EXPERIMEN 16 KIRCHHOFF'S CURRENT LAW OBJECTIVES 1, To find a relationship between the sum of the currents centering any junction of an electric circuit and the current leaving that junction 2. To verify experimentally the relationship found in objec- tive 1 BASIC INFORMATION Current Law Experiment 11 verified that the total current /, in a circuit containing resistors connected in parallel is equal to the sum fof the currents in each of the parallel branches. This was one demonstration of Kirchhoff’s current law, limited to a paral- Jel network, The law is general, however, and applies to any circuit, Kirchhoff’s current law states that The current entering any junction of an electric circuit is ‘equal to the current leaving that junction. In the series-parallel circuit of Figure 16-1, the total current is /,. It enters the junction at A in the direction indicated by the arrow. The currents leaving the junction at A are /,, J, and [, as shown, The currents J, 1,, and /, then enter the junction at B, and /, leaves the junction at B. What is the relationship between [,,!,,/»,and /,? ‘The voltage across the parallel circuit can be found using ‘Ohm's law: Vig = 10 The parallel network may be replaced by its equivalent resistance R,, in which case Figure 16-1 is transformed into a simple series circuit and V,, = J, R,, It follows, there- fore, that fy XR = BR, x R, (16-1) Formula (16-1) may be rewritten as nox ® R (16-2) 4i]Es {i|—+ 3 Figure 16-1. The totalcurent through the supplyisthe sum! the curentsin each ofthe branches, ‘copyright © 1992 by Gencoe Dison of Macmian-MeGraw Hil lights reserved. 109Adding J, ,,and J, gives htt yet x Bey x Bayh Meer, 1, ~ 1 x pi(doy Ag a tht hata (eget But That is, =hthth (16-3) Formula (16-3) is a mathematical statement of Kirchhoff's Jaw, applied to the circuit of Figure 16-1. In general if is the current entering a junction of an electric circuit, and /, Tol «++ ate the currents leaving that junction, then L=hth+hto+l, (6-4 This applies equally well if 7, is a current leaving a junction, and Jif fy. «J, ate the currents entering that junction Kirchhoff’s current law is often stated in another way: The algebraic sum of the currents entering and leaving «junction is zero, Recall that this is similar to the formulation of Kirchhoff’s voltage law: The algebraic sum of the voltages in a closed ath or loop is zero. ust as it was necessary to agree on a polarity convention for voltages in a loop, so itis necessary to agree on a current ‘convention at a junction. Ifthe current entering a junction is, ‘considered positive (+) and the current leaving a junction is ‘considered negative (-), then the statement that the alge- braic sum of the currents entering and leaving a junction is zero can be shown to be identical with formula (16-4). Consider the circuit of Figure 16-2. The total current /, ‘enters the junction at A and is considered +. The currents /" and f, leave the junction at A and are designated ~. Then, H,--h=0 (16-5) and hath (16-6) Obviously, the two statements of Kirchhoff's current law lead to the same formula, An example shows how Kirchhoff’s current law may be applied to solve circuit problems. Suppose in Figure 16-3 that J, and /, are currents entering the junction at A and are, respectively, +5 A and +3 A. Currents J, , and /, are 110 Experiment 16 eee Figure 16-2. The algebraic sum of the currents entering and loav- ing a junction is equal to zero, leaving A. Currents /, and /, are, respectively, 2 A and 1 A. ‘What is the value of /,? Applying Kirchhoff's current law, hth - 1 nso and substituting the known values of current, we get S+3-2-1-1 S-1,=0 1=5A SUMMARY + Kirehhoff’s current law states that the current entering any junction of an electric circuit is equal to the current leaving that junction, 2. To use Kirchhoff’s current law in solving circuit prob- Jems, polarity is assigned to current entering a junction (assume it is +) and to current leaving a junction (assume itis. 3. Using the polarities given in 2, Kirchhof’s current law ‘may be stated as follows: The sum of the currents enter- Figure 16-3. Currents entering and leaving junction A, Copyright © 1982 by Glencoe Dison of Macrnlar-McGraw-Hil Al ight reserveding and le at junction A. 4 junction is zero, Thus, for Figure 16-1, PROCEDURE a Note: This experiment requires numerous measurements of current in series-parallel circuits. If only one ammeter is available, it will be necessary to break the line for which a current reading mustbe taken, Disconnect powertto the circuit by opening S, each time the position ofthe ammeteris changed. 1, Measure the resistance ofeach ofthe resistors supplied and record its value in Table 16-1 (p. 113). 2. With power off and S, open, connect the circuit of Figure 16-4 (p. 112), Power on. Adjust the power supply so that V,,= 15. 3. Close 5,. Measure currents Iq. Lo fy ays Lys ay lyst Igy» And I,,, Record the values in Table 16-2 (P. 113). Calculate the sum of /, and /, and the sum of /,f,. and 1,, Record your answers in Table 16-2. 5, open: power off. 4. Design a series-paralel circuit consisting of three paral- Jel branches and two series resistors similar tothe circuit of Figure 16-1. The currents in the three parallel branch- es should be such that the current in the second branch ‘Copyright ©1982 by Glarcoe Divion of Macmilan-MeGraw Hil Al ight resorve, St MATERIALS REQUIRED Power Supply: Variable 0-15 V de, regulated instruments: DMM or VOM © 0-10-mA milliammeter Resistors (/2-W, 5%): 1 330-0 1 470-0 1 820.0 1 1000-0 1 1200.0 1 2200-0 1 3300-0 1 4700-0 Miscellaneous: SPST switch approximately twice the current in the first branch, and the current in the third branch is approximately three times the current in the first branch. (Stated another way, the currents in the three parallel branches are inthe ratio 1:2:3, approximately.) Use only the resistors supplied for this experiment. The total current in the circuit is 6 mA. ‘The maximum voltage available is 15 V. Show the posi- tion of the meters used to measure current through each resistor and /,. Include a switch to disconnect power to your circuit. Draw a complete diagram of the circuit ‘showing the rated values of the resistors chosen, the cal- culated current in each line, and the applied voltage. Show all calculations used to find the values of the resistors. ‘5. With power off and the switch open, connect the circuit ‘you designed in step 4. After approval of the circuit by ‘your instructor, tum power on. Adjust the power supply to your design voltage. Read all currents in the circuit and record the values in Table 16-3 (p. 113). S, opens power off, Kirchhof's Current Law 114: DWE R, a ae R, ty Wf Vos iaanaan 4s Rs : 5 4 & re Dl} * cy. a 4 ky : Figure 16-4. Circuit for procedure stop 2. 112 Experiment 16 [Copyignt © 1982 by Glencoe Division of Macmilan-MeGraw:Hl Al ight reserve,