Kirchhoff's Laws are two laws in electrical engineering that describe the behavior of circuits.
Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL)
- states that the total current entering a node (a point in a circuit where two or more branches meet) is equal to the total current leaving the node.
- In other words, the current flowing into a node must equal the current flowing out of the node.
KCL is expressed mathematically as:
ΣIin = ΣIout
Where:
- ΣIin is the sum of all currents entering the node and
- ΣIout is the sum of all currents leaving the node.
Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)
- states that the sum of all the voltage drops around a loop in a circuit is equal to zero.
- This means that the total energy gained by the charges in a loop must equal the total energy lost by the charges in that loop.
KVL is expressed mathematically as:
ΣV = 0
Where:
- ΣV is the sum of all voltage drops around a closed loop in the circuit.