Suppose you were to connect together two 1K resistors in series and attach one free end to a 5V source and the other to ground. Between those two resistors you get a voltage divider of 2.5V. Now obviously, running a wire from that point to ground does not make a short because the current is clearly passing through a 1K resistor. But had you connected a 2.5V source directly to ground you would have a short.
- Does that mean that if you used a 2.5V battery with an internal resistance of 1K then attaching both ends to a loop of wire would not result in a short?
- I notice that when I connect the voltage divider output to ground in the simulator, the current in the second resistor drops to zero. Does that mean that in actuality absolutely no current flows through it, or just a very small current?