electrical circuit

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Magnet switch controller, circuit (Electrical Machinery, 1917)

Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is both a basic part of nature and one of our most widely used forms of energy.

Explore – What’s the problem? Why?

  • DiscoverE Squishy Circuits – Game consoles, smartphones and even refrigerators all use electric circuits! Get your students excited about engineering by designing their first electronic device and incorporating it into their favorite artwork. This 30-minute interactive Squishy Circuits activity provides the relevant terminology, troubleshooting tips, and guidance for adapting the lesson plan for students ranging from K-12 grade. —sweNextEd

Examples – What can it do? * solutions

Engineering – How did they do that? How does it work?

Electricity is actually a secondary energy source, also referred to as an energy carrier. That means that we get electricity from the conversion of other sources of energy, such as coal, nuclear, or solar energy. These are called primary sources. The energy sources we use to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or nonrenewable.

  • littleBits.cc (video 2:11) – an open source library of electronic modules that snap together with magnets in a safe, easy way for kids to build and learn. The various modules incorporate sight, sound, buttons, thresholds, sensors, pulse, motors, etc. littleBits let’s kids make larger and larger circuits for elaborate projects and ingenious creations.

Electricity and magnetism

Electrical circuits – Electrons with a negative charge, can’t “jump” through the air to a positively charged atom. They have to wait until there is a link or bridge between the negative area and the positive area. We usually call this bridge a “circuit.” When a bridge is created, the electrons begin moving quickly. Depending on the resistance of the material making up the bridge, they try to get across as fast as they can. If you’re not careful, too many electrons can go across at one time and destroy the “bridge” or the circuit, in the process.

Electric Circuits. The field of circuits applies physics of electrical phenomena to the design, analysis, and simulation of linear electric circuits and measurements of their properties. The principles are used in circuit designs for wide ranging applications such as motors, cell phones, and computers. For example, an electrical engineer would have used Circuits extensively in the design in 1980 of the first circuit board with built-in self-testing technology.

Maxwell’s equations – a set of four partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electrodynamics, classical optics, and electric circuits. These in turn underlie the present radio-, television-, phone-, and information-technologies.

Electrical charge
Electrical current. Ampere. Voltage
Battery
Power. Resistance. Conductance. Capacitance

RLC circuit – A circuit containing resistance (R), inductance (L), and capacitance (C)

Series. Parallel. Resistors
Filter

  • circuit] – This is when the circuit divides to make two or more pathways for the current to flow.

That’s engineering

  • integrated circuit – an electronic circuit of transistors etched onto a small piece of silicon which is sometimes referred to as a microchip
  • resistance (R) – the repulsion of a current in a circuit
  • inductance (L) –
  • capacitance (C) – the ability of a body to store electric charge. A common device to do such task is a capacitor. The SI unit for capacitance is farad.

Engineering ideas

  • electrical charge, electrical current, ampere, voltage, battery power, resistance, conductance, capacitance, series, parallel, resistors, circuits, current flow

Do it
Now it is your turn. Here are some challenges for you to work on…

  • Ohm Zone (requires shockwave) – a simulator for basic electrical circuits. It shows some of the basic laws of electricity and how they are applied. You can construct your own circuits and the simulator will tell you what each component is and what it does.
  • Signal circuits – flip the switch and watch the electrons.
  • Energy Flows – Select and arrange various objects to complete the flow of energy in a series of fun challenges.
  • Simplicity of Electricity – learn how to troubleshoot a circuit, design a switch and build and test a signaling device. ,pdf guide
  • Snap Circuits – modular snap-together parts allowing students to build 100s of experiments. With an easy-to-read color manual students can build projects that teach about motors, batteries, lamps, speakers, resistors, capacitors and switches.
  • PhET Interactive Science Simulations (interactive simulations, website) – includes circuit builder
  • Electrical ToolKit(calculator, app,free) – smart & handy tool, recalculate circuit values when user edits any input data.

Learn more…

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