Parallel circuits

A simple parallel circuit is shown in Figure 23.18. Three lamps are connected to
the same two points, A and B. Electrical devices directly connected to the same
two points of an electric circuit are said to be connected in parallel. The pathway
for current from one terminal of the battery to the other is completed if only one
lamp is lit. In this illustration, the circuit branches into three separate pathways from
A to B. A break in any one path does not interrupt the flow of charge in the other
paths. Each device operates independently of the other devices.

The circuit shown in Figure 23.18 illustrates the major characteristics of parallel
connections:
1. Each device connects the same two points A and B of the circuit. The voltage
is therefore the same across each device.
2. The current divides among the parallel branches. Ohm’s law applies separately
to each branch.
3. The total current in the circuit equals the sum of the currents in its parallel
branches. This sum equals the current in the battery or other voltage source.
4. As the number of parallel branches is increased, the overall resistance of the
circuit is decreased. The overall resistance is lowered with each added path
between any two points of the circuit. This means the overall resistance of the
circuit is less than the resistance of any one of the branches.

Checkpoint questions
1. What happens to the current in other lamps if one of the lamps in a
parallel circuit burns out?
2. What happens to the brightness of the light from each lamp in a parallel
circuit when more lamps are added in parallel?
3. What happens to the current in the battery when more lamps are added
in parallel?