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Series and parallel circuits

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A series circuit with a voltage source (such as a battery, or in this case a cell) and 3 resistors

Components of an electrical circuit or electronic circuit can be connected in many different ways.

The two simplest of these are called series and parallel and occur frequently. Components
connected in series are connected along a single path, so the same current flows through all of the
components.[1][2] Components connected in parallel are connected along multiple paths, so the
same voltage is applied to each component.[3]
A circuit composed solely of components connected in series is known as a series circuit; likewise,
one connected completely in parallel is known as a parallel circuit.
In a series circuit, the current through each of the components is the same, and the voltage across
the circuit is the sum of the voltages across each component. [1] In a parallel circuit, the voltage
across each of the components is the same, and the total current is the sum of the currents through
each component.[1]
Consider a very simple circuit consisting of four light bulbs and one 6 V battery. If a wire joins the
battery to one bulb, to the next bulb, to the next bulb, to the next bulb, then back to the battery, in
one continuous loop, the bulbs are said to be in series. If each bulb is wired to the battery in a
separate loop, the bulbs are said to be in parallel. If the four light bulbs are connected in series,
there is same current through all of them, and the voltage drop is 1.5 V across each bulb, which may
not be sufficient to make them glow. If the light bulbs are connected in parallel, the currents through
the light bulbs combine to form the current in the battery, while the voltage drop is across each bulb
and they all glow.
In a series circuit, every device must function for the circuit to be complete. One bulb burning out in a
series circuit breaks the circuit. In parallel circuits, each light bulb has its own circuit, so all but one
light could be burned out, and the last one will still function.

Contents
  [hide] 

 1Series circuits
 o 1.1Current
o 1.2Resistors
o 1.3Inductors
o 1.4Capacitors
o 1.5Switches
o 1.6Cells and batteries
o 1.7Voltage
 2Parallel circuits
o 2.1Voltage
o 2.2Current
o 2.3Resistors
o 2.4Inductors
o 2.5Capacitors
o 2.6Switches
o 2.7Cells and batteries
 3Combining conductances
 4Notation
 5Applications
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9External links

Series circuits[edit]
Part of a series of articles about

Electromagnetism

 Electricity
 Magnetism

Electrostatics[show]

Magnetostatics[show]

Electrodynamics[show]

Electrical network[hide]
 Electric current
 Electric potential
  Voltage
 Resistance
 Ohm's law
 Series circuit
 Parallel circuit
 Direct current
 Alternating current
 Electromotive force
 Capacitance
 Inductance
 Impedance
 Resonant cavities
 Waveguides

Covariant formulation[show]

Scientists[show]

 v
 t
 e

Series circuits are sometimes called current-coupled or daisy chain-coupled. The current in a

series circuit goes through every component in the circuit. Therefore, all of the components in a
series connection carry the same current.
A series circuit's principle characteristic is that it has only one path in which its current can flow.
Opening or breaking a series circuit at any point causes the entire circuit to "open" or stop operating.
For example, if even one of the light bulbs in an older-style string of Christmas tree lights burns out
or is removed, the entire string becomes inoperable until the bulb is replaced.
Current[edit]
In a series circuit, the current is the same for all of the elements.
Resistors[edit]
The total resistance of resistors in series is equal to the sum of their
individual resistances:

Electrical conductance presents a reciprocal quantity to

resistance. Total conductance of a series circuits of pure resistors,
therefore, can be calculated from the following expression:
.
For a special case of two resistors in series, the total
conductance is equal to:
Inductors[edit]
Inductors follow the same law, in that the
total inductance of non-coupled inductors in series is
equal to the sum of their individual inductances:

