Serial and Parallel Connection

One of the whales on which manyconcept in electronics, is the concept of a serial and parallel connection of conductors. Know the main differences of these types of connection is simply necessary. Without this, one can not understand and read a single scheme.

Basic principles

Electric current moves along the conductor fromsource to the consumer (load). Most often, a copper cable is used as a conductor. This is due to the requirement that is imposed on the conductor: it must easily release electrons.

Regardless of the method of connection, electriccurrent moves from positive to negative. It is in this direction that the potential diminishes. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the wire carrying the current is also resistive. But its meaning is very small. That's why they are neglected. The conductor resistance is assumed to be zero. In the event that the conductor has a resistance, it is customary to call it a resistor.

Parallel connection

In this case, the elements entering the chain,are united by two nodes. With other nodes they have no connections. Sites of a chain with such a connection are usually called branches. A diagram of the parallel connection is shown in the figure below.

To put it more clearly, in thisIn case all conductors are connected at one end in one node, and the second one in the second. This leads to the fact that the electric current is divided into all elements. This increases the conductivity of the entire circuit.

When connecting conductors to a data circuitway the voltage of each of them will be the same. But the current strength of the entire circuit will be determined as the sum of the currents flowing through all the elements. Taking into account Ohm's law by simple mathematical calculations, an interesting regularity is obtained: the reciprocal of the total resistance of the whole chain is defined as the sum of the reciprocals of the resistances of each individual element. Only elements connected in parallel are considered.

Serial connection

In this case, all elements of the chain are connectedin the way that they do not form a single node. With this method of connection, there is one significant drawback. It consists in the fact that if one of the conductors fails, all subsequent elements can not work. A striking example of this situation is the usual garland. If one of the light bulbs burns out, the whole garland stops working.

Sequential connection of the elements differs in that the current in all conductors is equal to. As for the voltage of the circuit, it is equal to the sum of the voltage of the individual elements.

In this scheme, the conductors are connected in a circuitalternately. And this means that the resistance of the entire circuit will be composed of individual resistances, characteristic of each element. That is, the total resistance of the circuit is equal to the sum of the resistances of all conductors. This same dependence can be derived in a mathematical way, using Ohm's law.

Mixed circuits

There are situations when one scheme is possibleTo see simultaneous and parallel connection of elements at the same time. In this case, they speak of a mixed compound. The calculation of such schemes is carried out separately for each of the group of conductors.

So, to determine the total resistance,it is necessary to combine the resistance of the elements connected in parallel and the resistance of the elements with a series connection. In this case, the serial connection is dominant. That is, it is calculated first. And only after that determine the resistance of elements with parallel connection.

Connecting LEDs

Knowing the basics of the two types of connecting elements inchain, you can understand the principle of creating circuits of various electrical appliances. Let's consider an example. The connection scheme of the LEDs depends largely on the voltage of the current source.

With a small mains voltage (up to 5 V), the LEDsconnected in series. Reduce the level of electromagnetic interference in this case will help the capacitor type and linear resistors. Conductivity of LEDs is increased due to the use of system modulators.

With a voltage of 12 V,serial, and parallel network connection. In the case of serial connection, use a switching power supply. If a chain of three LEDs is assembled, then you can do without an amplifier. But if the circuit will include more elements, then an amplifier is needed.

In the second case, that is, when parallelconnection, it is necessary to use two open resistors and an amplifier (with a bandwidth of more than 3 A). And the first resistor is installed in front of the amplifier, and the second - after.

At a high voltage of the network (220 V), a serial connection is used. At the same time, operational amplifiers and lowering power supplies are additionally used.