Circuits

Caio Augusto Siqueira da Silva

March, 2022
 1 Problems - Resistance (Definition and Applications)

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 2 RLC Circuits in general

A battery of voltage V is connected in series with a resistor and a capacitor of capacitance

C, find the total heat dissipated by the resistor until the capacitor is fully charged.

In the circuit shown below, the key K has been kept in the position 1; after an equilibrium
state has been reached, the key is thrown over to the position 2. This is done much faster
than the characteristic time (L1 + L2)/R. After that, we wait for a very long time until
a new equilibrium state is reached. Find the amount of heat Q which was dissipated in
the resistor R after the key was switched to the position 2. Also, find the total charge q
which flowed through the resistor R during the same period of time. Neglect the internal
resistance of the inductors. Note that the resistance of all the wires is also negligible, but
there is no superconductivity.

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The key of the circuit given below has been kept open; at certain moment, it is closed.

A What is the ammeter reading immediately after the key is closed?

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 B The key is kept closed until an equilibrium state is achieved; what is the ammeter
reading now?

C Now, the key is opened, again; what is the ammeter reading immediately after the
key is opened?

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The figure shows the simplest connecting an electric motor (car starter) to a battery.

The circuit parameter RM = 2 · 10−2 Ω regulates the resistance of the motor armature
windings, r and R0 are the internal resistance of the battery with EMF U0 = 12V and
the wires, with R0 + r = 10−2 Ω. It can be assumed that the induced EMF generated by

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the electric motor is proportional to the angular speed of rotation of the shaft |ϵi | = kω,
and the moment of forces acting on the shaft due to the magnetic field is proportional to
the current M = kI. To simplify the calculations, we assume that the motor shaft is not
loaded.
a) Find the voltage UAB across the motor terminals (between points A and B) immedi-
ately after the key is closed, as well as the maximum value of the current in the circuit.
What is the current at the moment when the angular speed of rotation of the shaft is
75% of its maximum value?

Another model (Fig. shown below) takes into account the presence of inductance in
the structure of the induction motor, Rl is the resistance of the coil of inductance L.
When being switched on, the key K1 is closed first, and when the current through the
coil has reached its steady-state value, the key K2 is closed.

b) Assuming that the ratio α = Rl /r + R0 is known (α > 1), determine the maximum
current through the motor in this case.

c) When turning off the electric motor (after the angular speed of the shaft has reached a
steady state value), first the key K1 is opened. In this case, the voltage across the motor
terminals almost instantly increases by ∆UAB = 2V . Determine the parameter α from
this data.

The circuit shown in the third figure here is closest to the real device. The keys are
initially open. Switching on the ignition key corresponds to closing the key K1. When
the current through the coil L reaches a certain threshold value Ip , the key K2 is closed
(the magnetic field of the coil pulls in the rod that closes the key K2).

4. The inductance of the second coil L and its resistance RL are such that the following
equalities are true: L = 10l, Rl = 5RL . It is known that the value of the current Ip lies

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 between 10 A and 20 A. What is the current through the coil with inductance l at the
moment key K2 gets closed? Consider the numerical value of the parameter to be known
from part 3).

11 Estimated time to do - 1h30min (maybe)

The Peltier element consists of two plates, separated by a large number of semiconductor
blocks ,and it converts electrical energy into heat. It can also work in reverse mode – to
generate EMF because of temperature difference between the plates. The second figure
schematically shows a device based on a Peltier element. The bottom plate is in contact
with

Termo3.1.png

A heat reservoir, a large body whose temperature Tr can be considered constant. The
upper plate is in contact with a body with heat capacity C and temperature T, which
changes over time. A superconducting coil with inductance L is connected between ends
of the element. Initially, T = T0 , T0 > Tr

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 Termo3.2.png

Under these conditions, the upper body gives the element during the time t the amount
of heat ∆Q = αT I∆t, where α is a constant coefficient, I is the current through the
element. The positive direction of current is the direction from ”plus” to ”minus”. In
this case, the Peltier element generates an EMF, which is equal to ϵ = α(T − T r). The
polarity of the generated EMF (for T > T r) is shown in the figure. The resistance of the
Peltier element is R.
It turns out in this system the periodic change in T(t) and I(t) is possible. In this
problem we will investigate the fluctuations at various values of parameters: Tr, T0, C,
α, R which are considered to be known. The initial current in the circuit is zero: I(0)
= 0.The temperature difference between the body and the reservoir can be considered
small: |T − T r| ≪ T r at any time.

1. Let us consider an idealized, fantastic case, when the resistance R is equal to zero
and there is no heat transfer between the heat reservoir and the body due to heat
conduction.
1a) Find the differential equation for I(t). (2 points)
1b) Transform the equation taking into account |T − T r| ≪ T r and find the fre-
quency ω0 of oscillations of the current. (3 points)
1c) Find the dependence of temperature of the body on time: T(t). (1 point)

2. the case described in part 1 is not feasible. Consider the parameters of the sys-
tem that are close to reality. Let the resistance of the element R be known, the
power of heat transfer from the body to the reservoir is determined by the relation
P = k(T − T r), where k is a known constant, heat is conducted uniformly between
the plates. In this case oscillations will be damped.
2a) Find the differential equation for I(t). (3 points)

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 2b) Show that the nonlinear terms are proportional to I 2 and I ˙I (here dot shows
the time derivative) in the differential equation from 2a) can be neglected. Thus
transform the equation into I” + 2γI ′ + ω 2 I = 0 (equation for damped oscillations).
Find the constants γ and ω in terms of given values. (4 points)
2c) Assuming damping is weak (γ 2 ≪ ω 2 ), find the relative change in current am-
plitude ∆Imax/Imax over one time period. Express your answer in terms of γ and
ω. (3 points)

3. The purpose of this device when it was first invented was to measure the heat
capacity of bodies accurately. Parameters T r, α, k, R, L are known, they have been
measured before accurately. The experimenter has electrical measuring instruments,
an oscilloscope and an alternating voltage generator, the frequency of which can be
changed over a wide range. Describe in short a possible experimental design.

3 Non linear elements in Circuits

12 Doing it in class

Element X in the circuit below has a resistance RX which depends on the voltage VX
on it: for VX ≤ 1V , RX = 1Ω, and for VX > 1V , RX = 2Ω. Three such elements are
connected with an ideal ammeter as shown below; the voltage on the leads of the circuit
varies in time as shown in the graph. Plot the reading of the ammeter as a function of
time.

13 Doing it in class

Electrical circuit (Figure 4) consists of three identical (and ideal) capacitors with a ca-
pacitance C1 = C2 = C3 = C, two identical diodes, two ideal ammeters, a switch and a
adjustable source of voltage. The dependence of current on voltage is as shown in Figure
5.

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 a) Let the voltage from source be 3U0. How much heat will release when we close switch
K?
Let the voltage from source be U = U (t) as shown in Figure 6. The switch K always
remains closed. Find the dependence of currents I1 (t) and I2 (t) in ammeters A1 and
A2 with time. Sketch a graph that indicates I1 (t) and I2 (t) with showing characteristic
points on the graph. Source polarity and polarity of ammeters are shown in Figure 4. In
all cases the initial charge of capacitors are 0.

14 Doing it in class until part d)

The I-V characteristics of a thyristor can be approximated by a piece-wise linear graph

as shown in the figure below. Henceforth we consider such an idealized thyristor, the I-V
curve of which is given by figure, and refer to it as the “nonlinear element X”. In the
voltage range between Uh = 4.00V (the holding voltage) and Uth = 10.0V (the threshold
voltage) this I-V curve is multivalued.

a) Using the graph, determine the resistance Ron of the element X on the upper branch of
the I-V characteristics, and Rof f on the lower branch, respectively. The middle branch is
described by the equation I = I0 − U/Rint . Find the values of the parameters I0 and Rint .

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b) The element X is connected in series with a resistor R, an inductor L and an ideal
voltage source E (see figure below). The circuit is said to be in a stationary state if the
current is constant in time, I(t) = const.

How many different stationary states this circuit may have for a fixed value of E and for
R = 3.00Ω (consider different values of E)? How does the answer change for R = 1.00Ω?

c) Let R = 3.00Ω, L = 1.00µH and E = 15.0V in the circuit shown above. Deter-
mine the values of the current Ist and the voltage Vst on the non-linear element X in the
stationary state. Is this state stable or unstable (study the effect of a small departure of
the current strength from Ist)?

d) We now investigate a new circuit configuration, see figure below. This time, the
non-linear element X is connected in parallel to a capacitor of capacitance C = 1.00µF .
This block is then connected in series to a resistor of resistance R = 3.00Ω and an ideal
constant voltage source of voltage E = 15.0V . It turns out that this circuit undergoes
oscillations with the non-linear element X jumping from one branch of the I-V character-
istics to another over the course of one cycle.

