Circuits consisting of just one battery and
one load resistance are very simple to analyze, but they are
not often found in practical applications. Usually, we find
circuits where more than two components are connected
together.
There are two basic ways in which to connect
more than two circuit components: series and
parallel. First, an example of a series circuit:
Here, we have three resistors (labeled R1,
R2, and R3), connected in a long chain
from one terminal of the battery to the other. (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. 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. 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.
Now, let's look at the other type of
circuit, a parallel configuration:
Again, we have three resistors, but this
time they form more than one continuous path for electrons
to flow. There's one path from 8 to 7 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. 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. Each
individual path (through R1, R2, and R3)
is called a branch.
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