PHYS502/University Physics 2

Module 12 – AC Circuits

Learning Outcomes:
At the end this module, students are expected to:

C3 – Construct circuit diagrams and other representations in describing

electromagnetism.

C5 - Analyze inputs and outputs based on given electric circuit diagrams.

Specifically

✓ Capacitance

✓ Inductance

Any device that plugs into an electric outlet uses an AC circuit. In this chapter, you will
learn some of the basic techniques for analyzing AC circuits. Alternating current refers
to currents and voltages which are harmonic functions. “AC power” refers to the 60 hz
alternating voltage available from a common outlet.

AC circuit analysis has a more general motivation and application. Any voltage or current
may be represented as a sum of harmonic voltages or currents and the response of a
linear circuit understood in terms of the response for different frequencies.

Any function may be represented by a sum of sin and cos functions.

AC Sources and Phasors

An AC signal is described by an amplitude, a frequency, and a phase. An oscillating emf

can be represented as a graph or a phasor diagram, as can be seen below.

If an ideal resistor is subject to an alternating voltage, an alternating current flows. Ohm’s

law V=IR applies to the instantaneous currents and voltages.

The resistor voltage 𝑣𝑅 is given by

𝑣𝑅 = 𝑉𝑅 cos(𝜔𝑡)

Where VR is the peak or maximum voltage.

The current through the resistor is

𝑣𝑅 𝑉𝑅 cos(𝜔𝑡)
𝑖𝑅 = = = 𝐼𝑅 cos(𝜔𝑡) where 𝐼𝑅 = 𝑉𝑅 ⁄𝑅 − peak 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑅 𝑅

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Example 12.1 In the circuit below, determine the following:

a) The peak voltage across each resistor

b) The instantaneous resistor voltages at t = 20 ms

Ans.

❖ Solving for the equivalent resistors in series, the instantaneous current through the
equivalent resistance, and the peak voltages on each resistors.
𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 = 5Ω + 15Ω = 20Ω

𝑣𝑅 (100𝑉)(cos 2𝜋(60𝐻𝑧)𝑡)
𝑖𝑅 = = = (5.0𝐴)(cos 2𝜋(60𝐻𝑧))𝑡
𝑅𝑒𝑞 20Ω

25𝑉 5Ω resistor
𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅 𝑅 = {
75𝑉 15Ω resistor

❖ The instantaneous current at t=20ms is

𝑖𝑅 = (5.0𝐴)(cos 2𝜋(60𝐻𝑧))(0.02𝑠) = 1.55 𝐴

The resistor voltages at this time are

7.7𝑉 5Ω resistor
𝑣𝑅 = 𝑖𝑅 𝑅 = {
23.2𝑉 15Ω resistor

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AC Current in Capacitor

A capacitor differentiates a voltage signal. An AC voltage applied to a capacitor

corresponds to an AC current at the same frequency but with a different phase. Below is
an illustration for an AC capacitor circuit.

Lets us assume that the voltage across the capacitor circuit is:

𝑣𝐶 = 𝑉𝐶 cos(𝜔𝑡)

the instantaneous current in the circuit is:

𝑑𝑣𝐶 𝑑(𝑉𝐶 cos(𝜔𝑡))
𝑖𝐶 = 𝐶 =𝐶 = −𝜔𝑉𝐶 sin(𝜔𝑡)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

𝜋
𝑖𝐶 = 𝜔𝐶𝑉𝐶 cos (𝜔𝑡 + 2 )

hence, the AC current to and from a capacitor leads the capacitor voltage by 𝜋⁄2 radian
of 900

The Capacitive Reactance, XC, is defined as:

1
𝑋𝐶 = 𝜔𝐶

The units of reactance, is the same as that of the resistance, which is ohm. Note that
reactance differs from resistance in such a way that it does not relate the instantaneous
capacitor voltage and current because they are out pf phase, that is 𝑣𝐶 ≠ 𝑖𝐶 𝑋𝐶 .

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Reactance relates the peak voltage, VC and peak current, IC.
𝐶
𝐼𝐶 = or 𝑉𝐶 = 𝐼𝐶 𝑋𝐶
𝑋𝐶

Example 12.2 A 10 𝜇𝐹 is connected to a 100Hz oscillator with a peak emf of 5.0 volts.
What is the peak current of the capacitor?

Ans.

❖ The capacitive resistance

𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 = 6,280 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
1 1
𝑋𝐶 = = (6,280 𝑟𝑎𝑑 ⁄𝑠)(10 𝑥 10−6 𝐹)
= 16Ω
𝜔𝐶

❖ The peak voltage across the capacitor is

𝑉𝐶 = 5.0 𝑉

𝑉𝐶 5 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
𝐼𝐶 = = = 0.31 𝐴
𝑋𝐶 16 Ω

Inductive Resistance

If the instantaneous voltage across a single inductor is

𝑣𝐿 = 𝑉𝐿 cos(𝜔𝑡)

the instantaneous inductor current is

2
𝑖𝐿 = 𝐼𝐿 cos (𝜔𝑡 − 𝜋)

The AC current through an inductor lags the inductor voltage by π/2 rad, or 90°.

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Inductive Resistance

The inductive reactance XL is defined as:

𝑋𝐿 = 𝜔𝐿

Which relates to the peak voltage and peak current as follows:

𝑉𝐿
𝐼𝐿 = and 𝑉𝐿 = 𝐼𝐿 𝑋𝐿
𝑋𝐿

Take note that Reactance differs from resistance in that it does not relate the
instantaneous inductor voltage and current because they are out of phase. That is, 𝑣𝐿 ≠
𝑖𝐿 𝑋𝐿

In contrast to a capacitor, an inductor offers a vanishing impedance at low frequency and

a high impedance at high frequency.

Example 12.3 A 25 𝜇𝐻 inductor is used in a circuit that oscillates at 100kHz. The current
through the inductor reaches a peak value of 20mA at 𝑡 = 5.0 𝜇𝑠. Determine the peak
inductor voltage.

Ans.

❖ The inductive resistance at f = 100kHz is

𝑋𝐿 = 𝜔𝐿 = 2𝜋(1.0 𝑥 105 𝐻𝑧)(25𝑥10−6 𝐻) = 16Ω

The peak voltage is:

𝑉𝐿 = 𝐼𝐿 𝑋𝐿 = (20𝑚𝐴)(16Ω) = 320𝑚𝑉

❖ The peak voltage occurs one-quarter period before the current peaks, since the
current peaks at 𝑡 = 5.0 𝜇𝑠, the voltage peaks at
10 𝜇𝑠
𝑡 = 5.0𝜇𝑠 − = 2.5𝜇𝑠
4

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References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals

1. Knight, R.D. (2017). Physics with Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers A
Strategic Approach. 4th Edition. USA: Pearson Educ. Inc.
2. Lloyd, D.H. (2014). Physics Laboratory Manual. 4th ed. Canada: Brooks/Cole
Cengage Learning. (Laboratory).

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. http://www.phys.lsu.edu/~jdowling/PHYS21024SP07/lectures/lecture19.pdf

2. http://physics.gantep.edu.tr/~ep106/lecture-notes/Chapter_11.pdf

Online Instructional Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAtDAoqdExw