34 Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Electric Circuits

while in a low-power microelectronic circuit (e.g., an FM radio) a short length of

24-gauge wire (refer to Table 2.3 for the resistance of 24-gauge wire) is a more than
adequate short circuit. Table 2.3 summarizes the resistance for a given length of some
commonly used gauges of electrical wire. Additional information on American Wire
Gauge Standards may be found on the Internet.
Table 2.3 Resistance of copper wire
Number of Diameter per Resistance per
AWG size strands strand (in) 1,000 ft (!)
24 Solid 0.0201 28.4
24 7 0.0080 28.4
22 Solid 0.0254 18.0
22 7 0.0100 19.0
20 Solid 0.0320 11.3
i 20 7 0.0126 11.9
+ 18 Solid 0.0403 7.2
The open circuit: 18 7 0.0159 7.5
v R→∞ 16 Solid 0.0508 4.5
i = 0 for any v 16 19 0.0113 4.7
14 Solid 0.0641 2.52
– 12 Solid 0.0808 1.62
Figure 2.35 The open 10 Solid 0.1019 1.02
8 Solid 0.1285 0.64
circuit
6 Solid 0.1620 0.4
4 Solid 0.2043 0.25
2 Solid 0.2576 0.16

R1 A circuit element whose resistance approaches infinity is called an open circuit.

+ v1 –
Intuitively, we would expect no current to flow through an open circuit, since it offers
+
1.5 V +
_ v2 R2 infinite resistance to any current. In an open circuit, we would expect to see zero
i –
current regardless of the externally applied voltage. Figure 2.35 illustrates this idea.
– v3 +
In practice, it is not too difficult to approximate an open circuit: Any break in
The current i flows through each of continuity in a conducting path amounts to an open circuit. The idealization of the open
the four series elements. Thus, by
KVL,
circuit, as defined in Figure 2.35, does not hold, however, for very high voltages. The
1.5 = v1 + v2 + v3 insulating material between two insulated terminals will break down at a sufficiently
high voltage. If the insulator is air, ionized particles in the neighborhood of the two
conducting elements may lead to the phenomenon of arcing; in other words, a pulse of
RN current may be generated that momentarily jumps a gap between conductors (thanks
to this principle, we are able to ignite the air-fuel mixture in a spark-ignition internal
combustion engine by means of spark plugs). The ideal open and short circuits are
useful concepts and find extensive use in circuit analysis.
Rn

Series Resistors and the Voltage Divider Rule

REQ
R3 Although electric circuits can take rather complicated forms, even the most involved
circuits can be reduced to combinations of circuit elements in parallel and in series.
R2
Thus, it is important that you become acquainted with parallel and series circuits as
early as possible, even before formally approaching the topic of network analysis.
Parallel and series circuits have a direct relationship with Kirchhoff’s laws. The
R1
objective of this section and the next is to illustrate two common circuits based on
series and parallel combinations of resistors: the voltage and current dividers. These
N series resistors are equivalent to circuits form the basis of all network analysis; it is therefore important to master these
a single resistor equal to the sum of topics as early as possible.
the individual resistances.
For an example of a series circuit, refer to the circuit of Figure 2.36, where a
Figure 2.36 battery has been connected to resistors R1 , R2 , and R3 . The following definition applies:
 Part I Circuits 35

Definition
Two or more circuit elements are said to be in series if the current from one
➲
LO4
element exclusively flows into the next element. From KCL, it then follows
that all series elements have the same current.

By applying KVL, you can verify that the sum of the voltages across the three resistors
equals the voltage externally provided by the battery

1.5 V = v1 + v2 + v3

And since, according to Ohm’s law, the separate voltages can be expressed by the
relations

v1 = iR1 v2 = iR2 v3 = iR3

we can therefore write

1.5 V = i(R1 + R2 + R3 )

This simple result illustrates a very important principle: To the battery, the three series
resistors appear as a single equivalent resistance of value REQ , where

REQ = R1 + R2 + R3

The three resistors could thus be replaced by a single resistor of value REQ without
changing the amount of current required of the battery. From this result we may
extrapolate to the more general relationship defining the equivalent resistance of N
series resistors

N
!
REQ = Rn Equivalent series resistance (2.19)
n=1

which is also illustrated in Figure 2.36. A concept very closely tied to series resistors
is that of the voltage divider. This terminology originates from the observation that
the source voltage in the circuit of Figure 2.36 divides among the three resistors
according to KVL. If we now observe that the series current i is given by
1.5 V 1.5 V
i= =
REQ R1 + R2 + R3
we can write each of the voltages across the resistors as:
R1
v1 = iR1 = (1.5 V)
REQ
R2
v2 = iR2 = (1.5 V)
REQ
R3
v3 = iR3 = (1.5 V)
REQ
36 Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Electric Circuits

That is,

➲
LO4
The voltage across each resistor in a series circuit divides in direct proportion
to the individual series resistances.

