PHY 212 Bonus Project – Phasors and AC circuits +15 points total Name________________________

1. Evaluate the following expressions, writing them in the standard form 𝑥 + 𝑖𝑦:

a) √𝑖

b) √12 − 5𝑖

1
c) This one is the most important, because you’ll need this technique to solve the circuit later: 2+3𝑖

1
Hint: how would you rationalize something like 2+ ?
√3

d) ln⁡(4𝑖)

e) 7𝑖

5
f) √32 (there are five answers! They are the five solutions to the equation 𝑥 5 = 32)
2. Write the following complex numbers in polar form, as 𝑅𝑒 𝑖𝜃 .

√3 1
a) 1 + 𝑖 b) − 2
+ 2𝑖

1
c) -3 - 4𝑖 d) 3+4𝑖

3. Let three “phasors” be defined by 𝐴 = 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 , 𝐵 = 𝑖𝐴, and 𝐶 = 𝐴/𝑖, where 𝜔 = 𝜋/3⁡rad/s. Draw all three
phasors in the complex plane at four different times: 𝑡 = 0, 1, 2, and 3 seconds. You should have four different
graphs, one for each moment in time, and all three phasors appear on each of the four graphs.

Use these graphs to fill in the following blanks: multiplying a phasor by 𝑖 is equivalent to ____________(increasing
or decreasing) the phase by ____ (an angle). Dividing a phasor by 𝑖 is equivalent to ____________ (increasing or
decreasing) the phase by ____ (an angle).
4. Consider the following equations. Your experience with #3 above should help you understand them.

𝑑 𝑖𝜔𝑡 1 𝑖 1
𝑒 = 𝑖𝜔𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 = 𝜔𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡+𝑖𝜋/2 ∫ 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑖𝜔 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 = − 𝜔 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 = 𝜔 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡−𝑖𝜋/2
𝑑𝑡

These facts have a very important and amazing interpretation: when dealing with phasors, taking a derivative is
the same as multiplication! Just multiply by 𝑖𝜔, or equivalently, multiply the amplitude by 𝜔 and increase the
phase by 𝜋/2. Similarly, taking an integral is the same as division! Just divide by 𝑖𝜔, or equivalently, divide the
amplitude by 𝜔 and decrease the phase by 𝜋/2.
1 𝑑𝐼
a) Apply these rules to the “Ohm’s Law”-ish equations for C’s and L’s: 𝑉𝐶 = ∫ 𝐼𝑑𝑡 and 𝑉𝐿 = 𝐿 . Here we are
𝐶 𝑑𝑡
assuming that the current takes the form 𝐼(𝑡) = 𝐼0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 .

b) Now just look at the magnitudes of the equations, ignoring the 𝑒 𝑖⁡phase part: they are of the form 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑍. We
call 𝑍 “impedance,” which clearly is a generalization of resistance. Write down formulas for the impedance of a
capacitor 𝑍𝐶 and inductor 𝑍𝐿 .

c) Use part (b) to justify the following facts: capacitors are DC blocks, meaning that they cause a high voltage cost
for low values of 𝜔, while inductors are AC blocks, meaning that they cause a high voltage cost for very high
values of 𝜔.

d) Use the phases in your equations to justify the following circuit mnemonic: “ELI the ICE man”. This is supposed
to remind you that emf (E) leads current(I) in the inductor (L), because E comes before I in ELI. Similarly, emf lags
current in the capacitor because E comes after I in ICE.
Here is the most basic but still interesting AC circuit. This particular circuit is called a driven RLC series circuit
because the AC voltage drives it, and there is a resistor, inductor, and capacitor in series. Kirchhoff’s loop rule for
this circuit states that:

𝑑𝐼 1
𝑉0 cos 𝜔𝑡 − 𝑅𝐼 − 𝐿 − ∫ 𝐼𝑑𝑡 = 0
𝑑𝑡 𝐶

The first term represents the AC voltage source, so 𝑉0 is the maximum amplitude of voltage. This means the
voltage oscillates back and forth between +𝑉0 and −𝑉0 . (By the way, if the power source happens to be an AC
generator, the formula would be 𝑉0 = 𝜔𝑁𝐵𝐴, like we derived in class a few weeks ago.) The choice of cos rather
than sin is arbitrary: it just depends on when we define 𝑡 = 0, because cosine and sine are the same function if
you just shift them left or right.

If you were building this circuit for practical use, you would have control over the value of the angular frequency
𝜔: a function generator would have a knob that controls the frequency, for example. So unlike in an undriven LC
circuit where the circuit picks its own frequency, in this driven circuit you get to choose the frequency that you
force the circuit to oscillate at. It will turn out that the circuit still “prefers” a certain frequency, however.

The second term in the equation represents the voltage across the resistor: that’s just Ohm’s Law 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅.

The third term represents the “voltage” (really it’s an emf, not a true voltage) across the inductor. This comes
from both Ampere’s Law and Faraday’s Law: current creates a magnetic field, which then induces a back emf
against itself due to the fact that it’s a changing AC current.

The fourth term represents the voltage across the capacitor because ∫ 𝐼𝑑𝑡 = 𝑄, the charge stored on the
capacitor. This voltage comes from Gauss’s Law: charges create electric fields, which cause potential differences.

Each of those terms is negative because they each represent the “cost”, measured in volts, required to activate
each of those devices. Resistors “cost” voltage when current is put through them, inductors “cost” voltage when
their current changes, and capacitors “cost” voltage when current (moving charge) accumulates in them.

Another way to say it is that at the moment when the voltage across the AC source is positive at the top terminal,
current will flow out of it and then clockwise through the rest of the circuit. If you do a Kirchhoffian loop clockwise
through the circuit, you will go “downhill,” with the current, through each passive circuit element, so you lose
voltage across each of them.

I hope this explanation helps to make sense of that difficult equation! Now it’s your turn: it’s time to solve this
equation. See the next page.
5. The goal is to determine the current as a function of time that flows in this circuit; that is, to find 𝐼(𝑡). This is a
formidable task, so here is the setup to help you. First, write the AC voltage as 𝑉0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 . Obviously imaginary
numbers could never be measured on a voltmeter, but if we take the real part of that, we recover the original
cosine: Re[𝑉0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 ] =⁡ 𝑉0 cos 𝜔𝑡, which follows directly from Euler’s formula.

Now the equation to solve becomes:

𝑑𝐼 1
𝐿 + 𝑅𝐼 + ∫ 𝐼𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝐶

As you discovered in #4 above, taking derivatives and integrals of these phasors is relatively easy. That’s the whole
point of using phasors! However, it is still hard to solve this sucker. Just to make it more intimidating, I’ll describe
this equation: it is a second-order, ordinary, linear, non-homogenous differential equation.

Let’s just guess the answer! I bet it’ll still be something like 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡 , meaning that the circuit will respond with
current at the same frequency 𝜔 that the source is driving it. However we have to allow for a different amplitude
and possibly a different phase (the current might be largest when the voltage is not largest – we’ll have to see
what happens). So try this function:

𝐼(𝑡) = 𝐼0 𝑒 𝑖(𝜔𝑡+𝜙) = 𝐼0 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡+𝑖𝜙 = 𝐼0 𝑒 𝑖𝜙 𝑒 𝑖𝜔𝑡

Plug that function into the equation above. Use #4 to help you with the derivatives and integrals, or just re-do
them manually. You will find that this function will indeed satisfy the equation, but only if 𝐼0 and 𝜙 are very
particular values. In order to set the two sides equal, don’t forget the strategy of #1c/#2d. To be perfectly clear,
here is your goal:

In terms of 𝑉0 , 𝑅, 𝐿, 𝐶 and 𝜔, determine the values of 𝑰𝟎 and 𝝓 that make the differential equation true.
Congratulations, you have just solved a real AC circuit! If you want to recover the actual behavior of the circuit,
take the real part:⁡𝐼(𝑡) = 𝐼0 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙). Note that 𝐼0 is the amplitude of the current, measured in amps; the
current will oscillate between −𝐼0 and +𝐼0. It is forced to oscillate with the same angular frequency 𝜔 as you
chose for the voltage source. The other parameter,⁡𝜙, is called the phase of the current: it tells you when the
current peaks relative to when the applied voltage peaks. If 𝜙 > 0, then the current peaks ahead of the applied
voltage (𝐼 leads 𝑉); if 𝜙 < 0, then the current peaks after the applied voltage (𝐼 lags 𝑉). If this is confusing, try
graphing the 𝐼 and 𝑉 phasors in the complex plane and look at their real parts, which would be their shadows on
the x-axis. Remember that the phasors will rotate counter-clockwise as time goes on. Or you could just re-read
some of your trig notes on graphing 𝑦 = 𝐴 cos(𝐵𝑥 + 𝐶) + 𝐷.

6. As a final step, we can observe the phenomenon of resonance using the value of 𝐼0 you just derived.

You can regard 𝐼0 as a function of 𝜔, fixing all the other values as constants. This is equivalent to having a certain
physical circuit set up with the values of 𝑅, 𝐿,⁡and 𝐶 determined by the geometry of those devices. You then
decide to leave the voltage amplitude knob fixed, so that the AC power source continues to alternate between
values of +𝑉0 and −𝑉0, but the value of 𝑉0 itself does not change. However, you do turn the frequency knob, thus
changing the value of 𝜔.

A physical system exhibits resonance when the system barely responds for many inputs, but responds extremely
strongly to one particular input. It turns out that this AC circuit exhibits resonance: there is a certain value of 𝜔
which maximizes the response of the circuit, which is the current amplitude 𝐼0 . That value is called the resonant
frequency, and since it’s a particular value of the variable 𝜔, it is called 𝜔0 . In other words, the circuit will oscillate
at whatever frequency you choose, but it would really rather prefer to oscillate at 𝜔0 .

Please determine 𝝎𝟎 in terms of the other circuit variables.

There are two ways to do it: just stare it and think about how you maximize the function that you’re given (hint:
make the denominator as small as possible), or you can use calculus and set 𝑑𝐼0 /𝑑𝜔 = 0.
7. Graph 𝐼0 vs. 𝜔 with the following values: 𝑅 = 500⁡Ω, 𝐿 = 40⁡mH, 𝐶 = 100⁡pF, and 𝑉0 = 60⁡V. (Since negative
frequencies are meaningless, your graph should be entirely in the positive x and y region.) You should see a
distinctive “resonance curve”, with a steep, sharp peak at the resonant frequency 𝜔0 . A) Label 𝜔0 on the graph,
b) find its value in rad/s, and c) determine the value of 𝑰𝟎 , in amps, when the circuit is at resonance.

Epilogue:

This graph shows that the circuit responds appreciably only if you drive it at a frequency that is fairly close to its
own resonance frequency. This is the basis for how many electrical devices operate: for example, radios. The
tuner knob that changes radio stations is connected to an AC circuit, usually to the capacitor. Turning the knob
changes the value of the capacitance 𝐶, which causes the resonant frequency of the circuit to change! This makes
it so that the radio only picks up the frequency of the radio station that you want to listen to. Why? Well, you may
not have thought about this before, but all the radio waves for all the radio stations within range are currently
flowing through the room you’re sitting in, and all of those waves hit the radio antenna. The radio only plays one
station’s frequency at a time because of resonance: only the frequency 1/√𝐿𝐶 causes any significant current in
the circuit, and so that is the frequency that the radio plays.

Result: AC circuits, and resonance systems in general, are awesome.

It is my hope that doing this project will help you a lot in your future circuits classes. Please email me after you
take EGR 132 or a similar course and let me know if this experience in PHY 212 was useful!