page_title: Norton's theorem
section_title: Conversion to a Thévenin equivalent
hierarchical_section_title: Norton's theorem / Conversion to a Thévenin equivalent
caption_attribution_description: English: Norton Thevinen conversion
context_page_description: In direct-current circuit theory, Norton's theorem is a simplification that can be applied to networks made of linear time-invariant resistances, voltage sources, and current sources. At a pair of terminals of the network, it can be replaced by a current source and a single resistor in parallel.
  For alternating current systems the theorem can be applied to reactive impedances as well as resistances.
  The Norton equivalent circuit is used to represent any network of linear sources and impedances at a given frequency.
  Norton's theorem and its dual, Thévenin's theorem, are widely used for circuit analysis simplification and to study circuit's initial-condition and steady-state response.
  Norton's theorem was independently derived in 1926 by Siemens & Halske researcher Hans Ferdinand Mayer and Bell Labs engineer Edward Lawry Norton.
  To find the equivalent, the Norton current Iₙₒ is calculated as the current flowing at the terminals into a short circuit. This is Iₙₒ.
context_section_description: A Norton equivalent circuit is related to the Thévenin equivalent by the equations:
caption: To a Thévenin equivalent
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