In the water circuit, the pressure P drives the water around the closed loop of pipe at a certain volume flowrate F. If the resistance to flow R is increased, then the volume flowrate decreases proportionately. You may click any component or any relationship to explore the the details of the analogy with a DC electric circuit. read more
Like any analogy, there are always places where the comparison breaks down essentially immediately. As Ned noted, there’s no water analog to fields, and yet fields are really what’s at the heart of even the most basic electrical phenomenon. read more
But water flow in a pipe and electric current in a wire are profoundly different physical phenomena, so the analogy must break down at some point. For some applications, the water analogy is actively discouraged as being misleading. read more
DC Circuit Water Analogy This is an active graphic. Click any part of it for further details. In a direct current (DC) electrical circuit, the voltage (V in volts) is an expression of the available energy per unit charge which drives the electric current (I in amperes) around a closed circuit. read more