Towards a circuit engineering discipline

Circuit elements are the basic building blocks of an electric circuit. Essentially, an electric circuit is the interconnection of these elements. Within electric circuits, one can find two types of elements: passive and active. Active elements have the ability to generate energy, whereas passive elements do not. Passive elements include components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors, while active elements typically encompass generators, batteries, and operational amplifiers.
The most...

An electrical network is a system composed of interconnected elements, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and voltage or current sources. Unlike a circuit, an electrical network does not necessarily form a closed path. In other words, while all circuits can be considered networks due to their interconnected nature, not every network qualifies as a circuit.
A circuit, on the other hand, is also an interconnected system of electrical elements but must contain one or more closed paths.

When a DC source is abruptly disconnected from an RC (Resistor-Capacitor) circuit, the circuit becomes source-free. Assuming that the capacitor was fully charged before the source was removed, its initial voltage, denoted as V0, can be considered as the initial energy that stimulates the circuit.
Applying Kirchhoff's current law at the top node of the circuit and substituting the current values across the components, a first-order differential equation is obtained. By rearranging the terms in...

Analyzing AC circuits in electrical systems is a fundamental aspect of electrical engineering. In these circuits, AC power is supplied from a distribution panel and wired to various household appliances in parallel. To perform a comprehensive analysis, electrical engineers use Kirchhoff's voltage and current laws, which are equally applicable in AC circuits as in DC circuits.
Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL) states that the sum of phasor voltages around a closed loop in an AC circuit equals zero.

A linear circuit is characterized by its output having a direct proportionality to its input, adhering to the linearity property, which encompasses the principles of homogeneity (scaling) and additivity. Homogeneity dictates that when the input, also referred to as the excitation, is multiplied by a constant factor, the output, known as the response, is correspondingly scaled by the same constant factor. For instance, if the current is multiplied by a constant 'k,' the voltage likewise...

In electrical engineering, the analysis of networks composed of passive linear components — resistors (R), capacitors (C), and inductors (L) — is fundamental. These components are organized into circuits where the relationship between input and output can be analyzed using transfer functions. The transfer function of an RLC circuit, which relates the voltage across a capacitor to the input voltage, can be derived using Kirchhoff's laws.
To derive the transfer function, consider an RLC circuit...