Conductors and Electrical Connections
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Modular Electronics Learning (ModEL) project * SPICE ckt v1 1 0 dc 12 v2 2 1 dc 15 r1 2 3 4700 r2 3 0 7100 .dc v1 12 12 1 .print dc v(2,3) .print dc i(v2) .end V = I R Conductors and Electrical Connections c 2017-2021 by Tony R. Kuphaldt – under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License Last update = 18 July 2021 This is a copyrighted work, but licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this license is found in the last Appendix of this document. Alternatively, you may visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons: 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. The terms and conditions of this license allow for free copying, distribution, and/or modification of all licensed works by the general public. ii Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Simplified Tutorial 5 3 Full Tutorial 7 3.1 Making and breaking connections ............................. 9 3.2 Connection resistance ................................... 10 3.3 Wire size and type ..................................... 13 3.4 Permanent connections ................................... 15 3.4.1 Mechanical splicing ................................. 16 3.4.2 Wire nuts ...................................... 18 3.4.3 Wire wrap ...................................... 19 3.4.4 Compression connectors .............................. 20 3.4.5 Terminal blocks ................................... 23 3.4.6 Solder ........................................ 28 3.5 Temporary connections .................................. 33 3.5.1 Alligator clips .................................... 34 3.5.2 Solderless breadboards ............................... 35 3.5.3 Plugs and sockets .................................. 36 3.5.4 Banana plugs and jacks .............................. 39 4 Derivations and Technical References 41 4.1 Derivation of electron drift velocity ............................ 42 4.2 Table of specific resistance values ............................. 44 5 Animations 45 5.1 Using a soldering iron ................................... 46 6 Questions 81 6.1 Conceptual reasoning .................................... 85 6.1.1 Reading outline and reflections .......................... 86 6.1.2 Foundational concepts ............................... 87 6.1.3 Switch contact size ................................. 88 6.1.4 Why use gold plating? ............................... 89 iii CONTENTS 1 6.1.5 Diagnostic thermal imaging ............................ 90 6.1.6 Soldering iron usage ................................ 91 6.1.7 Battery-lamp-switch circuit on a solderless breadboard ............. 92 6.2 Quantitative reasoning ................................... 93 6.2.1 Miscellaneous physical constants ......................... 94 6.2.2 Introduction to spreadsheets ........................... 95 6.2.3 Power losses over wires ............................... 98 6.2.4 Siemens model 3AP1/2 high-voltage circuit breaker .............. 100 6.2.5 Resistance of copper busbar ............................ 101 6.3 Diagnostic reasoning .................................... 102 6.3.1 Testing for a broken connection .......................... 103 6.3.2 Improper breadboard use ............................. 106 A Problem-Solving Strategies 109 B Instructional philosophy 111 C Tools used 117 D Creative Commons License 121 E References 129 F Version history 131 Index 132 2 CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction An essential step in constructing any electrical circuit is to make connections between component terminals (i.e. the metal tabs on components) and wires (i.e. conductors used to convey electrical charge carriers from one circuit component to another). A variety of methods exist to do this, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. This module describes many of these methods and seeks to explain why each method works as it does. Important concepts related to electrical connections includes the motion of charge carriers through conductors, switch action, wire resistance, opens versus shorts, wire gauge and area, safety standards, Joule’s Law, solid versus stranded wire, wire splicing, soldering, plugs and jacks, and printed circuit boards. Here are some good questions to ask of yourself while studying this subject: What universal properties do all “sound” electrical connections share? • What factors determine the end-to-end electrical resistance of a wire? • What determines the current-carrying capacity of a wire? • What type of wire must be used with compression-style connectors, and why? • How come there are so many different ways to connect wires together? • How is wire size measured? • How do solid and stranded wire types compare with each other? • Why do metal wires offer resistance to the flow of electric charge carriers? • Why does air and other gases offer great resistance to the flow of electric charge carriers? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of various connection methods? • How do terminal blocks function? • How does solder work to form an electrical connection between conductors? • 3 4 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION What is a printed circuit board (PCB) and how do they work? • How are electrical connections made between components using a solderless breadboard? • What are some of the limitations of a solderless breadboard? • Chapter 2 Simplified Tutorial Electric circuits are formed by connecting wires and components with each other in specific configurations. Effective electrical connections are reliable and of low resistance to minimize energy dissipation and excessive heating as charge carriers pass through. Electrical connections are made by bringing the surfaces of electrical conductors into tight physical contact with each other. The ideal electrical connection has maximum area of contact with minimum length, for minimum resistance. Electrically conductive materials are rated for their resistive properties by a quantity called specific resistance. All other factors being equal, a material having less specific resistance will be a better conductor of electricity than a material having more specific resistance. End-to-end conductor resistance is a function of cross-sectional area, length, and specific resistance. The cross-sectional area of a wire may be expressed by a wire gauge number (with smaller numbers representing larger-area wire) or alternatively by units of area (e.g. circular mils). The ampacity of a wire is the maximum continuous current it may carry without exceeding prescribed temperature limits. Wire is manufactured in both solid and stranded forms, with stranded having superior flexibility. Permanent electrical connections may be formed in several different ways: Wire splices (twisting wire-ends together) • Wire nuts (a device used to augment a pigtail splice) • Wire wrap (thin-gauge wire wrapped around square metal pegs) • Compression connectors (thin-gauge flat metal wrapped and compressed onto a wire’s end) • Terminal blocks (screw- or spring-fastened clamp onto a wire’s end) • Solder (low-temperature welding of two or more wires) • A popular format for the construction of low-power circuits is the printed circuit board (PCB) which uses conductive copper pathways laid onto an insulating fiberglass substrate, components typically attached to those copper traces by soldering. 5 6 CHAPTER 2. SIMPLIFIED TUTORIAL Several methods also exist to temporarily form electrical connections: Alligator clips (spring-loaded clamps) • Solderless breadboards (plastic boards with tiny spring-clips for insertion of terminals) • Plugs and sockets • Chapter 3 Full Tutorial All atoms contains even smaller bits of matter called particles. Some of these particles possess an electrical charge, which means they experience a force when exposed to an electric field. Electrically- charged subatomic particles are found in two fundamental types: some of them negative and others positive. Electricity is the study of mobile electric charges, and the exchange of energy by those moving charges. Some substances easily permit electric charges to move within them, and we refer to these substances as conductors of electricity. Other substances lack mobile electric charges, and we call these substances insulators of electricity. The degree to which electric charges are impeded from moving within a substance is called electrical resistance. The amount of energy either gained or lost by a mobile charge between two different locations is called voltage, and is measured in the unit of the Volt (one Volt being equal to one Joule of energy per Coulomb1 of electric charges). The rate of motion for electric charges through a conductor is called current, and is measured in the unit of the Ampere (one Ampere being equal to one Coulomb of electric charges passing by a point per second of time). Metals are the most common group of conductors used to construct electric circuits, because the molecular structure of any metal is such that the outer-most electrons of its constituent atoms are free to leave those atoms and drift in the space between adjacent atoms. This makes electrons the predominant form of charge carrier 2 within metals, because these negatively-charged electrons are free to move within the solid volume of the metal. Within some non-metallic conductors, such as liquids, both negatively charged electrons and positively charged atomic nuclei are free to drift through the bulk of the material which means there are two types of charge carriers (drifting in opposite directions when exposed