Kirchhoff's Laws
Two laws governing current and voltage in electrical circuits.
Also: KCL · KVL
Definition
Kirchhoff's Laws consist of two fundamental rules for analyzing electrical circuits. Kirchhoff's Current Law states that the algebraic sum of all currents entering and leaving a node equals zero (conservation of charge). Kirchhoff's Voltage Law states that the algebraic sum of all voltage drops around any closed loop in a circuit equals zero (conservation of energy). Together, they allow engineers to solve for unknown voltages and currents in complex circuits.
Example
“An electrical engineer uses Kirchhoff's Voltage Law to verify that the voltages across three resistors in series sum to the source voltage of a battery, confirming the circuit design is correct before manufacturing.”
Synonyms
- circuit laws
- KCL and KVL
- network analysis laws
Images
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Related Terms
- Ohm's Law
- Electric Circuit
- Node Analysis
- Mesh Analysis