Build circuits with resistors, batteries, and switches. Calculate current, voltage, and power using Kirchhoff laws with animated electron flow.
The DC Circuit Simulator lets you connect batteries, resistors, and switches, then inspect the resulting current, voltage, power, and electron flow. It solves the completed network using Ohm's law together with Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws. This makes it useful for checking both simple loops and circuits with branches. A common mistake is assuming that every resistor carries the total circuit current. That is true in a single series path, but current divides among parallel branches.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
One 9 V battery connected in series with one 3 ohm resistor and a closed switch.
Expected output
Circuit current: 3 A. Resistor voltage drop: 9 V. Resistor power: 27 W.
Ohm's law gives I = V/R = 9/3 = 3 A. The resistor uses the full 9 V, and its power is P = VI = 9 x 3 = 27 W.
Place the available components and connect them into a network. A closed switch joins its two sides electrically, while an open switch interrupts that path. Connections determine which elements are in series, which share the same pair of nodes in parallel, and whether a complete path exists between the battery terminals.
At each junction, Kirchhoff's current law requires currents entering and leaving to balance. Around each closed loop, Kirchhoff's voltage law requires the signed voltage changes to sum to zero. Combined with V = IR for each resistor, these relationships determine branch currents, resistor voltage drops, and power values.
Parallel resistors connect to the same two circuit nodes, so they have the same potential difference. Each branch current is then set by I = V/R. A branch with greater resistance carries less current at that voltage. The battery current equals the sum of the individual branch currents.
No, not from an ideal battery model alone. A zero-resistance path across an ideal voltage source implies unbounded current, while a real battery is limited by internal resistance and other physical effects. Use the simulator for the defined circuit model, not for safety predictions or hardware current ratings.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
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