In this article, we will discuss electric circuits and types of electric circuits – AC Circuit, DC Circuit, Open Circuit, Short Circuit, Series Circuit, Parallel Circuit, and Series-Parallel Circuit. In electrical and electronics engineering, we frequently use the term circuit or electric circuit. So it is important for an electrical or electronic engineer that he or she should be familiar with the meaning of the term circuit and different types of circuits. Although, we often use the term network many times. Therefore, an electrical professional should be clear about the actual meaning of a circuit and a network.
What is an Electric Network?
An interconnection of different electric circuit components
like resistors, inductors, capacitors, batteries, switches, transistors, etc. is
called an electric network. Thus, an
electric network is simply an interconnection of two or more circuit elements. In an electric network, it is not necessary to have a closed path for current
flow. That means, there may or may not be a closed path in the network.
Consequently, an open circuit can also be referred to as an electric network. An electric network does
not need to have a source of energy. An example of an electric network is shown
in figure-1.
What is an Electric Circuit?
An interconnected network of different electrical components
like energy sources, resistors, inductors, capacitors, transistors, etc.
necessarily having a closed path for the flow of electric current is called an electric circuit. Therefore, we may
define the electric circuit simply as an electric network having a
closed path. An electric circuit must consist of at least one source of energy.
A simple electric circuit consists of three main components namely a source, a load, and connecting leads. Figure-2 shows a simple electric circuit having a battery as a source, copper wires as connecting leads, and a lamp as a load.
Important – It is
important to note that all electric circuits are electric networks, but the
inverse is not true, i.e. not all electric networks need to be electric
circuits. Only those electrical networks are called circuits that have at least
one closed path for current to flow and a source of energy.
Types of Electric Circuits
There could be several types of electric circuits, but the
following are the most important types of electric circuits:
- DC Circuit
- AC Circuit
- Open Circuit
- Closed Circuit
- Series Circuit
- Parallel Circuit
- Series-Parallel Circuit
Now, we will discuss each of these electric circuits one by
one in detail.
(1). DC Circuit:
An electric circuit that is excited using a source of direct current is referred to as a dc circuit or direct current circuit. Direct current circuits are commonly used in toys, computers, LED TVs, smartphones, electric vehicles, torch lights, emergency lights, and many other electronic devices. The dc circuit contains a source of dc supply like a cell, battery, dc generator, etc. A typical dc circuit is shown in figure-3.
(2). AC Circuit:
An electric circuit that is excited using a source of alternating current is called an ac circuit or alternating current circuit. Alternating current circuits or ac circuits are commonly used in domestic, commercial, and industrial applications. The electric circuit of the fan and light bulb that we have in our house is a very simple example of ac circuit. An ac circuit contains a source of ac supply like an alternator. A typical ac circuit is shown in figure-4.
(3). Open Circuit:
An electric circuit that has no closed path for electric current to flow is known as an open circuit. Thus, the open circuit is an incomplete circuit that does not have any return path for current flow. An electric circuit with a switch in the off state is a simple example of an open circuit which is shown in figure-5.
(4). Closed Circuit:
An electric circuit that has a closed loop or path for electric current to flow is called a closed circuit. A closed circuit has a return path for the flow of electric current. Thus, it is a complete circuit. An example of a closed electric circuit is shown in figure-6.
(5). Series Circuit:
An electric circuit in which all the circuit components are connected end to end in a chain fashion so that there is only one path for the flow of electric current is called a series circuit. In a series circuit, the electric current flowing through all circuit components is the same, but the voltage across each component is different depending on the property of the element. An example of a typical series circuit is shown in figure-7.
(6). Parallel Circuit:
An electric circuit in which one end of all the circuit components is connected to a common point and the other end of all the components is connected to another common point so that there are as many paths for the flow of electric current as the number of components, then it is called a parallel circuit.
In the case of a parallel circuit, the current flowing through each component is different and depends upon the characteristics of the element. But, the voltage across all the components is the same and equal to the source voltage. An example of a typical parallel circuit is shown in figure-8.
(7). Series-Parallel Circuit:
In practice, we usually come across such electric circuits that have some circuit components connected in series, and some other in parallel. Such electric circuits are referred to as series-parallel circuits. An example of a series-parallel circuit is shown in figure-9.
Conclusion
Hence, this is all about an electric circuit and electric
network, and types of electric circuits. The important point that we must note
while using the terms circuit and network is that the term ‘circuit’ is used to
refer to an interconnection of circuit components having at least one closed
path. On the other hand, the term ‘network’ can be used to refer to any
arrangement of circuit components.
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