ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the systematic methods for analyzing circuits, namely, the node-voltage and mesh-current methods and discusses some of their variants. Kirchhoff's laws and Ohm's law provide the number of equations necessary to analyze an electric circuit, but the number of equations can become unwieldy except in simple circuit configurations. Systematic methods based on Kirchhoff's laws have therefore been developed to facilitate analysis of more complex circuits and reduce the likelihood of error in writing the equations that govern the behavior of electric circuits. The commonly used node-voltage and mesh-current methods are presented in this chapter, including some special considerations and generalizations. When the node-voltage method is to be used in a circuit that has an ideal voltage source in series with a resistance, the combination is conveniently transformed to a current source in parallel with the same resistance.
