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JEE Advanced 2021 Paper 1 · Physics · Current Electricity · medium

Twelve identical wires, each of resistance 12 Ω, are joined to form a cube. A battery of emf 24 V and internal resistance 2 Ω is connected across the…

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Twelve identical wires, each of resistance 12 Ω12\ \Omega, are joined to form a cube. A battery of emf 24 V24\ \mathrm{V} and internal resistance 2 Ω2\ \Omega is connected across the two ends of a body diagonal of the cube. Find the potential difference, in volts, across any one of the six wires that do not touch either end of the diagonal.
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Answer: 4

By symmetry the cube between opposite corners splits into three groups of wires: three wires from the first corner, six middle wires, and three wires into the last corner. The equivalent resistance is R3+R6+R3=5R6=10 Ω\frac{R}{3}+\frac{R}{6}+\frac{R}{3}=\frac{5R}{6}=10\ \Omega for R=12 ΩR=12\ \Omega. The total circuit resistance including the battery is 10+2=12 Ω10+2=12\ \Omega, so the current is I=24/12=2I=24/12=2 A. At the first corner the current divides equally among the three wires, so each carries 2/32/3 A. At the next set of vertices each current of 2/32/3 A splits equally into two middle wires, so each middle wire carries I/6=1/3I/6=1/3 A. The potential difference across a middle wire is 13×12=4\frac13\times12=4 V.
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