Two laws that describe the conservation of charge and energy in electrical circuits.
Electrical circuits: The basic components of an electrical circuit, including resistors, capacitors, and inductors, and how they interact with each other.
Ohm's Law: The relationship between voltage, current, and resistance, which is fundamental to understanding Kirchhoff's Laws.
Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL): The principle that the sum of currents entering and leaving a node in an electrical circuit must be zero.
Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL): The principle that the sum of voltages around a closed loop in an electrical circuit must be zero.
Series circuits: Electrical circuits in which the components are connected end-to-end, so that the same current flows through each one.
Parallel circuits: Electrical circuits in which the components are connected in parallel, so that the same voltage is applied to each one.
Mesh analysis: A method of analyzing electrical circuits that uses Kirchhoff's Voltage Law to determine the currents flowing through each mesh.
Nodal analysis: A method of analyzing electrical circuits that uses Kirchhoff's Current Law to determine the voltages at each node.
Thevenin's Theorem: A theorem that allows you to simplify a complex electrical circuit into a simpler equivalent circuit, with a single voltage source and a single resistance.
Norton's Theorem: A theorem that allows you to simplify a complex electrical circuit into a simpler equivalent circuit, with a single current source and a single resistance.
Superposition theorem: A theorem that allows you to analyze the behavior of an electrical circuit by considering the effects of each voltage source or current source one at a time.
Transient analysis: The study of the behavior of an electrical circuit during the period immediately following the application of a voltage or current.
RC circuits: Electrical circuits that contain both resistors and capacitors, and which exhibit interesting behavior in response to changes in voltage or current.
RL circuits: Electrical circuits that contain both resistors and inductors, and which exhibit interesting behavior in response to changes in voltage or current.
RLC circuits: Electrical circuits that contain resistors, capacitors, and inductors, and which exhibit interesting behavior in response to changes in voltage or current.
Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL): This law states that, at any point in an electric circuit, the total current flowing into that point must be equal to the total current flowing out of that point.
Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL): This law states that, in a closed loop electric circuit, the sum of the voltage drops (or rise) across all the components in that loop must be equal to the voltage of the source.