Linear Circuits 1 - 29 - Capacitors, Part 1

Name: Linear Circuits 1 - 29 - Capacitors, Part 1
Rating: 4.7 (25 reviews)

Getting started solving resistor-capacitor circuits

Created byMark Budnik, Mark M. Budnik

Last updated 6/2020

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

What are capacitors?
How are capacitors the same and different from inductors?
A simple 6-step process to solve resistor-capacitor circuits

Course content

1 section • 6 lectures • 35m total length

Agenda0:09
Review3:45
This lecture introduces the capacitor and its opposite behavior to inductors. It explains the time constant tau and exponential decay in resistor-capacitor and resistor-inductor circuits, and outlines six solution processes.
(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Capacitors in 8 Minutes 36 Seconds8:35
Explore resistor-capacitor circuits by mirroring the resistor-inductor steps, swapping voltages and currents and open and short concepts, with the RC time constant tau = RC.
A First Example with Every Possible Detail I Can Think of11:30
In this first rc circuit, a 10-volt initial capacitor voltage decays exponentially with time constant 2.2 seconds, yielding v_C(t)=10 e^{-t/2.2} as energy dissipates through the resistor.
Another Example with Every Possible Detail I Can Think of10:38
Explore a 24-volt initial capacitor with no source, decaying through a 220-ohm path with a 22 ms time constant, as voltage and current exponentially approach zero.
Summary1:17
Introduce capacitors and their properties, show how their equations mirror resistor-inductor concepts, and adapt the six-step solving process for resistor-capacitor circuits with voltage-current swaps.

Requirements

High School or College Physics
Calculus 1 Would Be Extremely Helpful

Description

Day 29 of Linear Circuits. Capacitors are one of the three passive circuit components (along with resistors and inductors). However, their operation and behavior is often shrouded in mystery. After seeing what inductors are and how they work in our previous lectures, today, we will see how they are essentially the opposite of capacitors.

The material covers all of the lecture material from an twenty-ninth lecture in a traditional, sophomore-level linear circuits class.

Who this course is for:

Beginner Engineering and Physics Students