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 the two loops of a Wheatstone bridge, with zero galvanometer current at balance, give the condition P/Q = R/S.
Kirchhoff's Laws
1. Junction Rule (Kirchhoff's Current Law, KCL): At any junction (node) in an electrical network, the algebraic sum of all the currents meeting at that junction is zero:
i.e., the sum of currents flowing into a junction equals the sum of currents flowing out of it. This follows from conservation of electric charge - charge cannot accumulate indefinitely at a junction in steady state.
2. Loop Rule (Kirchhoff's Voltage Law, KVL): Around any closed loop in a network, the algebraic sum of the potential differences (products of current and resistance, ) and the emfs in that loop is zero:
This follows from conservation of energy - the net change in electric potential around any closed path must be zero.
Application to the Wheatstone Bridge
A Wheatstone bridge consists of four resistances arranged in a bridge (rhombus) between four junctions A, B, C, D: between A-B, between B-C, between A-D, between D-C. A battery (with a key) is connected between A and C, and a galvanometer between B and D.
At the balance condition, the bridge is adjusted so that no current flows through the galvanometer (). Then, since B and D carry no current between them:
- The same current flows through (A to B) and then continues through (B to C).
- The same current flows through (A to D) and then continues through (D to C).
Applying the loop rule to loop A-B-D-A (going through , then galvanometer - zero current so no IR drop across it, then back to A):
Since , points B and D are at the same potential. So the potential drop from A to B (through P) equals the potential drop from A to D (through R):
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