Difference between revisions of "Kirchoff's voltage law"
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| − | '''Kirchoff's voltage law''' ('''KVL''') states that that the [[voltage]] drops in any closed electrical loop must sum to 0.<ref name="Schwarz">Schwarz, Stephen E. and William G. Oldham. ''Electrical Engineering: An Introduction, 2e.'' Oxford University Press: 1993.</ref> A voltage drop is the change in voltage over any element in a [[circuit]]. | + | '''Kirchoff's voltage law''' ('''KVL''') states that that the change in potential difference (in other words, the ''[[voltage]] drops'') in any closed electrical loop must sum to 0.<ref name="Schwarz">Schwarz, Stephen E. and William G. Oldham. ''Electrical Engineering: An Introduction, 2e.'' Oxford University Press: 1993.</ref> A voltage drop is the change in voltage over any element in a [[circuit]]. |
KVL is derived from the fact that the voltage at any point in the circuit must have a defined value. For example, say you start at point A and travel around the loop adding up voltages along the way. If the voltage drops did not sum to zero then when you returned to point A it would have a different voltage than when you started, which is impossible.<ref name="Schwarz" /> | KVL is derived from the fact that the voltage at any point in the circuit must have a defined value. For example, say you start at point A and travel around the loop adding up voltages along the way. If the voltage drops did not sum to zero then when you returned to point A it would have a different voltage than when you started, which is impossible.<ref name="Schwarz" /> | ||
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| + | ==References== | ||
| + | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Electrical Engineering]] | [[Category:Electrical Engineering]] | ||
Revision as of 02:30, November 12, 2007
Kirchoff's voltage law (KVL) states that that the change in potential difference (in other words, the voltage drops) in any closed electrical loop must sum to 0.[1] A voltage drop is the change in voltage over any element in a circuit.
KVL is derived from the fact that the voltage at any point in the circuit must have a defined value. For example, say you start at point A and travel around the loop adding up voltages along the way. If the voltage drops did not sum to zero then when you returned to point A it would have a different voltage than when you started, which is impossible.[1]