Draw the oscillation cycle on the I-V graph, including its direction (clockwise or anti-
clockwise).

e) Find expressions for the times t1 and t2 that the system spends on each branch of

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 the I-V graph during the oscillation cycle. Determine their numerical values. Find the
numerical value of the oscillation period T assuming that the time needed for jumps be-
tween the branches of the I-V graph is negligible.

f) Estimate the average power P dissipated by the non-linear element over the course
of one oscillation. An order of magnitude is sufficient.

g) A neuron in a human brain has the following property: when excited by an exter-
nal signal, it makes one single oscillation and then returns to its initial state. This
feature is called excitability. Due to this property, pulses can propagate in the network of
coupled neurons constituting the nerve systems. A semiconductor chip designed to mimic
excitability and pulse propagation is called a neuristor (from neuron and transistor).
We attempt to model a simple neuristor using a circuit that includes the non-linear ele-
ment X that we investigated previously. To this end, the voltage E in the circuit above
is decreased to the value E ′ = 12.0V . The oscillations stop, and the system reaches its
stationary state. Then, the voltage is rapidly increased back to the value E = 15.0V ,
and after a period of time τ (with τ < T ) is set again to the value E’ (see figure below).
It turns out that there is a certain critical value τcrit and the system shows qualitatively
different behavior for τ < τcrit and for τ > τcrit .

Sketch the graphs of the time dependence of the current IX (t) on the non-linear element
X for τ < τcrit and for τ > τcrit .

h) Find the expression and the numerical value of the critical time τcrit for which the
scenario switches.

15 Find the power dissipation on each of the diodes in the figure below. These diodes
open at the forward voltage V0 = 1.0 V. It can be assumed that the diode voltage
remains equal to V0 for any forward current, and that for voltages less than V0,
there is no current through the diode. The values of the resistances and of the
electromotive force are given in the figure.

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How many times will change the power dissipation in the resistor A when the polarity of
the battery is reversed? All the resistors have equal resistance. Diodes are ideal.

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The V-I-curve of a tunnel diode is depicted in the figure below, curve (a). In some parts
of the problem, we use an idealized model curve (b).

i) In order to measure the V-I curve of the diode, it is connected in series with a variable

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power supply (the value of the electromotive force E can be changed from 0V to 1V),
see circuit (a). The ammeter has internal resistance r = 2Ω; the applied voltage is
E = 50mV . What is the diode voltage Vi and current Ii ? Use the real V-I-curve of the
diode.

ii) Now, let us study the effect of the self-inductance of the wires. In order to take into
account such an inductance, the circuit needs to be modified as shown in circuit (b); let
L = 500nH. The switch K is kept open until the voltage is adjusted to E = 250mV ,
and is then closed. How long will it take for the current to reach I1 = 20mA? Neglect
henceforth (until otherwise instructed) the internal resistances of the battery and of the
ammeter (put r = 0), and use the idealized VI-curve of the diode

iii) With the same settings as for task ii), how long will it take from the moment when
the switch was closed until the diode voltage reaches V2 = 500mV?

iv) With the same setting as for task ii), plot the diode current as a function oftime
and find the period and amplitude of the current oscillations.

v) Circuit (b) is used to measure the V-I curve of the diode: for each data point, the
voltage is adjusted to the desired value while the switch is kept open, and then the switch
is closed. Note that when the ammeter current oscillates with a high frequency, it shows
the average current. Plot the expected measurement results, i.e. the average current
through the ammeter as a function of the applied voltage V = E .

vi) Thus far we have assumed that the diode is an ideal device; in reality, it has a small
parasitic capacitance, let it be C = 30pF . Taking this into account, our circuit should
be drawn as shown in diagram (c). Now we assume the ammeter, again, to be non-ideal,
with internal resistance r = 2Ω. Let us assume that after closing the switch, the voltage
was slowly increased from E = 0mV to E = 150mV so that a stationary (oscillations-
free) operation regime V (t) ≡ V0 and I(t) ≡ I0 has been achieved. Suppose there is a
small perturbation to the diode current and voltage: I = I0 + δI(t) and V = V0 + δV (t),
where I0 and V0 are the current and voltage in the stationary operational regime. For
small perturbation amplitudes, the V-I-curve of the diode can be linearized, resulting in
δV = Rd δI, where Rd is the differential resistance of the diode. Determine the value of Rd .

vii) Continuing with the previous question, one can show that the problem of stabil-
ity for the circuit (c), i.e. the question if the small current perturbations δI(t) will grow
exponentially in time or not, is equivalent to the problem of stability for the circuit (d)

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 (the battery is removed, and the diode is substituted with its differential resistance found
by the previous task). What is the largest inductance of wires L for which the system is
stable?

