Back to home

Voltage Divider

Output voltage, current and dissipation for a two-resistor divider, with an optional load

Output voltage
6 V
50 % of 12 V
Divider current
0.6 mA
Lower leg
10000 Ω
In R1
3.6 mW
In R2
3.6 mW
6 V
R1R2Vout6 VVinopen

Unloaded, Vout = Vin × R2 / (R1 + R2); with a load, R2 sits in parallel with RL before dividing. Smaller resistors reduce the load's effect at the cost of a larger standing current.