2.3.5

Parallel Circuits 2

Test yourself

Resistance

The combined resistance of two resistors in parallel is less than the resistance of either of the two resistors by themselves.

Illustrative background for Like water draining through a bucketIllustrative background for Like water draining through a bucket ?? "content

Like water draining through a bucket

  • Consider a bucket full of water with a hole in the bottom:
    • Water drains out of the bucket.
    • If a second hole is drilled into the bucket the water (like adding another resistor in parallel) will drain faster.
    • It does not matter how narrow the second hole is (how high its resistance is), it is always faster for water to flow through two holes instead of one.

Parallel Circuits in Practice

In the lighting circuit of your house, each lamp is connected to the energy supply in parallel. This arrangement has two main advantages:

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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