Q.State Kirchhoff's laws for an electrical network. Using these laws deduce the condition for balance in a Wheatstone Bridge.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Kirchhoff's junction rule (charge conservation) and loop rule (energy conservation) applied to a Wheatstone bridge give the balance condition P/Q = R/S.
Kirchhoff's laws for an electrical network:
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Junction (current) rule: The algebraic sum of the currents meeting at any junction of a circuit is zero, i.e. the total current entering a junction equals the total current leaving it: sum of I = 0. This follows from conservation of electric charge (charge does not accumulate at a junction).
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Loop (voltage) rule: The algebraic sum of the changes in potential around any closed loop of a circuit is zero, i.e. the sum of the EMFs equals the sum of the potential drops (IR terms) around the loop: sum of EMF = sum of IR. This follows from conservation of energy (a charge returning to its start has the same potential).
Balance condition of a Wheatstone bridge:
A Wheatstone bridge has four resistances P, Q, R, S connected in a quadrilateral ABCD. A cell is connected across one diagonal (A and C) and a galvanometer G across the other diagonal (B and D). Let P be in arm AB, Q in arm BC, R in arm AD, S in arm DC.
At balance, no current flows through the galvanometer (Ig = 0), so B and D are at the same potential.
Let current I_1 flow through P and Q (path A-B-C), and current I_2 flow through R and S (path A-D-C). Since Ig = 0:
- Current through P = current through Q = I_1.
- Current through R = current through S = I_2.
Apply the loop rule to loop ABDA (with galvanometer arm, Ig = 0): …
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