The Voltage Divider

 

A simple circuit is called a voltage dividerin which two resistors are connected in series:

 

 

 

A Voltage Divider

 

The total potential difference provided by the battery is E; a portion of this voltage appears across each resistor.

When two resistors are connected in series, the same current passes through each of them.

 

Therefore the circuit is described by

 

Delta V 1 + Delta V 2 = E

 

where E is the value of the battery, which equals the total potential difference across both resistors.

As a result, the potential difference is divided in proportion to the two resistance values.