The defining characteristic of a parallel circuit is that all components are connected between the same set of electrically common points. Each individual path (through R 1, R 2, and R 3) is called a branch. And then there’s a third path from 8 to 7 to 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 and back to 8 again. There’s another from 8 to 7 to 6 to 3 to 2 to 1 and back to 8 again. There’s one path from 8 to 7 to 2 to 1 and back to 8 again. Now, let’s look at the other type of circuit, a parallel configuration:Īgain, we have three resistors, but this time they form more than one continuous path for electrons to flow. In this circuit the electrons flow in a counter-clockwise direction, from point 4 to point 3 to point 2 to point 1 and back around to 4. They serve only to identify one resistor from another.) The defining characteristic of a series circuit is that there is only one path for electrons to flow. (It should be noted that the subscript labeling-those little numbers to the lower-right of the letter “R”-are unrelated to the resistor values in ohms. Here, we have three resistors (labeled R 1, R 2, and R 3), connected in a long chain from one terminal of the battery to the other. There are two basic ways in which to connect more than two circuit components: series and parallel. Learn the Basic Ideas of Series and Parallel Connection.Let’s look at some really quick samples.\) It also makes sense - if the electricity has to first flow through one resistor and then another, it has to push its way through the resistance of both of them. To simplify series resistors, simply add them together. Let’s go over how to do this and I’d like to state that this is only applicable to resistors, though the principles will transfer quite nicely to other components later. Sometimes complex arrays of resistors or any other branches can be easily simplified if you can recognize things like that.īefore we get too excited, we do need to remember that not everything is in series or parallel, but it does crop up often enough that you not only should but almost certainly will become a natural at identifying and gaining insights from series and parallel circuits.īesides knowing that series branches share current and parallel branches have the same voltage across them, one of the big reasons parallel and series components are important is because you can typically simplify them. There are two resistors in series and those two resistors in series are in parallel with the single resistor. The third image makes things a bit more complicated, though. In the second image, even though there are more branches, all of them share the same two nodes, so they are all in parallel. Once again, some images will hopefully help.Īs you can easily see in the first and second image, these branches, once again represented by resistors, share both sides of their nodes. While the series devices have the same current through them, parallel devices have the same voltage across them. In this case, it doesn’t matter if other things are connected to either of those nodes - as long as the two-terminal elements have both elements connected to the same nodes, they’re in parallel. It’s important to note that just one of those resistors on the top is not in series with the bottom resistor, it’s that both of those resistors on top are in series with the single resistor below.įor branches to be in parallel, it’s when two or more two-terminal elements are connected to the same two nodes. Any current that flows through those top resistors will flow through the bottom resistor, so both those top resistors are in series with the bottom resistor. If you look at it in one way, grouping the top two resistors, then the top two resistors are in series with the bottom resistor. This is a more complicated example in that there is a single node that all three branches are connected to. In the second image, there are three branches, two resistors on top and one resistor on the bottom. Thus, any current that flows through one resistor is going to flow through the other. As you can see in the first image, there are two branches, both resistors, and there is a node between them that is exclusive to those two branches.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |