KIRCHHOFF’S

LAW
 KIRCHHOFF’S LAW
• Kirchhoff’s two laws are used for analyzing a large
variety of electric circuits as Ohm’s law by itself is not
sufficient to analyze circuits.
• Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887), a German
physicist, stated two basic laws in 1847 concerning the
relationship between the currents and voltages in an
electrical network. These laws are formally known as
the Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL) and the Kirchhoff’s
Voltage Law (KVL).
 KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW (KCL)
• Based on the law of conservation of charge, which
requires that the algebraic sum of charges within a system
cannot change.
• The algebraic sum of currents entering a node or a closed
boundary is zero.
• Mathematically, KCL implies that σ𝑁 𝑛=1 𝑖𝑛 = 0, where N is
the number of branches connected to the node and 𝑖𝑛 is
the nth current entering (or leaving) the node.
• By this law, currents entering a node may be regarded as
positive, while currents leaving the node may be taken as
negative or vice versa
• By KCL at junction x, 𝑖1 − 𝑖2 − 𝑖3 + 𝑖4 = 0
• Rearranging terms gives, 𝑖1 + 𝑖4 = 𝑖2 + 𝑖3 which
implies that, “The sum of the currents entering a
node is equal to the sum of the currents leaving the
node.”
 KIRCHHOFF’S VOLTAGE LAW (KVL)
• Based on the law of conservation of energy
• The algebraic sum of all voltages around a closed path (or
loop) is zero
• Mathematically, KVL implies that σ𝑀 𝑚=1 𝑣𝑚 = 0, where M is
the number of voltages in the loop (or the number of
branches in the loop) and the 𝑣𝑚 is the mth voltage.

SIGN CONVENTION
• KVL can be applied by taking either a clockwise or a
counterclockwise trip around the loop. Either way, the
algebraic sum of voltages around the loop is zero

• By KVL , 𝑣1 − 𝑣2 − 𝑣3 + 𝑣4 − 𝑣5 = 0
• Rearranging terms, 𝑣1 + 𝑣4 = 𝑣2 + 𝑣3 + 𝑣5
which may be interpreted as

“sum of voltage sources = sum of voltage drops”

 SAMPLE PROBLEM

Find 𝐼1 , 𝐼2 , 𝐼𝐿
THANK YOU