We explain what a series circuit is and the elements that make it up. Also, differences with a parallel circuit and examples.
What is a series circuit?
A type of electrical circuit is called a series circuit. provided with a single path for the current which must reach all the terminals or terminals connected in the network successively, that is, one after the other, connecting their exit points with the entry points of the next one.
If we explain it with a hydraulic metaphor, we will have two or more water tanks arranged in such a way that the outlet pipe of one is the inlet pipe of the next, and so on.
series circuits supply the terminals with the same amount of current at the same identical intensity and provides the circuit with an equivalent resistance equal to the sum of the resistances of each connected terminal, but always higher than the largest of them; This means that as we add terminals, the resistance increases (rather than decreases, as in parallel circuits).
Series circuits are useful because they allow voltage to be added, especially in relation to generators; this is, allow to accumulate the power of the network. That is why certain devices use a certain number of batteries to power themselves: because only then can they reach the required voltage. Otherwise we would require a single, more powerful and expensive battery.
See also: Power supply
Elements of a series circuit
The elements that make up a series circuit are not essentially different from those of a circuit of another type. The substantial difference is how they are arranged. Thus, we have that a parallel circuit is composed of:
- An electrical source Where the energy transmitted by the conductor originates.
- A driver Usually made of a metallic material (copper, etc.) that runs from the source to the terminals and back, allowing the electronic flow that is electricity.
- Terminals or receivers Which are each of the devices connected to the electrical network, which receive the current and transform it into another type of energy: light if they are light bulbs, kinetic if they are motors, etc.
Differences between a series circuit and a parallel circuit
A series circuit and a parallel circuit constitute opposing models. Their values, in fact, are calculated using the opposite equations. However, the great and substantial difference between the two has to do with the sustained flow of electric current.
While a parallel circuit allows each terminal to enjoy its own electrical flow that is, allowing it to operate separately from the rest and therefore not lose current if the neighboring terminal is damaged or interrupted, series circuits, on the other hand, depend on the correct functioning of the neighbor to continue operating, since the output of the latter is the entrance of this one. So if one terminal is damaged in the series circuit, the entire network from that terminal onwards will lose access to the current.
Series Circuit Examples
Formerly, The Christmas lights with which the tree is decorated came in series circuits which made its production more economical, since the sum of voltages in the series sustained the electrical tension to make them shine, but it meant that when one of the small light bulbs burned out, the entire network from then on was interrupted.
Another common application of these circuits is found in certain hazardous machinery, which has an emergency button to turn it off. Its operation depends on the interruption of a normally closed series circuit, which opens at one point and strips the entire chain of electricity, stopping the machine.
