Chapter 2:

Basic Laws (Part 1)

Prof. Hyun-Sik Kim

*Lecture materials are modified version of the contents provided by Prof. Minkyu Je (KAIST)
Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 1
 Outline
 Ohm’s Law

 Node, Branch, and Loop

 Kirchhoff’s Laws

 Series Resistors and Voltage Division

 Parallel Resistors and Current Division

 Wye-Delta Transformations

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 2

 Ohm’s Law
 Named for the German physicist Georg Simon Ohm

 The voltage across a resistance is directly proportional to the current flowing

through it.

 The resistance, measured in ohms (), is the constant of proportionality

between the voltage and current.

v (t ) = R  i (t ) , where R  0

1  = 1 VA

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 3

 Resistors in Real World
 Ohm’s law is an approximation valid while voltages and currents remain in the
linear range.

Linear approximation

i
Linear range

Actual V-I relationship

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 4

 Instantaneous Power
 Resistor is a passive element.
 The power supplied to the terminals is absorbed by the resistor.
 The charge moves from the higher to the lower potential as it passes
through the resistor.
 The energy is dissipated by the resistor in the form of heat.

 The rate of energy dissipation is the instantaneous power.

 The power is a nonlinear function of either current or voltage.
 It is always a positive quantity.

p(t ) = v (t )  i (t )
v 2 (t )
= R  i (t ) =
2
R

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 5

 Conductance
 Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance.
1
G=
R

 The unit of conductance is siemens (S).

1 S = 1 AV

 Ohm’s law can be rewritten as

i (t ) = G  v (t ).

 The instantaneous power is calculated as

i 2 (t )
p(t ) = = G  v 2 (t ).
G

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 6

 Two Extreme Values
 Variable resistance
Describe a resistor such as the volume control on a
radio or television set

 R = 0; short circuit

v (t ) = R  i (t ) = 0

i (t ) = ?

 R =  ; open circuit

i (t ) = v (t ) R = 0

v (t ) = ?

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 7

 Examples
 Determine the voltage and the current in the circuit

VS2 R = P

VS2 = P  R = (3.6  10 − 3 )  (10  10 3 ) = 36

VS = 6 V

If VS = +6 V,
IS = VS R = + 6 (10  10 3 ) = +0.6 mA

If VS = −6 V,
IS = VS R = − 6 (10  10 3 ) = −0.6 mA

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 8

 Lumped-Parameter Circuit
 It is assumed that the interconnection is performed by electrical conductors
(wires) that have zero resistance–that is, perfect conductors.

 Because the wires have zero resistance, the energy in the circuit is in essence
lumped in each element.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 9

 Node, Branch, and Loop
 Node
 A point of connection of two or more circuit elements
 It may be stretched out or compressed with perfect conductors for visual
purposes.

5 nodes in total

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 10

 Node, Branch, and Loop
 Branch
 Portion of a circuit containing only a single element and the nodes at each
end of the element

8 branches in total

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 11

 Node, Branch, and Loop
 Loop
 Any closed path through the circuit in which no node is encountered more
than once

13 loops
in total

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 12

 Conservation of Charge
 Charges cannot be stored at a node. A node connects several components, but
it does not hold any charge.

 Therefore, if we have a number of charges entering a node, then a equal

number must be leaving that same node.

Node

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 13

 Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
 Named after German Scientist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff

 The algebraic sum of the currents entering any node is zero:

N


j =1
i j (t ) = 0

where ij(t) is the j th current entering the node through branch j and N is the
number of branches connected to the node.

 Ex) Applying KCL to node 3 yields

i 2 (t ) − i 4 (t ) + i 5 (t ) − i 7 (t ) = 0

where we assume that the algebraic signs of

the currents entering the node are positive
and the signs of the current leaving the node
are negative.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 14

 Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
 If we multiply the foregoing equation by −1, we obtain the expression

− i 2 (t ) + i 4 (t ) − i 5 (t ) + i 7 (t ) = 0

which states that the algebraic sum of the currents leaving a node is zero.

