Editing Electrical network (section)

{{short description|Assemblage of connected electrical elements}}
{{For|electrical power transmission grids and distribution networks|Electrical grid}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2016}}
{{Electromagnetism|cTopic=Network}}
[[File:Ohm's Law with Voltage source TeX.svg|right|thumb|A simple electric circuit made up of a voltage source and a resistor. Here, <math>v=iR</math>, according to [[Ohm's law]].]]

An '''electrical network''' is an interconnection of [[electrical component]]s (e.g., [[battery (electricity)|batteries]], [[resistor]]s, [[inductor]]s, [[capacitor]]s, [[switch]]es, [[transistor]]s) or a model of such an interconnection, consisting of [[electrical element]]s (e.g., [[voltage source]]s, [[current source]]s, [[Electrical resistance and conductance|resistance]]s, [[inductance]]s, [[capacitance]]s). An '''electrical circuit''' is a network consisting of a closed loop, giving a return path for the current. Thus all circuits are networks, but not all networks are circuits (although networks without a closed loop are often imprecisely referred to as "circuits").

A '''resistive network''' is a network containing only resistors and ideal current and voltage sources. [[Network analysis (electrical circuits)|Analysis]] of resistive networks is less complicated than analysis of networks containing capacitors and inductors. If the sources are constant ([[Direct current|DC]]) sources, the result is a DC network. The effective resistance and current distribution properties of arbitrary resistor networks can be modeled in terms of their graph measures and geometrical properties.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kumar|first1=Ankush|last2=Vidhyadhiraja|first2=N. S.|last3=Kulkarni|first3=G. U .|year=2017|title=Current distribution in conducting nanowire networks|journal=Journal of Applied Physics|volume=122|issue=4|pages=045101|doi=10.1063/1.4985792|bibcode=2017JAP...122d5101K}}</ref>

A network that contains [[active electronic component]]s is known as an ''[[electronic circuit]]''. Such networks are generally nonlinear and require more complex design and analysis tools.