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https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/021/11/1029-1042

Fourier transforms, contour integration, circuit theory.

In this article we shall mathematically analyse the Resistor-Capacitor (RC) circuit with the help of Fourier transforms(FT). This very general technique gives us a lot of insight intosolving first order differential equations with source terms dependingon time. In itself, the RC circuit is by far the mostcommonplace entity in modern electronics. But the method ofFT is not the accepted custom for an electronic engineer, whois probably more comfortable working with complex impedancesand phasors while solving problems in network analysis.In fact, what is used much more extensively is the Laplacetransform. But a lot of things, (including the complex impedanceitself, and some insight into complex analysis) can be understoodbetter if we use the FT approach to solve the differentialequations that come up in network analysis. The use of FTcomes smoothly from first principles – precisely what we setout to demonstrate here.

Published

12 November 2016