Introduction

The recorded observations related to various electrical events and facts are found dating back to the fifth century BC. The lighting in a stormy night, or the attraction between a rubbed amber and cat's fur have always provoked human curiosity. But, it was merely a subject of the philosopher's mind, rather than the business of technology. It was only in the mid-sixteenth century that scientists developed techniques to store electrical charge. Suddenly, like a flash of thunder, everything was changed. We were able to convert a spontaneous event into a continuous operation. The technology had shifted from the era of the mechanical intentions to the era of electrical progression. We can call it a paradigm shift of technology.

Like any other paradigm shift, this change did not occur overnight. We have achieved the great electrical inventions through gradual efforts by scientists. Different theories and formulae had made it possible. In this chapter, we are going to discuss these preliminary concepts and related theories to begin with, starting with static electrical charges to laws of current electricity. We shall also observe that the application of these theories requires a great deal of measurement and quantification of various electrical parameters, such as electrical potential, current flow and resistance. Let us explore this world of electricity from the perspective of an electrical engineer.