Resistors In Parallel

In a parallel connection, the circuit elements are connected between the same two terminals.

The advantage of parallel connection is that, even if one element in the circuit breaks, it does not affect the other elements.

Consider three resistors connected directly across the battery of terminals of voltage "V" and current "I".

Since all the resistors are connected between the same terminals, they have the same potential drop.

In contrast, the current through each branch varies depending on the value of the resistor. A high-value resistor will limit more current.

However, the sum of individual currents across each resistor equals the total current drawn from the battery.

The combination of resistors can be treated as equivalent to a single resistor, whose value is always less than the smallest resistance in the circuit.

The ratio of the total current and the potential difference equals one by equivalent resistance.

This expression can be generalized for any number of resistors.

Thus, the inverse of the equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the inverses of the individual resistances.