Additionally, if two wires have different frequencies but the same ground, will they affect each other?
In: Engineering
Electricity follows the path of least resistance based on circuit design. Wires with different frequencies can induce interference but share a common ground for stability.
Electricity takes all available paths, the amount flowing through any particular path depends on how difficult it is for electricity to pass through it.
Wires do not have frequencies, but the electrical signal in a wire may. Two signals on top of eachother are just one signal, and any signal sent directly to ground will create a short circuit.
Wires that are near each other but having different signals can affect each other in multiple ways. They can interfere due to their electric fields (“capacitive coupling”) or due to their magnetic fields (“inductive coupling”). These are both concerns in many situations, such as inside of an integrated circuit.
Additionally, signals that share a common ground can have interference due to “ground bounce”. If too much current is rapidly sent to ground, it can make the ground voltage briefly fluctuate up and down, interfering with every signal also connected to that ground. If you look at a printed circuit board, you’ll often see a large number of small capacitors (and a few larger ones) that are put in to try to mitigate this effect.
Latest Answers