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DC Circuits

Kirchhoff's Current Law

This fundamental law results from the conservation


of charge. It applies to a junction or node in a
circuit -- a point in the circuit where charge has
several possible paths to travel.

In Figure 1, we see that IA is the only current


flowing into the node. However, there are three
paths for current to leave the node, and these
current are represented by IB, IC, and ID.

Once charge has entered into the node, it has no


place to go except to leave (this is known as
conservation of charge). The total charge flowing
into a node must be the same as the the total charge
flowing out of the node. So,

IB + IC + ID = IA
Figure 1 Possible node (or junction) in a
Bringing everything to the left side of the above
circuit
equation, we get
(IB + IC + ID) - IA = 0

Then, the sum of all the currents is zero. This can be generalized as follows

DC Circuits

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (or Kirchhoff's Loop Rule) is a


result of the electrostatic field being conservative. It
states that the total voltage around a closed loop must be
zero. If this were not the case, then when we travel
around a closed loop, the voltages would be indefinite.
So

In Figure 1 the total voltage around loop 1 should sum to


Figure 1 Around a closed loop, the
zero, as does the total voltage in loop2. Furthermore, the
total voltage should be zero
loop which consists of the outer part of the circuit (the
path ABCD) should also sum to zero.

We can adopt the convention that potential gains (i.e. going from lower to higher potential, such
as with an emf source) is taken to be positive. Potential losses (such as across a resistor) will
then be negative. However, as long as you are consistent in doing your problems, you should be
able to choose whichever convention you like. It is a good idea to adopt the convention used in
your class.

COMPLICATED CIRCUITS
Here are some examples of complicated circuits which cannot be reduced to a series circuit or
a parallel circuit. One cannot find equivalent resistances using the rules from resistors in series or
in parallel. Instead, Kirchhoff's Current and Voltage Laws are used to solve these circuits.

Figure 1 This is an example of a Wheatstone Bridge


circuit, where the component labelled 'G' is a
galvanometer. This type of circuit is used to calculate
the resistance of an unknown resistor, RX. The other
three resistors are variable.

Figure 2 This circuit can be thought of as a 'T-


circuit'. It cannot be reduced to series or parallel
combinations of resistors because there is more than
one emf source.

Kirchhoff's Laws are not the only method of solving such circuits. Different methods have
arisen to solve complicated circuits, such as the Superposition Theorem. Some of these methods
are easier to use than others, and their simplicity is dependent on the specific circuit to be solved.

The Wheatstone Bridge is a fundamental circuit originally invented to measure resistance. To


see how this works look at the following simulated Wheatstone Bridge Experiment. Use the
"back" button to return to this point.

DC Circuits
SUPERPOSITION THEOREM
The superposition theorem is a method of solving circuits, often used in circuits with more
than one emf source. It uses Kirchhoff's Voltage Law.

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