Linear Circuits 1 - 03 - Current Sources

Name: Linear Circuits 1 - 03 - Current Sources
Rating: 4.6 (105 reviews)

What Is a Current Source, and How Does It Work?

Created byMark Budnik, Mark M. Budnik

Last updated 8/2020

English

What you'll learn

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits
How a Current Source Works
Ground Location Is Not That Important

Course content

1 section • 13 lectures • 35m total length

Agenda0:13
A Word on Linear Circuits Textbooks....0:19
Review2:27
Current Sources Have One Job2:31
Changing Signs = Changing Directions3:14
A First Example6:22
An Example with Two Current Sources2:40
Identify an arbitrary ground node; current sources fix magnitude and direction of current. Three amperes flow through the 5-ohm resistor, yielding a 15-volt delta v (positive).
An Example with Two Different Ground Locations3:34
Compare two copies of the same circuit with different ground locations to show ground is arbitrary; a four-amp current flows through the 1-ohm resistor, yielding a four-volt drop in both.
An Example with Negative Current Sources and Two Different Grounds7:52
Another Example with Two Current Sources1:40
An Example with Three Current Sources2:40
Current Sources in Series? What Could Go Wrong???1:14
Discover why placing current sources in series is problematic: two sources forcing different currents fight each other, potentially damaging the sources and breaking the circuit.
Summary0:57

Requirements

High School or College Physics
We Also Recommend Our Previous Linear Circuits Classes

Description

Day 3 of Linear Circuits. Students are introduced to current sources. It turns out, current sources only have one job. That never changes, and as long as we remember that, they are pretty easy to work with.

The material covers all of the lecture material from a third lecture in a traditional, sophomore-level linear circuits class.

Who this course is for:

Beginner Engineering and Physics Students