V_d = 12 volts. The current in the circuit is given by equation (24). Thus, i = 12/60 = 0.2 ampere. The power dissipated in the resistor as heat is easily calculated using equation (22):

Where does the energy that is dissipated as heat in the resistor come from? It is provided by a source of electromotive force (e.g., a lead-acid battery). Within such a source, for each amount of charge dQ moved from the lower potential at d to the higher potential at a, an amount of work is done equal to dW = dQ(V_a − V_d). If this work is done in a time interval dt, the power delivered by the battery is obtained by dividing dW by dt. Thus, the power delivered by the battery (in watts) is

Using the values i = 0.2 ampere and V_a − V_d = 12 volts makes dW/dt = 2.4 watts. As expected, the power delivered by the battery is equal to the power dissipated as heat in the resistor.

Resistors in series and parallel

If two resistors are connected in Figure 16A so that all of the electric charge must traverse both resistors in succession, the equivalent resistance to the flow of current is the sum of the resistances.

Using R₁ and R₂ for the individual resistances, the resistance between a and b is given by

This result can be appreciated by thinking of the two resistors as two pieces of the same type of thin wire. Connecting the wires in series as shown simply increases their length to equal the sum of their two lengths. As equation (20) indicates, the resistance is the same as that given by equation (25a). The resistances R₁ and R₂ can be replaced in a circuit by the equivalent resistance R_ab. If R₁ = 5Ω and R₂ = 2Ω, then R_ab = 7Ω. If two resistors are connected as shown in Figure 16B, the electric charges have alternate paths for flowing from c to d. The resistance to the flow of charge from c to d is clearly less than if either R₁ or R₂ were missing. Anyone who has ever had to find a way out of a crowded theatre can appreciate how much easier it is to leave a building with several exits than one with a single exit. The value of the equivalent resistance for two resistors in parallel is given by the equation

This relationship follows directly from the definition of resistance in equation (20), where 1/R is proportional to the area. If the resistors R₁ and R₂ are imagined to be wires of the same length and material, they would be wires with different cross-sectional areas. Connecting them in parallel is equivalent to placing them side by side, increasing the total area available for the flow of charge. Clearly, the equivalent resistance is smaller than the resistance of either resistor individually. As a numerical example, for R₁ = 5Ω and R₂ = 2Ω, 1/R_cd = 1/5 + 1/2 = 0.7. Therefore, R_cd = 1/0.7 = 1.43Ω. As expected, the equivalent resistance of 1.43 ohms is smaller than either 2 ohms or 5 ohms. It should be noted that both equations (25a) and (25b) are given in a form in which they can be extended easily to any number of resistances.