OPEN AND CLOSED CIRCUIT

OPEN AND CLOSED CIRCUIT

Electricity is necessary to make our appliances work. However, there are conditions to be met so that electricity will flow. First, there must be a source of electricity. Second, there must be a complete path for the electricity to flow through.

The flow of electricity can be likened to a flow of water through a pipe. Water comes from the dam and is forced through a pipe by a pump or by gravity. The supply of water is the dam, the push is the pump or gravity and the pipe is the pathway.

Electric circuit is the complete loop through which an electrical current flow.

A circuit is composed of the following:

 

1.       Load – an object that uses electrical power or electrical energy such as bulb and other appliances.

2.       Source– source of energy or electricity like battery

3.       Conducting wire – cable or link that connects the source of energy to the bulb

4. Switch – controlling device which is used to open or close a circuit. 

 Circuit may be closed or open.

    

An open circuit is one where the continuity has been broken by an interruption in the path for current to flow. A closed circuit is one that is complete, with good continuity throughout. A device designed to open or close a circuit under controlled conditions is called a switch.