Direct Current Circuits

 Complex Circuits
 Time-dependent Currents

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 1

 Circuits (1)
 We have been working with simple circuits containing either
capacitors or resistors.

 Capacitors wired in parallel

n
Ceq   Ci
i 1

 Capacitors wired in series

n
1 1

Ceq i 1 Ci

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 2

 Circuits (2)
 Resistors wired in parallel
n
1 1

Req i 1 Ri

 Resistors wired in series

n
Req   Ri
i 1

 We dealt with circuits containing either capacitors or

resistors that could be resolved in systems of parallel or
series components

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 3

 Complex Circuits
 Some circuits can be constructed that cannot be resolved
into series or parallel systems of capacitors or resistors

 Examples:

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 4

 Kirchhoff’s Rules for Multi-loop Circuits
 To handle these types of circuits, we must apply
Kirchhoff’s Rules.

 Kirchhoff’s Rules can be stated as

• Kirchhoff’s Junction Rule
• The sum of the currents entering
a junction must equal the sum of
the currents leaving a junction

• Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule

• The sum of voltage drops
around a complete circuit
loop must sum to zero

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 5

 Kirchhoff’s Junction Rule
 Kirchhoff’s Junction Rule is a direct consequence of the
conservation of charge.

 In a conductor, charge cannot be created or destroyed.

 At a junction: all charges streaming into the junction must

also leave the junction

i1  i2  i3

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 6

 Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule
 Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule is a direct
consequence of the conservation
of electric potential energy

 Suppose that this rule was not valid

• We could construct a way around a loop in such a way that each turn
would increase the potential of a charge traveling around the loop
• We would always increase the energy of this charge, in obvious
contradiction to energy conservation

 Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule is equivalent to the law of energy

conservation

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 7

 EMF Devices - Directions
 An emf device (e.g., a battery) keeps the
positive terminal (labeled +) at a higher
electrical potential than the negative
terminal (labeled -)
 When a battery is connected in a circuit, its
internal chemistry causes a net current
inside the battery: positive charge carriers
move from the negative to the positive
terminal, in direction of the emf arrow
 Or: Positive charge carriers move from a
region of low electric potential (negative
terminal) to a region of high electric
potential (positive terminal)
 This flow is part of the current that is set
up around the circuit in that same direction

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 8

 Single Loop Circuits (1)
 We begin our study of more
complicated circuits by analyzing
circuits with several sources of emf
and resistors connected in series
in a single loop
 We will apply Kirchhoff’s Rules to
these circuits
 To apply these rules we must establish conventions for
determining the voltage drop across each element of the
circuit depending on the assumed direction of current and
the direction of the analysis of the circuit
 Because we do not know the direction of the current in the
circuit before we start, we must choose an arbitrary
direction for the current

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 9

 Single Loop Circuits (2)
 Choose a direction for the current
 We can determine if our assumption for the direction of the
current is correct after the analysis is complete
 Resulting current positive
• Current is flowing in the same direction as we had chosen
 Resulting current negative
• Current is flowing in the direction opposite to what we had chosen
 We can also choose the direction in which we analyze the
circuit arbitrarily
• Any direction we choose will give us the same information

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 10

 VR2  iR2
Single Loop Circuits (3)


 If we move around the circuit in the
same direction as the current, the
voltage drop across a resistor
will be negative
 If we move around the circuit in the
direction opposite to the current, the voltage drop across
the resistors will be positive
 If we move around the circuit and encounter a source of
emf pointing in the same direction, we say this source of
emf contributes a positive voltage
 If we encounter a source of emf pointing in the opposite
direction, we consider that component to contribute a
negative voltage

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 11

 Circuit Analysis Conventions
Element Analysis Direction Current Direction Voltage Drop
  iR

  iR i is the
magnitude of the
  iR assumed current
through the
  iR resistor

 Vemf

 Vemf

 Vemf

 Vemf

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 12

 Single Loop Circuits (1)
 We have studied circuits with various networks of
resistors but only one source of emf
 Circuits can contain multiple sources of emf as well as
multiple resistors
 We begin our study of more complicated circuits by
analyzing a circuit with two sources of emf (Vemf,1 and
Vemf,2) and two resistors (R1 and R2) connected in series in
a single loop
 We will assume that the two sources of emf have
opposite polarity

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 13

 Single Loop Circuits (2)
 We assume that the current is flowing around the circuit in a
clockwise direction
 Starting at point a with V = 0, we analyze around the circuit in a
clockwise direction
 Because the components of the circuit are in series, all components
have the same current, i
i
i

i
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 14
 Single Loop Circuits (3)
 Start at point a.
 The first circuit component is a source of emf Vemf,1, which
produces a positive voltage gain of +Vemf,1
 Next we find resistor R1, which produces a voltage drop V1
given by -iR1
 Continuing around the circuit we find resistor R2, which
produces a voltage drop V2 given by -iR2
 Next we meet a second source of emf, Vemf,2
 This source of emf is wired into the circuit
with a polarity opposite that of Vemf,1
 We treat this component as a voltage drop
of -Vemf,2 rather than a voltage gain
 We now have completed the circuit
and we are back at point a

