- 2070 Asar · 6 marks
Thevenin and Norton duality
Short answer
Thevenin’s series voltage source with Rth is dual to Norton’s parallel current source with RN, where Vth = IN × RN and Rth = RN. For a 12 V, 4 Ω network, the Norton equivalent is 3 A in parallel with 4 Ω.
"Thevenin's theorem and Norton's theorem are dual of each other". Justify the statement with suitable example.
The statement
Thevenin's theorem replaces a network by a voltage source V_th in series with R_th. Norton's theorem replaces the same network by a current source I_N in parallel with R_N. The two are duals: voltage and current, series and parallel are interchanged, and one can be converted into the other by source transformation.
Thevenin Norton
o--[R_th]--o a o---+------+---o a
(V_th) (I_N) [R_N]
o---------o b o---+------+---o b
Justification
| Quantity | Thevenin | Norton |
|---|---|---|
| Source | voltage source V_th | current source I_N |
| Resistance connection | R_th in series | R_N in parallel |
| Source value | open-circuit voltage | short-circuit current |
| Resistance | R_th | R_N = R_th |
Relations from the two equivalents (same terminal behaviour):
- I_N = V_th/R_th
- V_th = I_N R_N
- R_N = R_th
Because the two circuits give the same load current for every load, each can replace the other (source transformation).
Example
Network: 12 V source with 4 Ω in series, load R_L = 6 Ω across a-b.
- Thevenin: V_th = 12 V, R_th = 4 Ω. I_L = 12/(4 + 6) = 1.2 A.
- Norton: I_N = 12/4 = 3 A, R_N = 4 Ω. I_L = 3 × 4/(4 + 6) = 1.2 A.
The load current is the same, and V_th = I_N R_N = 3 × 4 = 12 V confirms the duality.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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