I have some questions about the voltage divider.
Voltage divider - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here is what I think is going on.
The voltage starts at the negative terminal i.e V in then goes to the first resistor Z1. & in my mind i'm thinking why isn't Vout determined by current * Z1?
I basically don't understand why a second resistor is used in a voltage divider.
In the equations at the bottom I understand V in = total current * total ressitance i.e z1 + z2
BUT I don't understand why V out = I * Z2 ??? Doesn't the voltage drop occur when the electrons encounter the first resistor i.e Z1 and their energy gets transfered to heat and dissipated in the air?
I understand the re-arranging of terms for I = V in / (z1 +z2)
I just don't get why V out = I * Z2..... in my mind I believe it should be I * Z1 because linearly speaking the current / electrons / energy first encounters Z1 and gets the voltage drop from that..? I don't even understand why a second resistor is needed to show this voltage drop/divider example because in my mind the first resistor does this.
Does this have something to do with electron flow vs conventional current flow? I've read about both terms but don't understand if it has any basis on why i'm not understanding this.
Please help me sort this out. I'm reading Electronics Self-Teaching Guide by Harry Kybett and Earl Boysen and i enjoy this cause it has lots of problems but not a lotta explanation.