However, in some situations it is difficult to prevent

adjacent inductors from influencing each other, as the
magnetic field of one device couples with the
windings of its neighbours. This influence is defined
by the mutual inductance M. For example, if two
inductors are in series, there are two possible
equivalent inductances depending on how the
magnetic fields of both inductors influence each other.
When there are more than two inductors, the mutual
inductance between each of them and the way the
coils influence each other complicates the calculation.
For a larger number of coils the total combined
inductance is given by the sum of all mutual
inductances between the various coils including the
mutual inductance of each given coil with itself, which
we term self-inductance or simply inductance. For
three coils, there are six mutual
inductances , ,  and , and . There are also the three
self-inductances of the three coils: ,  and .
Therefore
By reciprocity  =  so that the last two groups can
be combined. The first three terms represent the
sum of the self-inductances of the various coils.
The formula is easily extended to any number of
series coils with mutual coupling. The method can
be used to find the self-inductance of large coils
of wire of any cross-sectional shape by computing
the sum of the mutual inductance of each turn of
wire in the coil with every other turn since in such
a coil all turns are in series.
Capacitors[edit]
See also: Capacitor §  Networks
 Capacitors follow the same law using the
reciprocals. The total capacitance of capacitors in
series is equal to the reciprocal of the sum of
the reciprocals of their individual capacitances:

.
Switches[edit]
Two or more switches in series form a logical
AND; the circuit only carries current if all
switches are closed. See AND gate.
Cells and batteries[edit]
A battery is a collection of electrochemical
cells. If the cells are connected in series,
the voltage of the battery will be the sum of
the cell voltages. For example, a 12 volt car
battery contains six 2-volt cells connected in
series. Some vehicles, such as trucks, have
two 12 volt batteries in series to feed the 24
volt system.
Voltage[edit]
In a series circuit the voltage is addition of all
the voltage elements.

Parallel circuits[edit]
"In Parallel" redirects here. For the 2017
Dhani Harrison album, see In Parallel
(album).
If two or more components are connected
in parallel they have the same potential
difference (voltage) across their ends.
The potential differences across the
components are the same in magnitude,
and they also have identical polarities.
The same voltage is applicable to all
circuit components connected in parallel.
The total current is the sum of the
currents through the individual
components, in accordance
with Kirchhoff’s current law.
Voltage[edit]
 In a parallel circuit the voltage is the
same for all elements.
Current[edit]
The current in each individual resistor
is found by Ohm's law. Factoring out
the voltage gives
.
Resistors[edit]
To find the total resistance of all
components, add
the reciprocals of the
resistances  of each component
and take the reciprocal of the
sum. Total resistance will always
be less than the value of the
smallest resistance:

.
For only two resistors, the
unreciprocated expression is
reasonably simple:
This sometimes goes by
the mnemonic product
over sum.
For N equal resistors in
parallel, the reciprocal
sum expression
simplifies to:
.
and therefore to:
.
To find
the current in a
component with
resistance , use
 Ohm's law
again:
.
The
components
divide the
current
according to
their
reciprocal
resistances,
so, in the
case of two
resistors,
.
An old
term for
devices
connect
ed in
parallel
is multip
le, such
as a
multiple
connecti
on
for arc
lamps.
Since
electrica
l
conduct
ance  is
reciproc
al to
resistan
ce, the
expressi
on for
total
conduct
ance of
a
parallel
circuit of
resistors
reads:
.
The
relat
ions
for
total
con
duct
anc
e
and
resi
stan
ce
stan
d in
a
com
ple
men
tary
relat
ions
hip:
the
expr
essi
on
for a
seri
es
con
nect
ion
of
resi
stan
ces
is
the
sam
e as
for
para
llel
con
nect
ion
of
con
duct
anc
es,
and
vice
vers
a.
Ind
uct
ors
[edi
t]
Indu
ctor
s foll
ow
the
sam
e
law,
in
that
the
total 
indu
ctan
ce o
f
non-
cou
pled
indu
ctor
s in
para
llel
is
equ
al to
the
reci
proc
al of
the
sum
of
the
reci
proc
als
of
their
indiv
idua
l
 indu
ctan
ces:

