-
The voltage across the terminals is
denoted as Vt.
-
The load current flowing from the
source to a load (presumably a load is attached when the source is in a circuit)
is denoted as IL.
-
With those definitions, here is the
source symbol. It's just a circle with polarity indicated.
And, here is the plot of terminal
voltage against load current.
Given the discussion above, we can
say:
That's pretty much the description of the ideal voltage source. It's not
too complex, but it is an important concept. In the next section we'll
look at how you can put this concept to use. For the rest of this section
we'll look at ideal current sources starting next.
What Is An Ideal Current Source?
An ideal current source is a simple model for many current sources. It is
reminiscent of the ideal voltage source - but with voltage and current
interchanged. Here is the story.
-
IL = constant,
no matter what the terminal voltage is.
-
The plot of load current against
terminal voltage is similar to the plot for an ideal voltage source, but voltage
and current are interchanged. Here is the plot.
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