An instructive exercise consists of verifying that KVL is still satisfied, by adding the
voltage drops around the circuit and equating their sum to the source voltage:
R1 R2 R3
v1 + v 2 + v 3 = (1.5 V) + (1.5 V) + (1.5 V) = 1.5 V
REQ REQ REQ
since REQ = R1 + R2 + R3

Therefore, since KVL is satisfied, we are certain that the voltage divider rule is
consistent with Kirchhoff’s laws. By virtue of the voltage divider rule, then, we can
always determine the proportion in which voltage drops are distributed around a
circuit. This result is useful in reducing complicated circuits to simpler forms. The
general form of the voltage divider rule for a circuit with N series resistors and a
voltage source is

➲
LO4 vn =
Rn
R1 + R2 + · · · + Rn + · · · + RN
vS Voltage divider (2.20)

➲
LO4 EXAMPLE 2.11 Voltage Divider
Problem
VS Determine the voltage v3 in the circuit of Figure 2.37.
+–
R1
+ –
R3 v3 v1 Solution
– i +
R2
Known Quantities: Source voltage; resistance values.
+ v2 –
Find: Unknown voltage v3 .
Figure 2.37
Schematics, Diagrams, Circuits, and Given Data: R1 = 10 !; R2 = 6 !; R3 = 8 !;
VS = 3 V. Figure 2.37.

Analysis: Figure 2.37 indicates a reference direction for the current (dictated by the polarity
of the voltage source). Following the passive sign convention, we label the polarities of the
three resistors, and apply KVL to determine that
VS − v1 − v2 − v3 = 0
The voltage divider rule tells us that
R3 8
v3 = VS × =3× =1V
R1 + R2 + R3 10 + 6 + 8
 Part I Circuits 37

Comments: Application of the voltage divider rule to a series circuit is very straightforward.
The difficulty usually arises in determining whether a circuit is in fact a series circuit. This
point is explored later in this section, and in Example 2.13.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Repeat Example 2.11 by reversing the reference direction of the current, to show that the same
result is obtained.

Parallel Resistors and the Current Divider Rule

A concept analogous to that of the voltage divider may be developed by applying
Kirchhoff’s current law to a circuit containing only parallel resistances.

Definition
Two or more circuit elements are said to be in parallel if the elements share
➲
LO4
the same terminals. From KVL, it follows that the elements will have the same
voltage.

Figure 2.38 illustrates the notion of parallel resistors connected to an ideal current
source. Kirchhoff’s current law requires that the sum of the currents into, say, the top
node of the circuit be zero:
iS = i1 + i2 + i3
But by virtue of Ohm’s law we may express each current as follows:
v v v
i1 = i2 = i3 =
R1 R2 R3
since, by definition, the same voltage v appears across each element. Kirchhoff’s
current law may then be restated as follows:
1 1 1
" #
iS = v + +
R1 R2 R3

KCL applied at this node

+
i1 i2 i3 R1 R2 R3 Rn RN REQ
iS R1 R2 R3 v

–
N resistors in parallel are equivalent to a single equivalent
The voltage v appears across each parallel resistor with resistance equal to the inverse of the sum of
element; by KCL, iS = i1 + i2 + i3 the inverse resistances.

Figure 2.38 Parallel circuits

38 Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Electric Circuits

Note that this equation can be also written in terms of a single equivalent resistance
1
iS = v
REQ
1 1 1 1
where = + +
REQ R1 R2 R3
As illustrated in Figure 2.38, we can generalize this result to an arbitrary number of
resistors connected in parallel by stating that N resistors in parallel act as a single
equivalent resistance REQ given by the expression
1 1 1 1
= + + ··· + (2.21)
REQ R1 R2 RN

1 Equivalent parallel
or REQ = (2.22)
1/R1 + 1/R2 + · · · + 1/RN resistance

Very often in the remainder of this book we refer to the parallel combination of two
or more resistors with the notation
R1 " R2 " · · ·
where the symbol " signifies “in parallel with.”
From the results shown in equations 2.21 and 2.22, which were obtained directly
from KCL, the current divider rule can be easily derived. Consider, again, the three-
resistor circuit of Figure 2.38. From the expressions already derived from each of the
currents i1 , i2 , and i3 , we can write
v v v
i1 = i2 = i3 =
R1 R2 R3
and since v = REQ iS , these currents may be expressed by
REQ 1/R1 1/R1
i1 = iS = iS = iS
R1 1/REQ 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
1/R2
i2 = iS
1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
1/R3
i3 = iS
1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3
We can easily see that the current in a parallel circuit divides in inverse proportion
to the resistances of the individual parallel elements. The general expression for the
current divider for a circuit with N parallel resistors is the following:

➲
LO4 in =
1/Rn
1/R1 + 1/R2 + · · · + 1/Rn + · · · + 1/RN
iS
Current
divider
(2.23)

Example 2.12 illustrates the application of the current divider rule.