Circuits

= Circuits =



Circuits are loops made of electrical elements like resistors, capacitors, and [|batteries]. A resistor resists the flow of electrons. A capacitor stores electrons on a conductive plate. A battery creates an electric potential difference by using a chemical reaction. A resistor gets its resistance by forcing electrons to flow through a resistive material. All materials are resistive except for superconductors which are perfectly conductive. The resistance of a circuit depends on the arrangement of resistors. To calculate the resistance of a circuit with all resistors in series (in a row) use: Rtotal = R1+R2+R3... where Rtotal is the total resistance, R1 is resistance of resistor one, R2 is resistance of resistor two, etc. To calculate the resistance of resistors in parralell (inputs connected to inputs and outputs connected to outputs) use: 1/Rtotal = 1/R1+1/R2+1/R3... where Rtotal is the total resistance, R1 is resistance of resistor one, R2 is resistance of resistor two, etc. A resistor causes a voltage drop whichcan be calculated by using: V = I*R where V is the voltage drop, I is the current (current is charge over time), and R is the resistance To calculate the power dissipated from a circuit use: P = I*V where P is the power, I is the current, and V is the voltage To calculate average power, use: Pavg = 0.5*I^2*R where Pavg is the average power, I is the current, and R is the resistance A capacitor can be made by placing two metal plates in close proximity to each other without touching. A capacitor can be used to sore electricity or creating a uniform electric field. To calculate the capacitance, use: C = Q/V where C is the capacitance, Q is the charge and V is the voltage. You can also use C = emf*A/d where C is capacitance, emf is the voltage, A is the area of the capacitor plate and d is thedistance between the plates. To calculate the capacitance of multiple capacitors in series, use 1/Ctotal = 1/C1+1/C2+1/C3... where Ctotal is the total capacitance, C1is the capacitance of capacitor one, C2 is the capacitance of capacitor two, etc. to calculate the capacitance of capacitors in parallel, use: Ctotal = C1+C2+C3.... Where Ctotal is the total capacitance, C1is the capacitance of capacitor one, C2 is the capacitance of capacitor two, etc, To calculate the energy stored in a capacitor, use: Ucap = 0.5*C*V^2 where Ucap is the energy stored, C is the capacitance, and V is the voltage.

Example Circuit: