# Will current flow entirely through zero resistance if possible to do so?

I am trying to understand how current splits at nodes. I know that if two paths are available, each with R > 0, a current divider is used to find the split ratio. But what if one of the paths has R = 0, as in the circuit below?

If I apply a current divider at the node just above I, I find all the current flows through the middle wire (and then through R2 and back to I), skipping R1 entirely. Is this correct?

• yes, it is basically a short circuit, current through $R_1$ is zero Dec 7 '15 at 5:09

Yes, under the conventions of schematics, the wire has zero resistance and no current flow in $R_1$. If some did, there would be a voltage difference across the wire, leading to infinite current. In practice, the wire will have some small resistance, so there will be some voltage drop and some current through $R_1$
Now, if you were to redraw your diagram, you would have, in parallel: a resistor of $R_1$ and a resistor of 0.025 ohms.
If you choose $R_1$ to have even on ohm, that means there is more than 40 more times resistance through the branch with the actual resistor than the branch with just the wire! So very, very little current flows through even the a $\Omega$ resistance.