Circuit Analysis For Dummies

Chapter 12

Spicing Up Circuit Analysis with Capacitors and Inductors

In This Chapter

Using capacitors to store electrical energy

Storing magnetic energy with inductors

Using op amps to do your calculus

If you’ve previously analyzed circuits consisting of only resistors and batteries, you may be happy to hear that more-interesting circuits do exist. The addition of two passive devices — capacitors and inductors — help spice up the functioning of circuits by storing energy for later use. You couldn’t have electronic multimedia devices or entertainment gear without capacitors and inductors.

The addition of capacitors and inductors also lets you use circuits to do some calculations for you. With these devices, you can perform mathematical operations that are usually done by hand, such as integration and differentiation, electronically. Yep, you read right. You can build on-the-spot calculus operations using capacitors and resistors, along with your life-long friend, the operational amplifier (see Chapter 10 for the scoop on op amps).

In this chapter, I introduce you to capacitors and inductors, and I help you find quantities such as voltage, current, power, energy, capacitance, and ...