Will two things in parallel on a bread board receive equal amps?

Question

I drew my bread board here. If I plug two things into the power bus will I get equal amps to both devices? Sorry I don't have a multimeter yet to try it. I am planning a large project but I need to figure out if everything will have enough power before I go and buy parts.

More specifically is this what he is discussing in this video? https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/electricity-and-magnetism/v/circuits--part-3

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score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 18 '13 at 21:47

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Each device will draw whatever currrent it requires, as long as the power supply is capable of supplying the total current required.

answered Aug 18 '13 at 21:47

Peter Bennett

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So if I were to do the above method I should consider each individual device plugged into the power source independently when determining what amperage each device is getting? – Aug 18 '13 at 21:49
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@AMR Yes, that way you will establish the current draw of each of your devices. – Nick Alexeev Aug 18 '13 at 21:55
@NickAlexeev so then I could take that total draw and divide the total mAh of the battery to get the aprox time the device will live? – Aug 18 '13 at 21:56
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@AMR You are correct. – Nick Alexeev Aug 18 '13 at 21:59

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 18 '13 at 22:35

The breadboard itself has some impedance (resistance in the traces.) This means that the total resistance from power source to component will be larger the further away the component is from the entry point of the power.

However, if your components draw a current that is high enough that this matters, then it's likely that a breadboard is not the right choice for you. What is the total draw? If the total draw of the circuit is less than 1A, you're probably fine. If the total draw is much higher, you probably should be considering some other form of connections. Drive nails into a piece of plastic, and solder/wire to those nails, for example. Or build a real circuit board, with wide (and thick) enough traces for your desired current.

one step ahead of you. Here is the next question in my series of power supply questions http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/79426/attempting-to-determine-power-consumption — , Aug 18 '13 at 22:36

Will two things in parallel on a bread board receive equal amps?

2 Answers2