An electric circuit is a closed trajectory in which electrons propagate to generate electric currents. It mainly consists of components like regulators, a source of electricity, a closed conducting loop, etc. Switches and fuses are used to control the circuit. Usually, a conductive wire is connected to a load and source of voltage.
Here are the five main types of electric circuits.
Open Circuit
An open circuit is an electric circuit that has no path for current to flow back. Current can only travel in a circuit if it finds a continuous or closed path. If there is a discontinuity in the course, the current cannot propagate. In other words, an open circuit is basically a dead circuit where no current flows through it. Even though the current cannot propagate through such an open loop, there is some measurable voltage drop among two points of the open circuit.
Closed Circuit
A closed circuit permits electric charges to flow without any interruptions. When the conducting loop is complete and current can easily flow, such circuits are called closed circuits. Here all the
Components connected without any gap.values of current, voltage and resistance/impedance can be measured using the network analysis method.
Short Circuit
A short circuit is stated as an abnormal connection between two redistribution points that compels them to be at an identical voltage. There will be no resistance and no voltage drop over the circuit loop in a perfect short circuit. This will result in a current flow restricted only by the Thévenin resistance of the remaining network. It might cause circuit impairment, explosion or overheat. Short circuits are intentionally used in the cases of arc welding and voltage-sensing crowbars.
Series Circuit
The current flowing through each circuit element in a series circuit is the same. The voltage over the conducting loop is the aggregate sum of the independent voltage drops over each component. A series circuit only possesses one path track through which electric current can travel. Breaking or opening such a circuit at any point makes the whole circuit start or stop working.
Both dc and ac circuits can be connected in series. In order to find the maximum external power produced with a finite internal resistance or impedance, the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem can be applied to these circuits.
Parallel Circuit
In a parallel circuit, each component is planted in its own separate section. The existence of such independent units means that there are numerous tracks by which electric charge can travel across the external circuit. Every charge flowing through the coil of the external circuit will go through one resistor in a single section. When reaching the nodes, electric charges decide which section to pass through on its way back to the meagre potential endpoint. This circuit is primarily used to maintain charge flow when one pathway is blocked or disrupted. Current should be able to flow through the remaining branch of the circuit.
Series-Parallel Circuit
In this hybrid circuit, devices are connected in series in some branches and parallel in others. Here we can’t apply a single system of rules to all the parts of the circuit. Depending on the nature of the connection, we should classify each branch into series and parallel sub-circuits. Then individually solve those subsections using the appropriate circuit laws. Most of the complex electric and electronic systems use a combination of parallel and series circuits.
