Buck, Boost or Cancel ??

Greetings,

I have a question that is based on theory and is purely hypethetical.

I have an energized 12 vdc circuit that I am testing when I accidently
connect another 12 vdc source to the circuit so that voltages collide
in "head_on" fashion.

Aside from an interesting display and probable total circuit
inceneration, will the voltages buck, boost or cancel each other.

rg

 

I don't know that you have provided enough information to cover all
possibilities. I.e. your circuit, your voltage sources and what the are
referenced to and exactly how you are connecting them.

In the most simple form, Two 12V batteries connected in parallel across a
12V light bulb, Not much will happen, but you will have increased the amount
of time the bulb will stay lit. I suppose not any two 12 volt batteries are
exactly equal so there may be some current from the higher battery to the
other..

But it sounds to me, if you had an interesting display, that there is more
to the story.

 

Ever jumped a car battery? If you parallel two sources, + to + and -
to -, not much happens; if you connect + to - on both ends, you get
fireworks.

If you have a 12 volt source powering a load, and you parallel another
*identical* 12 volt source, they'll just share the load equally. If
they're not identical, well, think of a big guy and a small girl
picking up a tree limb together.

John

 

This has got to sound like a dumb question. I was thinking that in
series-parallel circuits the additional voltage would add in series and
trash the circuit.

rg