Translations:Electricity and energy/11/en
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Circuits can be in various states:
- Closed: Connected, on, functioning. A properly connected circuit with a load which has current flowing.
- Open: Disconnected, off, disabled. A circuit that is not connected or switched off which has no current flowing.
- Short: Fault, improper low resistance connection. A circuit that has been improperly built without sufficient resistance - like a load - to constrain the flow of current. A circuit in a short circuit state will allow as much current to flow as possible until the power source is exhausted. If a load is connected in parallel with a short-circuit, like in the diagram, the load may stop functioning due to insufficient voltage/current.
Closed circuit:
An operational circuit. Electrons are flowing and the light bulb is lit up.
Open circuit:
A circuit that is disconnected - possibly due to a switch - with no electrons flowing.
Short circuit:
An improperly functioning circuit with a low-resistance path for current to flow. Voltage drops nearly to zero as electrons take the low resistance path.
