Kirchhoff's Laws Explained with Simple Animations

Welcome to Kirchhoff's Current Law, a fundamental principle of electrical circuits.Kirchhoff's Current Law states that the sum of currents entering a node equals the sum of currents leaving it.Let's look at a simple example with three wires meeting at a junction point.We have two currents flowing into the node: a 2 amp current shown in blue, and a 3 amp current shown in green.According to KCL, these currents must equal the outgoing current, which is 5 amps, shown in red.This law is based on the principle of conservation of charge. Let's watch how the charges flow through our junction.Let's verify that our circuit satisfies KCL. The sum of incoming currents, 2 amps plus 3 amps, equals the outgoing current of 5 amps.Kirchhoff's Voltage Law states that the sum of all voltage drops around any closed loop in a circuit must equal zero.In this series circuit, we have a 9-volt battery, two resistors of 3 and 4 ohms, and an LED with a 2-volt drop.As we move around the circuit loop, the battery provides a positive 9 volts.Then we encounter voltage drops across each component: 3 volts across the first resistor.4 volts across the second resistor.And finally, 2 volts across the LED.According to KVL, these voltages must sum to zero. The battery's positive 9 volts equals the sum of all voltage drops.Following the loop: positive 9 volts from the battery, minus 3 volts across the first resistor, minus 4 volts across the second resistor, and minus 2 volts across the LED, giving us zero volts total.Now let's see how Kirchhoff's Laws work together in a practical parallel circuit.In this circuit, we have a 12-volt battery and two resistors in parallel: 6 ohms and 12 ohms.Let's start by applying Kirchhoff's Current Law at the junction. The total current splits between the two paths.Next, we apply Kirchhoff's Voltage Law to each loop. In parallel circuits, the voltage across each resistor equals the battery voltage.Here's our systematic approach to solving parallel circuits.Let's conclude with some important tips for circuit analysis.Let's review the key points about circuit analysis using Kirchhoff's Laws.Thanks for learning about circuit analysis with Spark.E!