Title: Reading Assignments
Course: WGF 107 DEVELOPMENT > Section: Content

Image | Tree limbs cause a short circuit during a storm

Sub-Title | Shorts, Series, and Parallel Circuits
Content
A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no (or a very low) electrical impedance is encountered. The electrical opposite of a short circuit is an "open circuit", which is an infinite resistance between two nodes. It is common to misuse "short circuit" to describe any electrical malfunction, regardless of the actual problem.

A short circuit is an abnormal connection between two nodes of an electric circuit intended to be at different voltages. This results in an excessive electric current/overcurrent limited only by the Thévenin equivalent resistance of the rest of the network and potentially causes circuit damage, overheating, fire or explosion. Although usually the result of a fault, there are cases where short circuits are caused intentionally, for example, for the purpose of voltage-sensing crowbar circuit protectors.

In circuit analysis a short circuit is a connection between two nodes that forces them to be at the same voltage. In an ideal short circuit, this means there is no resistance and no voltage drop across the short. In real circuits, the result is a connection with almost no resistance. In such a case, the current that flows is limited by the rest of the circuit.

Components of an electrical circuit or electronic circuit can be connected in many different ways. The two simplest of these are called series and parallel and occur very frequently. Components connected in series are connected along a single path, so the same current flows through all of the components.^[1]^[2] Components connected in parallel are connected so the same voltage is applied to each component.^[3]

A circuit composed solely of components connected in series is known as a series circuit; likewise, one connected completely in parallel is known as a parallel circuit.

Series circuits

Series circuits are sometimes called current-coupled or daisy chain-coupled. The current in a series circuit goes through every component in the circuit. Therefore, all of the components in a series connection carry the same current. There is only one path in a series circuit in which the current can flow.

A series circuit's main disadvantage or advantage, depending on its intended role in a product's overall design, is that because there is only one path in which its current can flow, opening or breaking a series circuit at any point causes the entire circuit to "open" or stop operating. For example, if even one of the light bulbs in an older-style string of Christmas tree lights burns out or is removed, the entire string becomes inoperable until the bulb is replaced.
Links/Uploads | Wikipedia – The Free Internet Encyclopedia Short Circuits                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_circuit Series and Parallel Circuits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_circuits#Series_circuits
Attributions | Image and Content courtesy of WIKIPEDIA – The Free Internet Encyclopedia