DC CIRCUIT TERMINOLOGY
Basic DC Theory
Summary
The important information concerning basic DC circuits is summarized below.
DC Circuit Terminology Summary
There are four types of circuit diagrams.
- Schematic diagram
- One-line diagram
- Block diagram
- Wiring diagram
Resistivity is defined as the measure of the resistance a material imposes on
current flow.
Temperature coefficient of resistance, a (alpha), is defined as the amount of
change of the resistance of a material for a given change in temperature.
A closed circuit is one that has a complete path for current flow.
An open circuit is one that does not have a complete path for current flow.
A short circuit is a circuit with a path that has little or no resistance to current
flow.
A series circuit is one where there is only one path for current flow.
A parallel circuit is one which has two or more components connected across
the same voltage source.
Equivalent resistance is the total resistance of the resistors in parallel.
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