Circuit Analysis Using Kirchoffs Voltage Law, Kirchoffs Current Law,

Have you ever wondered how or what makes an electric circuit function? A fact that many people don't realize is that almost every electric circuit can be analyzed with three very important laws. Those laws are Kirchoff's Current Law, Kirchoff's Voltage Law, and Ohm's Law. With some practice and the above stated laws in your tool bag, you can feel assured that you too can analyze electric circuits with the best of them. However, before we get into the nitty-gritty of defining and using these laws, I recommend that you first connect to the links that offer a little historical information about the two men that defined these fundamental laws for electric circuit analysis. Gustav Robert Kirchoff was a German physicist born on March 12, 1824, in Konigsber, Prussia. Gustav Kirchoff's first research topic was on the conduction of electricity. As a result of this research, Kirchoff wrote the Laws of Closed Electric Circuits in 1845. These laws were eventually named after their author, which are now known as Kirchoff's Current and Voltage Laws. Because Kirchoff's Voltage and Current laws apply to all electric circuits, a firm understanding of these fundamental laws is paramount in the understanding of how an electronic circuit functions. Although these laws have immortalized Kirchoff in the field of Electrical Engineering, Kirchoff also had additional discoveries. Gustav Kirchoff was the first person to verify that an electrical impulse traveled at the speed of light. Furthermore, Kirchoff made major contributions in the study of spectroscopy and he advanced the research into blackbody radiation. Gustav Robert Kirchoff died in Berlin in October 17, 1887. Georg Simon Ohm was a German physicist born in Erlangen, Bavaria, on March 16, ... ...t is directly proportional to its applied voltage and inversely proportional to its resistance. In equation form, Ohm's law states V = I*R where V is the applied voltage, R is the resistance in Ohms, I is the current in amperes. Ohm's law demonstrates that if the applied voltage across a circuit is increased or decreased, the current generated in the circuit increases and decreases, respectively. Furthermore, as the resistance in a circuit increases, the current generated in the circuit decreases. The following are algebraic variations of Ohm's law that demonstrate theses observations. I = V / R R = V / I Using one of the three algebraic variations of Ohm's law, and any two known variables, one can solve for the other unknown quantity.