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 15

 Single Loop Circuits (4)

 Kirchhoff’s loop rule for the

voltage drops states
Vemf ,1  V1  V2  Vemf ,2  Vemf ,1  iR1  iR2  Vemf ,2  0

 Generalization: the voltage drops

across components in a single loop
circuit must sum to zero
 This statement must be qualified
with conventions for assigning the
sign of the voltage drops around
the circuit

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 16

 Single Loop Circuits (5)
 Now let’s analyze the same circuit in the counter-
clockwise direction starting at point a
i

i
 The first circuit element is Vemf,2 which is a positive
voltage gain
 The next element is R2

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 17

 Single Loop Circuits (6)
i
 Because we have assumed that the
current is in the clockwise direction
and we are analyzing the loop in the
counter-clockwise direction, this
voltage drop is +iR2
i

 Proceeding to the next element in the loop, R1, we use a

similar argument to designate the voltage drop as +iR1
 The final element in the circuit is Vemf,1, which is aligned in a
direction opposite to our analysis direction, so the voltage
drop across this element is -Vemf,1

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 18

 Single Loop Circuits (7)
 Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule then gives us
Vemf ,2  iR2  iR1  Vemf ,1  0

 Comparing this result with the result we obtained by

analyzing the circuit in the clockwise direction
Vemf ,1  iR1  iR2  Vemf ,2  0
… we see that they are equivalent.

 The direction that we choose to analyze the circuit does not

matter.

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 19

 Multi-Loop Circuits (1)

 To analyze multi-loop circuits, we must apply both the Loop

Rule and the Junction Rule

 To analyze a multi-loop circuit, identify all complete loops

and all junction points in the circuit and apply Kirchhoff’s
Rules to these parts of the circuit separately

 At each junction in a multi-loop circuit, the current flowing

into the junction must equal the current flowing out of the
circuit

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 20

 Multi-Loop Circuits (2)
 Assume we have a junction point a

 We define a current i1 entering junction a and two currents

i2 and i3 leaving junction a
 Kirchhoff’s Junction Rule tells us that

i1  i2  i3
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 21
 Multi-Loop Circuits (3)

 By analyzing the single loops in a multi-loop circuit with

Kirchhoff’s Loop Rule and the junctions with Kirchhoff’s
Junction Rule, we can obtain a system of coupled equations
in several unknown variables
 These coupled equations can be solved in several ways
• Solution with matrices and determinants
• Direct substitution
 Next: Example of a multi-loop circuit solved with
Kirchhoff’s Rules

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 22

 Example: Kirchhoff’s Rules (1)
 The circuit here has three resistors, R1, R2, and R3 and two
sources of emf, Vemf,1 and Vemf,2
 This circuit cannot be resolved into simple series or parallel
structures

 To analyze this circuit, we need to assign currents flowing

through the resistors
 We can choose the directions of these currents arbitrarily
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 23
 Example: Kirchhoff’s Laws (2)
 At junction b the incoming current must equal the outgoing
current
i2  i1  i3
 At junction a we again equate the incoming current and the
outgoing current
i1  i3  i2
 But this equation gives us the
same information as the
previous equation!
 We need more information
to determine the three currents – 2 more independent
equations

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 24

 Example: Kirchhoff’s Laws (3)

 To get the other equations we must apply Kirchhoff’s Loop

Rule.
 This circuit has three loops.
• Left
• R1, R2, Vemf,1
• Right
• R2, R3, Vemf,2
• Outer
• R1, R3, Vemf,1, Vemf,2

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 25

 Example: Kirchhoff’s Laws (4)
 Going around the left loop counterclockwise starting at
point b we get
i1 R1  Vemf ,1  i2 R2  0  i1R1  Vemf ,1  i2 R2  0
 Going around the right loop clockwise starting at point b we
get
i3 R3  Vemf ,2  i2 R2  0  i3 R3  Vemf ,2  i2 R2  0

 Going around the outer loop

clockwise starting
at point b we get
i3 R3  Vemf ,2  Vemf ,1  i1 R1  0

 But this equation gives us no new

information!

