Kirchhoff's laws of electric circuits

Article By:

Frenzel, Louis Retired, Department of Engineering Technology, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas.

Berry, Carlotta Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana.

Last reviewed:May 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.365100

Show previous versions

• Kirchhoff's laws of electric circuits, published January 2020:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Fundamental laws dealing with electric currents at junctions and voltages around any loop within a network. Also known as Kirchhoff's circuit laws, the laws were first described by German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff in 1845. The laws are divided into the current law, also known as Kirchhoff's first law or first rule, and the voltage law, also known as Kirchhoff's second law or second rule. These laws are commonly used in the analysis and solution of networks. The laws may be used directly to solve circuit problems and form the basis for network theorems used with more complex networks. Kirchhoff's laws work with direct current (dc), alternating current (ac), and any combination of voltages. See also: See also: Alternating-current circuit theory; Direct-current circuit theory; Electric circuit; Electric current; Electricity; Network theory

The content above is only an excerpt.