 Alternatively we can write the equation as

i 2 (t ) + i 5 (t ) = i 4 (t ) + i 7 (t )

which states that the sum of the currents entering a node is equal to the sum
of the currents leaving the node.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 15

 Examples
 Writing all KCL equations for nodes 1 through 5,

Node 1: − i1(t ) + i 2 (t ) + i 3 (t ) = 0

Node 2: i1(t ) − i 4 (t ) + i 6 (t ) = 0

Node 3: − i 2 (t ) + i 4 (t ) − i 5 (t ) + i 7 (t ) = 0
Node 4: − i 3 (t ) + i 5 (t ) − i 8 (t ) = 0

Node 5: − i 6 (t ) − i 7 (t ) + i 8 (t ) = 0

 If we add the first four equations, we obtain

the 5th equation which is redundant.
 The first four equations are linearly
independent.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 16

 Examples
 Find the unknown currents in the network.
 Assuming the currents leaving the node are positive,

Node 1: − I1 + 0.06 + 0.02 = 0 I1 = 80 mA

Node 4: − 0.02 + I 5 − 0.03 = 0 I 5 = 50 mA

Node 3: − 0.06 + I 4 − I 5 + 0.04 = 0 I 4 = 70 mA

Node 2: I1 − I 4 + I 6 = 0 I 6 = −10 mA

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 17

 Generalization of KCL
 The algebraic sum of the current entering any closed surface is zero.
 A closed surface means some set of elements completely contained within
the surface that are interconnected.
 Since the current entering each element within the surface is equal to that
leaving the element, it follows that the current entering an interconnection of
elements is equal to that leaving the interconnection.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 18

 Examples
 Find I4 and I1 in the network.
 Node 1 is enclosed in surface 1, and nodes 3 and 4 are enclosed in surface 2.
 If we apply KCL to surface 2, we obtain
I 4 − 0.06 − 0.02 − 0.03 + 0.04 = 0
or I4 = 70 mA which we obtained without any knowledge of I5.
 Likewise for surface 1, what goes in must come out and, therefore I1 = 80 mA.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 19

 Conservation of Energy
 If the charge comes back to the same initial point, the net energy gain must be
zero.
 In other words, the work required to move a unit charge around any loop is
zero.
 Otherwise, the charge could end up with infinite energy, or supply an infinite
amount of energy.

B
W1 = qVAB VB
W2 = qVBC

VA VC
q
A − VCA + C
W3 = qVCA

W1 + W2 + W3 = q(VAB + VBC + VCA) = 0

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 20

 Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)
 The algebraic sum of voltage drops around any loop is zero:
N


j =1
v j (t ) = 0

where vj(t) is the voltage across the j th branch (with the proper reference
direction) in a loop containing N voltages.

 Ex) Starting at point a in the network and

traversing it in a clockwise direction,

+ VR 1 − 5 + VR 2 − 15 + VR 3 − 30 = 0

where we have adopted a policy of

considering a decrease in energy level as
positive and an increase in energy level
as negative.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 21

 Forms for Labeling Voltage
 We employ the convention Vab to indicate the voltage of point a with respect to
point b: that is, the variable for the voltage between point a and point b, with
point a considered positive relative to point b.

 Since the potential is measured between two points, it is convenient to use an

arrow between the two points, with the head of the arrow located at the
positive node.

Equivalent forms for labeling voltage

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 22

 Examples
 This network has three closed paths:
the left loop, right loop, and outer loop.
 Writing KVL equations for these
three loops,
Left loop: VR 1 + VR 4 − 16 − 24 = 0

Right loop: VR 2 + VR 3 + 8 + 16 − VR 4 = 0
Outer loop: VR 1 + VR 2 + VR 3 + 8 − 24 = 0

 If we add the first two equations, we

obtain the third equation.
 The three equations are not linearly
independent.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 23

 Examples
 Find voltages Vae and Vec .
 Applying KVL to the path aefa, Vae + 10 − 24 = 0, resulting in Vae = 14 V.
 We can obtain the same result using the path abcdea as well, but more
complicated: 16 − 12 + 4 + 6 − Vae = 0, leading to Vae = 14 V.
 To find the value of Vec , using the path cdec, 4 + 6 + Vec = 0, resulting in Vec =
−10 V.

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 24

 Summary
 Ohm’s Law  Kirchhoff’s Laws
 Statement  Conservation of charge
 Resistors in real world  Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL)
 Instantaneous power  Generalization of KCL
 Conductance  Conservation of energy
 Two extreme values  Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL)
 Forms for labeling voltage
 Lumped Parameter Circuit
 Node
 Branch
 Loop

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 25

 Recommended Problems
 Problems 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 2.12, 2.14, 2.21, 2.24, 2.26, 2.38

Basic Laws EE201 Circuit Theory 26