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Is current direction arbitrary?
1 Answer. You can take arbitrary current directions but, take care. If you don’t track this change everywhere in your circuit, you’ll get a negative sign where there shouldn’t be one, and the wrong answer (wrong circuit model).
Can current go in both directions?
Current can only flow in one direction. It’s just a question of which node has the higher voltage. The current will always go from the higher potential to the lower. Consider the current as water flowing in a pipe.
What is the direction of current flow?
The direction of an electric current is by convention the direction in which a positive charge would move. Thus, the current in the external circuit is directed away from the positive terminal and toward the negative terminal of the battery. Electrons would actually move through the wires in the opposite direction.
Is the current in the same direction as the assumed direction?
You just need to remember which direction you assumed because your final answer will tell you if the current is in the same direction as your assumed direction. If you solve for current and you get a positive answer, it means your assumed current is in the same direction as the actual current.
Do you have to keep the current in the same direction?
No, they don’t have to be in the same direction. You just need to remember which direction you assumed because your final answer will tell you if the current is in the same direction as your assumed direction. If you solve for current and you get a positive answer, it means your assumed current is in the same direction as the actual current.
What happens when you solve for current and get a negative answer?
If you solve for current and you get a negative answer, it means the actual current is in the opposite direction from what you assumed. I assume this question is in the context of mesh analysis and, in particular, those cases where two loop currents circulate through one circuit element.
How to use branch current method of analysis?
Checking the node orders in the SPICE listing, we can see that the polarities all match what we determined through the Branch Current method of analysis. Choose a node and assume directions of currents. Write a KCL equation relating currents at the node. Label resistor voltage drop polarities based on assumed currents.