04. in series and in parallel

Resistors in Series

A resistor in series with another resistor will act like one bigger resistor.

The current through each resistor of the series is the same.

The voltage U_n through one resistor R_n of the series depends on the resistor itself in the following way:

All the resistors can be replaced by one resistor with resistance R_a from .

Resistors in Parallel

Each resistor in parallel with another resistor will always be used for some current.

The voltage over the parallel resistors is the same.

The current I_n through one resistor R_n of the series depends on the resistor itself in the following way:

All the resistors can be replaced by one resistor with resistance R_a from .

The total replacement resistor R_a which can be replace all the others will always be smaller than the smallest resistance of the set.

Author: Danny (remove the ".nospam" to send)

Last modification on: Thu, 09 May 2013 .