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 4 Alternating Current Problems

4.1 Problems about Definitions and Important concepts

20 Purcell Mod. 8

The loop equation for the series RLC in the figure below is
dI Q
L + RI + = E0 cos ωt
dt C

Where we have taken positive I to be clockwise and Q to be the charge on the right plate
of the capacitor.

A) Find the general solution for the current I as a function of time.

B) Find the average Power dissipated in the resistor, assuming only the particular solu-
tion for I(t)

C) At any given time, the four terms in the equation can be considered to be the real
parts of four vectors in the complex plane.
Draw the appropriate quadrilateral that represents the fact that the sum of the three
terms on the left side of the equation equals the term on the right side.

D)Use your quadrilateral to determine the amplitude I0 and phase Φ of the current,
and check that they agree with the values we obtained before.

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21 Kalda Handouts

The circuit in figure below has two equal inductors L and a resistor R. The frequency of
the emf source, E0 cos ωt, is chosen to be ω = R/L.

(a) What is the total complex impedance of the circuit? Give it in terms of R only.

(b) If the total current through the circuit is written as I0 cos(ωt + Φ), what are I0 and Φ?

(c) What is the average power dissipated in the circuit?

22 Purcell Mod. 8

Is it possible to find a frequency at which the impedance at the terminals of the circuit
in figure below will be purely real

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23 Purcell Mod. 8

Do there exist values of R, L, and C for which the two circuits in figure below have the
same impedance? (The resistor R has the same value in both.) Can you give a physical
explanation why or why not?

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In Fig. 8.29 an alternating voltage V0 cos ωt is applied to the terminals at A. The terminals
at B are connected to an audio amplifier of very high input impedance. (That is, current
flow into the amplifier is negligible.) Calculate the ratio |V1 |2 /V02 . Here |V1 | is the
absolute value of the complex voltage amplitude at terminals B. Choose values for R and
C to make |V1 |2 /V02 = 0.1 for a 5000 Hz signal. This circuit is the most primitive of
“low-pass” filters, providing attenuation that increases with increasing frequency. Show
that, for sufficiently high frequencies, the signal power is reduced by a factor 1/4 for every

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 doubling of the frequency. Can you devise a filter with a more drastic cutoff – such as a
factor 1/16 per octave?

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What is the total impedance of the circuit below? Assume that the angular frequency of
the imput voltage is ω

4.2 More problems

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A circuit consists of two identical inductances, two identical capacitors, and one resistor,
see figure. The applied voltage is U 0 = 10V , and the total current at the input leads is
I0 = 1A; the voltage measured at the left capacitor is 10 V, and 10 V is also measured
at the left inductance. What is the active power dissipated in this circuit and what is
the resistance of the resistor?

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q
In the circuit below, R = L/C. A rectangular voltage waveform of period τ and
amplitude V0 is applied to the input ports (this means that during half of the period, the
input voltage is V0 , and during the other half-period, the voltage is V0 ). Find the shape
and amplitude of the current flowing through the input ports.

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Find such frequencies of the input voltage ω for which the circuit shown below has zero
impedance.

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29 IPhO

Let us consider the electric circuit in the figure, for which L1 = 10mH, L2 = 20mH,
C1 = 10nF , C2 = 5nF , R = 100kΩ. The switch K being closed, the circuit is coupled
with a source of alternating current. The current furnished by the source has constant
intensity while the frequency of the current may be varied.

A) Find the ratio of frequency fM /∆f , where fM is the frequency for which the active
power in circuit has the maximum value Pm, and the frequency difference ∆f = f+ − f− ,
where f+ and f− are the frequencies for which the active power in the circuit is half of
the maximum power P = 1/2Pm .

The switch is opened in the moment t0 when there is no current through the resistor.
Immediately after the switch is open, the intensities of the currents in the coils L1 and
L2 are respectively i01 = 0.1A and i02 = 0.2A. (the currents flow as in the figure); at the
same moment, the potential difference on the capacitor with capacity C1 is U0 = 40V .
b) Calculate the frequency of electromagnetic oscillation in L1 C1 C2 L2 circuit;
c) Determine the intensity of the electric current in the AB conductor;
d) Calculate the amplitude of the oscillation of the intensity of electric current in the coil
L1.

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 Alternating voltage V = V0 cos(2πvt) is applied to the leads of the circuit shown below.
Sketch the graphs of the resistor’s and diode’s currents as a function of time.

