Passive and active elements of electric circuit
A branch of electrical network which does not
contain any source, is generally referred as passive branch. The passive branch
may consist of resistors, capacitors and inductors and other elements which are
not sources of energy. These type of network elements which are not associated
with energy source, are called passive element. Hence, passive branch of a
network consists only passive elements or components.
A branch of electrical network, consists of at least one active
element, is called active branch. Active elements of a network are those which
supply energy in the network. The network branch consists at least one active
element may be along with other passive component, is an active branch.
Suppose one 1.5 V battery connected with one 2 ohms resistance
in series. One LED with a shunt resistance is connected across the series
combination of battery and resistance. Here, the branch formed by LED &
shunt resistor is referred as passive branch since it does not contain any
active element. As the battery is an electrical energy source, it is an active
element. Thus that branch of the said network, which contains the battery along
with the 2 ohms resistor is called active branch of the network.
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