# Current Divider

## Chapter 3 - DC Circuits

PARTS AND MATERIALS

• Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic)
• 6-volt battery
• Assortment of resistors between 1 KΩ and 100 kΩ in value

CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 6: “Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff’s Laws” LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Voltmeter use
• Ammeter use
• Ohmmeter use
• Use of Ohm’s Law
• Use of Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
• Current divider design

Current divider
v1 1 0
r1 3 0 2k
r2 4 0 3k
r3 5 0 5k
vitotal 2 1 dc 0
vir1 2 3 dc 0
vir2 2 4 dc 0
vir3 2 5 dc 0
.dc v1 6 6 1
.print dc i(vitotal) i(vir1) i(vir2) i(vir3)
.end


When run, SPICE will print a line of text containing four current figures, the first current representing the total as a negative quantity, and the other three representing currents for resistors R1, R2, and R3. When algebraically added, the one negative figure and the three positive figures will form a sum of zero, as described by Kirchhoff’s Current Law.

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