Two simple relationships can be used to determine the value of currents in circuits. They are useful even in rather complex situations such as circuits with multiple loops. The first relationship deals with currents at a junction of conductors. Figure 17 shows three such junctions, with the currents assumed to flow in the directions indicated.

Simply stated, the sum of currents entering a junction equals the sum of currents leaving that junction. This statement is commonly called Kirchhoff’s first law (after the German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, who formulated it). For Figure 17A, the sum is i₁ + i₂ = i₃. For Figure 17B, i₁ = i₂ + i₃ + i₄. For Figure 17C, i₁ + i₂ + i₃ = 0. If this last equation seems puzzling because all the currents appear to flow in and none flows out, it is because of the choice of directions for the individual currents. In solving a problem, the direction chosen for the currents is arbitrary. Once the problem has been solved, some currents have a positive value, and the direction arbitrarily chosen is the one of the actual current. In the solution some currents may have a negative value, in which case the actual current flows in a direction opposite that of the arbitrary initial choice.

Kirchhoff’s second law is as follows: the sum of electromotive forces in a loop equals the sum of potential drops in the loop. When electromotive forces in a circuit are symbolized as circuit components as in Figure 15, this law can be stated quite simply: the sum of the potential differences across all the components in a closed loop equals zero. To illustrate and clarify this relation, one can consider a single circuit with two sources of electromotive forces E₁ and E₂, and two resistances R₁ and R₂, as shown in Figure 18. The direction chosen for the current i also is indicated. The letters a, b, c, and d are used to indicate certain locations around the circuit. Applying Kirchhoff’s second law to the circuit,

Referring to the circuit in Figure 18, the potential differences maintained by the electromotive forces indicated are V_b − V_a = E₁, and V_c − V_d = −E₂. From Ohm’s law, V_b − V_c = iR₁, and V_d − V_a = iR₂. Using these four relationships in equation (26), the so-called loop equation becomes E₁ − E₂ − iR₁ − iR₂ = 0.

Given the values of the resistances R₁ and R₂ in ohms and of the electromotive forces E₁ and E₂ in volts, the value of the current i in the circuit is obtained. If E₂ in the circuit had a greater value than E₁, the solution for the current i would be a negative value for i. This negative sign indicates that the current in the circuit would flow in a direction opposite the one indicated in Figure 18.

Kirchhoff’s laws can be applied to circuits with several connected loops. The same rules apply, though the algebra required becomes rather tedious as the circuits increase in complexity.

Basic phenomena and principles

Many applications of electricity and magnetism involve voltages that vary in time. Electric power transmitted over large distances from generating plants to users involves voltages that vary sinusoidally in time, at a frequency of 60 hertz (Hz) in the United States and Canada and 50 hertz in Europe. (One hertz equals one cycle per second.) This means that in the United States, for example, the current alternates its direction in the electric conducting wires so that each second it flows 60 times in one direction and 60 times in the opposite direction. Alternating currents (AC) are also used in radio and television transmissions. In an AM (amplitude-modulation) radio broadcast, electromagnetic waves with a frequency of around one million hertz are generated by currents of the same frequency flowing back and forth in the antenna of the station. The information transported by these waves is encoded in the rapid variation of the wave amplitude. When voices and music are broadcast, these variations correspond to the mechanical oscillations of the sound and have frequencies from 50 to 5,000 hertz. In an FM (frequency-modulation) system, which is used by both television and FM radio stations, audio information is contained in the rapid fluctuation of the frequency in a narrow range around the frequency of the carrier wave.

Circuits that can generate such oscillating currents are called oscillators; they include, in addition to transistors, such basic electrical components as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. As was mentioned above, resistors dissipate heat while carrying a current. Capacitors store energy in the form of an electric field in the volume between oppositely charged electrodes. Inductors are essentially coils of conducting wire; they store magnetic energy in the form of a magnetic field generated by the current in the coil. All three components provide some impedance to the flow of alternating currents. In the case of capacitors and inductors, the impedance depends on the frequency of the current. With resistors, impedance is independent of frequency and is simply the resistance. This is easily seen from Ohm’s law, equation (21), when it is written as i = V/R. For a given voltage difference V between the ends of a resistor, the current varies inversely with the value of R. The greater the value R, the greater is the impedance to the flow of electric current. Before proceeding to circuits with resistors, capacitors, inductors, and sinusoidally varying electromotive forces, the behaviour of a circuit with a resistor and a capacitor will be discussed to clarify transient behaviour and the impedance properties of the capacitor.

Transient response

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Consider a circuit consisting of a capacitor and a resistor that are connected as shown in Figure 19. What will be the voltage at point b if the voltage at a is increased suddenly from V_a = 0 to V_a = +50 volts? Closing the switch produces such a voltage because it connects the positive terminal of a 50-volt battery to point a while the negative terminal is at ground (point c). Figure 20 (left) graphs this voltage V_a as a function of the time.

Initially, the capacitor has no charge and does not affect the flow of charge. The initial current is obtained from Ohm’s law, V = iR, where V = V_a − V_b, V_a is 50 volts and V_b is zero. Using 2,000 ohms for the value of the resistance in Figure 19, there is an initial current of 25 milliamperes in the circuit. This current begins to charge the capacitor, so that a positive charge accumulates on the plate of the capacitor connected to point b and a negative charge accumulates on the other plate. As a result, the potential at point b increases from zero to a positive value. As more charge accumulates on the capacitor, this positive potential continues to increase. As it does so, the value of the potential across the resistor is reduced; consequently, the current decreases with time, approaching the value of zero as the capacitor potential reaches 50 volts. The behaviour of the potential at b in Figure 20 (right) is described by the equation V_b = V_a(1 − e^−t/RC) in volts. For R = 2,000Ω and capacitance C = 2.5 microfarads, V_b = 50(1 − e^−t/0.005) in volts. The potential V_b at b in Figure 20 (right) increases from zero when the capacitor is uncharged and reaches the ultimate value of V_a when equilibrium is reached.

How would the potential at point b vary if the potential at point a, instead of being maintained at +50 volts, were to remain at +50 volts for only a short time, say, one millisecond, and then return to zero? The superposition principle (see above) is used to solve the problem. The voltage at a starts at zero, goes to +50 volts at t = 0, then returns to zero at t = +0.001 second. This voltage can be viewed as the sum of two voltages, V_1a + V_2a, where V_1a becomes +50 volts at t = 0 and remains there indefinitely, and V_2a becomes −50 volts at t = 0.001 second and remains there indefinitely. This superposition is shown graphically on the left side of Figure 21. Since the solutions for V_1b and V_2b corresponding to V_1a and V_2a are known from the previous example, their sum V_b is the answer to the problem. The individual solutions and their sum are given graphically on the right side of Figure 21.

The voltage at b reaches a maximum of only 9 volts. The superposition illustrated in Figure 21 also shows that the shorter the duration of the positive “pulse” at a, the smaller is the value of the voltage generated at b. Increasing the size of the capacitor also decreases the maximum voltage at b. This decrease in the potential of a transient explains the “guardian role” that capacitors play in protecting delicate and complex electronic circuits from damage by large transient voltages. These transients, which generally occur at high frequency, produce effects similar to those produced by pulses of short duration. They can damage equipment when they induce circuit components to break down electrically. Transient voltages are often introduced into electronic circuits through power supplies. A concise way to describe the role of the capacitor in the above example is to say that its impedance to an electric signal decreases with increasing frequency. In the example, much of the signal is shunted to ground instead of appearing at point b.