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 26

 Example: Kirchhoff’s Laws (5)
 We now have three equations
i1  i3  i2 i1 R1  Vemf ,1  i2 R2  0 i3 R3  Vemf ,2  i2 R2  0

 And we have three unknowns i1, i2, and i3

 We can solve these three equations in a variety of ways
( R2  R3 )Vemf ,1  R2Vemf ,2
i1  
R1 R2  R1 R3  R2 R3
R3Vemf ,1  RV
i2   1 emf ,2

R1 R2  R1 R3  R2 R3
 R2Vemf ,1  ( R1  R2 )Vemf ,2
i3  
R1 R2  R1 R3  R2 R3

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 27

 Ammeter and Voltmeter
 A device used to measure current is called an ammeter
 A device used to measure voltage is called a voltmeter
 To measure the current, the ammeter must be placed in the
circuit in series
 To measure the voltage, the voltmeter must be wired in
parallel with the component across which the voltage is to
be measured

Voltmeter in parallel Ammeter in series

High resistance Low resistance

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 28

 RC Circuits (1)
 So far we have dealt with circuits containing sources of emf
and resistors
 The currents in these circuits did not vary in time
 Now we will study circuits that contain capacitors as well as
sources of emf and resistors
 These circuits have currents that vary with time
 Consider a circuit with
• a source of emf, Vemf,
• a resistor R,
• a capacitor C

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 29

 RC Circuits (2)
 We then close the switch, and current begins to flow in the
circuit, charging the capacitor

 The current is provided by the

source of emf, which maintains
a constant voltage

When the capacitor is fully

charged, no more current flows in the circuit

 When the capacitor is fully charged, the voltage across the

plates will be equal to the voltage provided by the source of
emf and the total charge qtot on the capacitor will be qtot =
CVemf
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 30
 Capacitor Charging (1)
 Going around the circuit in a counterclockwise direction we can
write
q
Vemf  VR  VC  Vemf  iR   0
C
 We can rewrite this equation
remembering that i = dq/dt
dq q dq q Vemf
R   Vemf    The term Vc is negative since
dt C dt RC R the top plate of the capacitor
 The solution of this differential is connected to the positive -
higher potential - terminal of
equation is the battery. Thus analyzing
  
t
counter-clockwise leads to a
q(t )  q0 1  e   drop in voltage across the
  capacitor!
 … where q0 = CVemf and  = RC
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 31
 Capacitor Charging (2)
 We can get the current flowing in the circuit by
differentiating the charge with respect to time
 t 
  
t
Math Reminder: dq  Vemf   
q(t )  q0 1  e   i  e
 RC 

  dt  R 
 The charge and current as a function of time are shown
here ( = RC)

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 32

 Capacitor Discharging (1)
 Now let’s take a resistor R and a fully charged capacitor
C with charge q0 and connect them together by moving the switch
from position 1 to position 2

 In this case, current will flow in the circuit until the capacitor is
completely discharged
 While the capacitor is discharging we can apply the Loop Rule
around the circuit and obtain
q dq q
iR  VC  iR   0  R   0
C dt C
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 33
 Capacitor Discharging (2)
 The solution of this differential equation for the
charge is  t 
 
q  q0e  RC 

 Differentiating charge we get the current

 t 
dq  q0   
i  e
 RC 
dt  RC 
 The equations describing the time dependence of the
charging and discharging of capacitors all involve the
exponential factor e-t/RC
 The product of the resistance times the capacitance is
defined as the time constant  of an RC circuit
 We can characterize an RC circuit by specifying the time
constant of the circuit
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 34
 Example: Time to Charge a Capacitor (1)
 Consider a circuit consisting of a 12.0 V battery,
a 50.0  resistor, and a 100.0 F capacitor wired in
series.
 The capacitor is initially uncharged.
Question:
How long will it take to charge the capacitor in this circuit
to 90% of its maximum charge?
Answer:
 The charge on the capacitor as a function of time is
 
t

q  t   q0 1  e RC 
 
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 35
 Example: Time to Charge a Capacitor (2)
 
t

q  t   q0 1  e RC

 
 We need to know the time corresponding to

q  t  / q0  0.90
 We can rearrange the equation for the charge on the
capacitor as a function of time to get
t

0.10  e RC
Math Reminder: ln(ex)=x

t   RC ln(0.10)  11.5 ms
December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 36
 Example: RC Circuits (1)
A 15.0 k resistor and a capacitor are connected in
series and a 12 V battery is suddenly applied. The
potential difference across the capacitor rises to
5 V in 1.3 s.
Question:
What is the time constant  of the circuit?
Answer:
  
t

Idea: Charging of the capacitor: q(t )  q0 1  e  

 
with q0  CVemf and   RC; V t   q t  / C

V t   Vemf 1 et /RC  at t  1.3 s, we have V t   5 V

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 37

 Example: RC Circuits (2)

 
t

V (t)  Vemf  1 e 
RC
Math reminder:
 

   
 
V 1.3 s  5 V  12 V 1 e   
 1.3 s / RC ln e x  x

 5 V  12 V / 12 V  e  
 1.3 s / RC

ln 7 / 12   1.3 s / RC
RC    1.3 s / ln 7 / 12  2.41 s

December 1, 2018 University Physics, Chapter 26 38