It can be understood in a way that if the same current is flowing among all the resistors, so the drop across each resistor will depend on the resistance offered by each resistor in the circuit. Thus, we can say that, in a series circuit due to the presence of a single path, the same current flows through all the components.
Thereby giving rise to the existence of different potential difference voltage across each component. In a parallel circuit, the components are arranged in a way that the heads of each component are connected together with a common point. While the tails are connected together with another common point. Thereby forming multiple parallel branches in the circuit. The figure here shows the parallel connection of 4 resistors in a circuit:. As we can see here that the parallel circuit is having 4 branches and different current is flowing through each branch.
But as the branches are sharing common points thus the same potential exists across the two points wrt the two ends of the battery potential. It can also be understood in a way that if the same potential difference is existing across each resistor of the circuit. Then the actual current flowing through each branch will automatically depend on the resistance offered by each resistor in the circuit. Therefore, we can say that due to the existence of multiple branches in the circuit, the overall current from the supply gets divided into multiple branches, as the voltage across the points is the same.
So, from this discussion, we can say that, in the series circuit, flowing current remains the same at each part of the circuit. C Programming. Control System. Data Mining. Data Warehouse. Javatpoint Services JavaTpoint offers too many high quality services. What is a series circuit? Advantage of series circuits It has a simple design that is easy to understand. It does not overheat quickly. It has a higher output voltage so that we can add more power appliances. It carries the same current throughout the circuit.
Disadvantage of a series circuit If the total number of components increases in the circuit, circuit resistance will more. If a fault occurs at one point, the total circuit will break. Now, consider an example of a series circuit to understand the concept. Find the current flow through the resistor R1, R2, and R3.
Advantage of parallel circuits In a parallel circuit, if any one component gets damaged, the current does not stop and continues to flow through the other components; hence other components work efficiently. In a parallel circuit, the voltage across every component is the same; therefore, all components work efficiently.
In a parallel circuit, you can easily connect or disconnect a new component without affecting the working of another component. Disadvantage of parallel circuit In a parallel circuit, we cannot apply an additional voltage source. A parallel circuit requires lots of wires for connection. Now, consider an example of a parallel circuit to understand the concept.
Difference between series and parallel circuit Series Circuit Parallel Circuit A circuit is said to be a series circuit when the flow of current is the same throughout all the components in the circuit. In a parallel circuit, if any one component gets damaged, the current does not stop and continues to flow through the other components; hence other components work efficiently.
If more than one resistor is connected in series, the voltage across each resistor is not the same though the current flow is the same throughout the circuit. The simplest combinations of resistors are series and parallel connections Figure 6. In a series circuit , the output current of the first resistor flows into the input of the second resistor; therefore, the current is the same in each resistor.
In a parallel circuit , all of the resistor leads on one side of the resistors are connected together and all the leads on the other side are connected together. In the case of a parallel configuration, each resistor has the same potential drop across it, and the currents through each resistor may be different, depending on the resistor.
The sum of the individual currents equals the current that flows into the parallel connections. Figure 6. Resistors are said to be in series whenever the current flows through the resistors sequentially. Consider Figure 6. Since there is only one path for the charges to flow through, the current is the same through each resistor. The equivalent resistance of a set of resistors in a series connection is equal to the algebraic sum of the individual resistances.
In Figure 6. The current through the circuit depends on the voltage supplied by the voltage source and the resistance of the resistors. For each resistor, a potential drop occurs that is equal to the loss of electric potential energy as a current travels through each resistor. Since energy is conserved, and the voltage is equal to the potential energy per charge, the sum of the voltage applied to the circuit by the source and the potential drops across the individual resistors around a loop should be equal to zero:.
For Figure 6. Since the current through each component is the same, the equality can be simplified to an equivalent resistance, which is just the sum of the resistances of the individual resistors. Any number of resistors can be connected in series. If resistors are connected in series, the equivalent resistance is. One result of components connected in a series circuit is that if something happens to one component, it affects all the other components.
For example, if several lamps are connected in series and one bulb burns out, all the other lamps go dark. A battery with a terminal voltage of is connected to a circuit consisting of four and one resistors all in series Figure 6. Assume the battery has negligible internal resistance. In a series circuit, the equivalent resistance is the algebraic sum of the resistances.
The power dissipated by each resistor can be found using , and the total power dissipated by the resistors is equal to the sum of the power dissipated by each resistor. The power supplied by the battery can be found using. The current through the circuit is the same for each resistor in a series circuit and is equal to the applied voltage divided by the equivalent resistance:. Note that the sum of the potential drops across each resistor is equal to the voltage supplied by the battery. The power dissipated by a resistor is equal to , and the power supplied by the battery is equal to :.
There are several reasons why we would use multiple resistors instead of just one resistor with a resistance equal to the equivalent resistance of the circuit.
Perhaps a resistor of the required size is not available, or we need to dissipate the heat generated, or we want to minimize the cost of resistors. Each resistor may cost a few cents to a few dollars, but when multiplied by thousands of units, the cost saving may be appreciable.
Some strings of miniature holiday lights are made to short out when a bulb burns out. The device that causes the short is called a shunt, which allows current to flow around the open circuit. The bulbs are usually grouped in series of nine bulbs. If too many bulbs burn out, the shunts eventually open. What causes this? Resistors are in parallel when one end of all the resistors are connected by a continuous wire of negligible resistance and the other end of all the resistors are also connected to one another through a continuous wire of negligible resistance.
The potential drop across each resistor is the same. The same is true of the wiring in your house or any building. The current flowing from the voltage source in Figure 6. In this case, the current flows from the voltage source and enters a junction, or node, where the circuit splits flowing through resistors and.
As the charges flow from the battery, some go through resistor and some flow through resistor. The sum of the currents flowing into a junction must be equal to the sum of the currents flowing out of the junction:. There are two loops in this circuit, which leads to the equations and Note the voltage across the resistors in parallel are the same and the current is additive:.
Generalizing to any number of resistors, the equivalent resistance of a parallel connection is related to the individual resistances by. This relationship results in an equivalent resistance that is less than the smallest of the individual resistances.
When resistors are connected in parallel, more current flows from the source than would flow for any of them individually, so the total resistance is lower.
Three resistors , , and are connected in parallel. The parallel connection is attached to a voltage source. Note that in these calculations, each intermediate answer is shown with an extra digit. The total current is the sum of the individual currents:. Let us use , since each resistor gets full voltage. The total resistance for a parallel combination of resistors is found using Equation 6. Entering known values gives.
The total resistance with the correct number of significant digits is. As predicted, is less than the smallest individual resistance. This gives. Current for each device is much larger than for the same devices connected in series see the previous example.
A circuit with parallel connections has a smaller total resistance than the resistors connected in series. The power dissipated by each resistor can be found using any of the equations relating power to current, voltage, and resistance, since all three are known.
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