Voltage Dividers
Contributors:
jimblom
jimblom Introduction
A voltage divider is a simple circuit which turns a large voltage into a smaller one. Using just two series resistors and an input voltage, we can create an output voltage that is a fraction of the input. Voltage dividers are one of the most fundamental circuits in electronics. If learning Ohm's law was like being introduced to the ABC's, learning about voltage dividers would be like learning how to spell cat.
These are examples of potentiometers - variable resistors which can be used to create an adjustable voltage divider. We'll learn more about these soon.
Covered in this Tutorial
- What a voltage divider circuit looks like.
- How the output voltage depends on the input voltage and divider resistors.
- How voltage dividers behave in the real-world.
- Real-life voltage divider applications.
Suggested Reading
This tutorial builds on basic electronics knowledge. If you haven't already, consider reading these tutorials:
- What is a circuit?
- Series and Parallel Circuits
- Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law
- Analog vs Digital
- How to Use a Multimeter
- How to Use a Breadboard
- Analog-to-Digital Conversion