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TEEL 3162


   
Short Circuit
Bypassing of a component which reduces the total resistance of the circuit. The current increases as a result of a short circuit.

Sometimes this occurs when two conductors touch or a foreign object or a wire clipping accidentally connects two sections of a circuit together. This problem is common in circuits with high component density.

  
Short circuit 1 Short circuit 2  
     
Short circuit 3    
   

Open Circuit
 A break in a current pass, so that the current cannot flow.

This is the most common failure in a circuit. An example of a break in a current pass is when a lamp burns out.

  
Open circuit 1  
     
Open circuit 2  
     
     
Produced by Awilda Melendez at the Department of Educational Technology,
San Diego State University
Instructor: Dr. F. Saba
© 2002 by Awilda Melendez. All rights reserved.