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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

QuantityTheveninNorton
Sourcevoltage source V_thcurrent source I_N
Resistance connectionR_th in seriesR_N in parallel
Source valueopen-circuit voltageshort-circuit current
ResistanceR_thR_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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