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MIT 8.02 Electricity and Magnetism, Spring 2002 11 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Can someone please tell me thoroughly why the potential is the same everywhere for resistors in series? Shouldn't the first one change the current before the second one change it again? I get how the current split off evenly if they were parallel resistors, but i don't get why is it the same for series resistors. Sorry for my English, as it was my second language, and thanks for the help!

OpenStudy (anonymous):

In parallel, the resistors (not necessarily of the same value) share the same potential but different current values. This you demonstrated your understanding of by referencing the splitting at junctions (Kirchoff's rule about conservation --> when you split a wire into two wires, the current in the first wire = the sum of the two new wires that come from it). To think about it intuitively, the resistors which are in parallel "live" in different loops and therefore experience different current. However, they connect back to the same area and therefore experience identical potential. In series, the resistors are all in the same loop so you can think of this as meaning that they all experience the same current. However, as you cross a resistor, you dissipate energy (either in the form of heat or light depending on material) and "lose" potential which is why potential across resistors in series differ (Kirchoff rule --> voltage sum across closed loop = 0 so you must lose potential each time you traverse a resistor in parallel). Hope that helps!

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Thanks! I can understand it now! Appreciate your help

OpenStudy (anonymous):

:)

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