Norton's theorem

In direct-current circuit theory, Norton's

theorem, also called the Mayer–Norton
theorem, is a simplification that can be applied
to networks made of linear time-invariant
resistances, voltage sources, and current
sources. At a pair of terminals of the network,
it can be replaced by a current source and a
single resistor in parallel.

For alternating current (AC) systems the

theorem can be applied to reactive impedances
as well as resistances.
The Norton equivalent circuit is used to
represent any network of linear sources and
impedances at a given frequency.
Any black box containing resistances only and voltage and
current sources can be replaced by an equivalent circuit
consisting of an equivalent current source in parallel
connection with an equivalent resistance.

Norton's theorem and its dual, Thévenin's theorem, are widely used for circuit
analysis simplification and to study circuit's initial-condition and steady-state
response.

Norton's theorem was independently derived in 1926 by Siemens & Halske

researcher Hans Ferdinand Mayer (1895–1980) and Bell Labs engineer
Edward Lawry Norton (1898–1983).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

To find the equivalent, the Norton current Ino is calculated as the current
flowing at the terminals into a short circuit (zero resistance between A and B).
This is Ino . The Norton resistance Rno is found by calculating the output Edward Lawry Norton
voltage produced with no resistance connected at the terminals; equivalently,
this is the resistance between the terminals with all (independent) voltage
sources short-circuited and independent current sources open-circuited. This is equivalent to calculating the
Thevenin resistance.

When there are dependent sources, the more general method must be used. The voltage
at the terminals is calculated for an injection of a 1 Amp test current at the terminals. This
voltage divided by the 1 A current is the Norton impedance Rno. This method must be used
 if the circuit contains dependent sources, but it can be used in all cases even when there
are no dependent sources.

Example of a Norton equivalent circuit

1. The original circuit

2. Calculating the equivalent output current
3. Calculating the equivalent resistance
4. Design the Norton equivalent circuit

In the example, the total current Itotal is given by:

The current through the load is then, using the current divider rule:

And the equivalent resistance looking back into the circuit is:

So the equivalent circuit is a 3.75 mA current source in parallel with a 2 kΩ resistor.

Conversion to a Thévenin equivalent

A Norton equivalent circuit is related to the Thévenin equivalent by
the equations:

To a Thévenin equivalent
Queueing theory
The passive circuit equivalent of "Norton's theorem" in queuing theory is called the Chandy Herzog Woo
theorem.[3][4][7] In a reversible queueing system, it is often possible to replace an uninteresting subset of
queues by a single (FCFS or PS) queue with an appropriately chosen service rate.[8]

See also
Ohm's Law
Millman's theorem
Source transformation
Superposition theorem
Thévenin's theorem
Maximum power transfer theorem
Extra element theorem

References
1. Mayer, Hans Ferdinand (1926). "Ueber das Ersatzschema der Verstärkerröhre" [On
equivalent circuits for electronic amplifiers]. Telegraphen- und Fernsprech-Technik (in
German). 15: 335–337.
2. Norton, Edward Lawry (1926). "Design of finite networks for uniform frequency
characteristic". Bell Laboratories. Technical Report TM26–0–1860.
3. Johnson, Don H. (2003). "Origins of the equivalent circuit concept: the voltage-source
equivalent" (http://www.ece.rice.edu/~dhj/paper1.pdf) (PDF). Proceedings of the IEEE. 91
(4): 636–640. doi:10.1109/JPROC.2003.811716 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2FJPROC.2003.8
11716). hdl:1911/19968 (https://hdl.handle.net/1911%2F19968).
4. Johnson, Don H. (2003). "Origins of the equivalent circuit concept: the current-source
equivalent" (http://www.ece.rice.edu/~dhj/paper2.pdf) (PDF). Proceedings of the IEEE. 91
(5): 817–821. doi:10.1109/JPROC.2003.811795 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2FJPROC.2003.8
11795).
5. Brittain, James E. (March 1990). "Thevenin's theorem" (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/sea
rchresult.jsp?newsearch=true&queryText=James+E.+Brittain+Thevenin%27s+theorem&.x=
41&.y=17). IEEE Spectrum. 27 (3): 42. doi:10.1109/6.48845 (https://doi.org/10.1109%2F6.48
845). S2CID 2279777 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:2279777). Retrieved
2013-02-01.
6. Dorf, Richard C.; Svoboda, James A. (2010). "Chapter 5: Circuit Theorems" (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20120430052426/http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP00
0347.html). Introduction to Electric Circuits (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
pp. 162–207. ISBN 978-0-470-52157-1. Archived from the original (http://ca.wiley.com/Wiley
CDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP000347.html) on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
 7. Gunther, Neil J. (2004). Analyzing Computer System Performance with Perl::PDQ (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=rp1EZKnr48kC&pg=PA83) (Online ed.). Berlin: Springer
Science+Business Media. p. 281. ISBN 978-3-540-20865-5.
8. Chandy, Kanianthra Mani; Herzog, Ulrich; Woo, Lin S. (January 1975). "Parametric Analysis
of Queuing Networks" (https://scholar.google.ca/scholar_url?hl=en&q=http://citeseerx.ist.ps
u.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.93.9312%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&sa=
X&scisig=AAGBfm1HEBU-rSFYLTIePQWPitczchOopA&oi=scholarr&ei=L3wQUfP9DOHWi
wKYtICQAQ&ved=0CC4QgAMoADAA). IBM Journal of Research and Development. 19 (1):
36–42. doi:10.1147/rd.191.0036 (https://doi.org/10.1147%2Frd.191.0036).

External links
Media related to Norton's theorem at Wikimedia Commons
Norton's theorem at allaboutcircuits.com (https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-cu
rrent/chpt-10/nortons-theorem/)

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