From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Resistors in parallel

Resistors in parallel

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Resistors in parallel

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- [Instructor] Resistors are connected in parallel when both of their terminals are connected to each terminal of another resistor as shown here. The combined total resistance of parallel resistors will be less than the resistance of any individual resistor because the parallel configuration provides more possible paths for electrons to take as they travel through this circuit. When thinking about why combining resistors in parallel affects resistance, I like to use the analogy of current passing through a resistor, being like cars traveling down a road. Adding a second resistor in parallel creates a second possible path for the cars to travel down. The resistance along each path, corresponds to how difficult it is for the cars to drive along it. With a larger resistance representing a more treacherous road. If both roads have the same resistance, the current traveling through them will be split equally among each path.…

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