Superposition Theorem

The superposition theorem is unquestionably one of the most powerful in this field. It has such widespread application that people often apply it without recognizing that their maneuvers are valid only because of this theorem.


         In general , the theorem can be used to do the following:

• Analyze networks such as introduced in the last lesson that have two or more sources that are not in series or parallel.
• Reveal the effect of each source on a particular quantity of interest.
• For sources of different types ( such as dc and ac which affect the parameters of the network in a different manner ), apply a separate analysis for each type with the total result simply the algebraic sum of the result.

The first two areas of application are described in detail in this section. The last are covered in the discussion of the superposition theorem in the ac position of the text.


          The superposition theorem states the following:


           The current through , or voltage across any element of a network is equal to the algebraic sum of the currents or voltages produced independently by each source.



In other words this theorem all owes as to find a solution  for a current or voltage using only one source at a time. Ones we have the solution for each source , we can combine the results to obtain the total solution the term