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i
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c
t
o
r
i
s
:
If 
The
sign
of 
 
depend
s on
how the
magneti
c fields
influenc
e each
other.
For two
equal
tightly
coupled
coils
the total
inducta
nce is
close to
that of
each
single
coil. If
the
polarity
of one
coil is
reverse
d so
that M
is
negativ
e, then
the
parallel
inducta
nce is
nearly
zero or
the
combin
ation is
almost
non-
inductiv
e. It is
assume
d in the
"tightly
coupled
" case
M is
very
nearly
equal to
L.
Howeve
r, if the
inducta
nces
are not
equal
and the
coils
are
tightly
coupled
there
can be
near
short
circuit
conditio
ns and
high
circulati
ng
currents
for both
positive
and
negativ
e
values
of M,
which
can
cause
problem
s.
More
than
three
inductor
s
become
s more
comple
x and
the
mutual
inducta
nce of
each
inductor
on each
other
inductor
and
their
influenc
e on
each
other
must be
conside
red. For
three
coils,
there
are
three
mutual
inducta
nces 
,  and .
This is
best
handled
by
matrix
method
s and
summin
g the
terms of
the
inverse
of
the 
 matrix
(3 by 3
in this
case).
The
pertinen
t
equatio
ns are
of the
form: 
 Capac
itors[e
dit]
The
total ca
pacitan
ce of ca
pacitors 
in
parallel
is equal
to the
sum of
their
individu
al
capacit
ances:

.
The working
voltage of a
parallel
combination
of
capacitors
is always
limited by
the smallest
working
voltage of
an
individual
capacitor.
Switches
[edit]
Two or
more switch
es in
parallel
form
a logical
OR; the
circuit
carries
current if at
least one
switch is
closed.
See OR
gate.
Cells and
batteries[
edit]
If the cells
of a battery
are
connected
in parallel,
the battery
voltage will
be the
same as the
cell voltage,
but the
current
supplied by
each cell
will be a
fraction of
the total
current. For
example, if
a battery
comprises
four
identical
cells
connected
in parallel
and delivers
a current of
1 ampere,
the current
supplied by
each cell
will be 0.25
ampere.
Parallel-
connected
batteries
were widely
used to
power
the valve fil
aments
in portable
radios, but
they are
now rare.
Some solar
electric
systems
have
batteries in
parallel to
increase the
storage
capacity; a
close
approximati
on of total
amp-hours
is the sum
of all amp-
hours of in-
parallel
batteries.

Combin
ing
conduct
ances[ed
it]
From Kirchh
off's circuit
laws we can
deduce the
rules for
combining
conductanc
es. For two
conductanc
es 
 
and 
 in parallel,
the voltage
across them
is the same
and from
 Kirchhoff's
current law
(KCL) the
total current
is
Substituting
Ohm's law for
conductances
gives
and the equivale
conductance wil
For two
conductances 
 and  in series t
current through
be the same and
Kirchhoff's Volta
tells us that the
across them is t
of the voltages a
each conductan
is,
Substituting Ohm
conductance the
which in turn giv
for the equivalen
This equation ca
slightly, though t
that will only rea
two components

Notation[ed
The value of two
is often represen
vertical lines, ∥,
lines notation fro
This simplifies e
otherwise becom
of the terms. Fo
.

Application
A common appli
consumer electr
several cells con
obtain a conven
disposable zinc
flashlight or rem
pack for a hand-
dozen lithium-io
48 volts.
Series circuits w
in electric multip
supply voltage w
70-volt bulbs in
a resistor to drop
circuits for train
by motor-genera
Series resistanc
arrangement of
organ. Each org
smaller arteries,
arranged in serie
sum of the indiv
by the following
Rcapillaries. The larg
this series is con
Parallel resistan
system. Each or
branches off the
this parallel arra
following equatio
Ra, Rb, and Rn ar
hepatic, and oth
resistance is les
the individual ar

See also[ed
 Network ana
 Wheatstone
 Y-Δ transfor
 Voltage divid
 Current divid
 Combining i
 Equivalent im
 Resistance d
 Series-paral

Notes[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:      R
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Example 1.
2. Jump up^ Sm
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References
 Resnick, Ro
(1966), Phys
edition, Wile
Congress C
 Smith, R.J. (
Systems, W
York. Library
66-17612
 Williams, Tim
Companion,
2005 ISBN 0

External li
 Series circui
 Series and P
from Lesson
DC free ebo
Circuits serie
 Series-Para
from Lesson
DC free ebo
Circuits serie
 Sameen Ahm
resistances?
Education, V
2012).
 Resistor com
using 1K oh
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