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Electricity

Resistance in a Parallel Circuit.

The total resistance of a parallel circuit is calculated using the formula

1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 ·····

Parallel Circuit

In the above circuit,

1/R = 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4

              = 6/12 + 4/12 + 3/12

= 13/12        

R = 12/13           

   = 0·92 Ohms.

Notice that this is a much smaller resistance
than you get in the series circuit using the same resistors.

It is even smaller than the smallest resistor in the parallel circuit,
which is 2 Ohms.
Putting more resistors in the parallel circuit decreases the total resistance
because the electricity has additional branches to flow along
and so the total current flowing increases.

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