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A dimmer for controlling the brightness of lighting consists of a rheostat, a capacitor, a

diac and a triac, connected as in the circuit

A diac is a component whose behaviour is determined by the voltage-current diagram

shown above. A triac , on the other hand, can be thought of as a switch controlled by
current — look at the following equivalent schematics

The switch Kt is open as long as the current through the triac’s gate stays under the
threshold current It; closes when the threshold current is applied (in either direction)
and stays closed while a current is flowing through the switch Kt (the gate current is
irrelevant until the switch opens again).

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 a) Assume that the resistance Rt is large enough that the charge moving through the
diac can be neglected. Let the sinusoidal supply voltage have a maximum value of U and
a frequency of f; the rheostat be set to the resistance R and the capacitor’s capacitance
be C. Find the maximum value of the voltage UC on the capacitor, and its phase shift Φ
with respect to the supply voltage.
b) What inequality should be satisfied by the diac’s characteristic voltages Ub and Ud,
triac’s threshold current It and gate resistance Rt to ensure that when the diac starts to
conduct (while the voltage on the capacitor rises), then the triac would also immediately
start to conduct? You may assume that Ib < It and that the diac’s voltage at current
It is Ud. c) The voltage Ul on the lamp follows the plot above. Let’s assume that the
assumption of part i) and the inequality of part ii) hold. Find the time t0 during which
the voltage on the lamp is zero.
d) Express through t0 and f, how many times the average power of the lamp is lower
than the one of a lamp without a dimmer, assuming that the resistance of the lamp is
unchanged.

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Alternating voltage V = V0 cos(2πvt) is applied to the leads of the circuit shown below.
Sketch the graphs of the resistor’s and diode’s currents as a function of time.

33 Pan Pearl 2014

Modern electric and gasoline hybrid cars require high voltages to drive their motors from
batteries of lower voltages. Alternating current (AC) voltages can be stepped up easily by
using transformers, but direct current (DC) voltages require more sophisticated designs.
In this problem we analyze the step-up converter circuit as shown in the following figure

The circuit consists of an input voltage Vi , an inductor of inductance L, a capacitor of

capacitance C, and a load of resistance R. D is a diode whose resistance is effectively

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 zero when the electric potential is higher on the left end, and effectively infinite when the
electric potential is lower on the left end.
S is a switch operated by an electronic circuit not shown in the figure. It switches on and
off periodically at a rather high frequency. Each period consists of an on-state and an
off-state. During the on-state, it is switched on for a time t1 , and during the off-state, it
is switched off for a time t0 .
a) Consider the initial condition that the current in the circuit is 0 and the capacitor is
uncharged. At t = 0, switch S is closed. Calculate the current through the inductor at
t = t1 .
b) At t = t1 , switch S is open. Calculate the current through the inductor at time t
during the off state (t1 < t < t1 + t0 ). You may assume that the load resistance R is so
large that the current it draws is negligible.
c) When the device √ continues to operate, we will consider the high frequency limit in
which t1 + t0 ≪ LC in the rest of the problem. In this regime, it is sufficient to keep
terms up to first order of t0 and t1 . Find the relation between the current through the
inductor at the end of the (n − 1)th off-state and that of the nt h on-state, denoted as
I0 (n − 1) and I1 (n) respectively.
d) By including the load in the circuit during the n th on-state, find the relation between
the voltage across the capacitor at the end of the (n − 1)th off-state and that of the n th
on-state, denoted as V0 (n − 1) and V1 (n) respectively.
e) At the end of the n th on-state, the current through the inductor is I1 (n), and the
voltage across the capacitor is V1 (n). Calculate the current I0 (n) through the inductor
and the voltage V0 (n) across the capacitor at the end of the immediately following off-
state.
f) When the device reaches the steady state, calculate the step-up voltage ratio Vout /Vi
to the lowest order. How should we set t1 and t0 to raise the ratio?
g) Calculate the on-state current through the inductor at the steady state. Explain the
physical meaning of the result.
h) Explain the importance of the diode in producing the step-up voltage.
i) Estimate the time taken to reach the steady state. Use only the variables t1, t0, L, C,
R to express your result.

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When sine waves propagate in an infinite LC-grid (see the figure below) the phase of the
AC voltage across two successive capacitors differs by Φ

a) Determine how Φ depends on ω, L and C (ω is the angular frequency of the sine wave).
b) Determine the velocity of propagation of the waves if the length of each unit is l.

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c) State under what conditions the propagation velocity of the waves is almost indepen-
dent of ω. Determine the velocity in this case.
d) Suggest a simple mechanical model which is an analogue to the above circuit and
derive equations which establish the validity of your model.

5 Pulses/Time Limits

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