Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Series and Parallel Circuits
Series
and
parallel
are two names to classify how components in a circuit are connected. In
series, as the name suggests, the electric current lows through all the components in a
series, one after another. As such, if you have switches wired in series, then all of them
have to be closed for the current to low. Breaking one of them will break the circuit.
In parallel, the low of electricity splits and so closing any switch wired in parallel will allow
the current to low. This is because electricity tends to take the path of least resistance,
which in parallel circuits will be through any closed switch. For the toy, the closed PiFace
Digital relay contacts will bypass the toy's open switch.
Figure 10-2:
Removing the
case of the
movement
mechanism.
