Clutch Prep is now a part of Pearson
Ch 32: Alternating CurrentWorksheetSee all chapters
All Chapters
Ch 01: Intro to Physics; Units
Ch 02: 1D Motion / Kinematics
Ch 03: Vectors
Ch 04: 2D Kinematics
Ch 05: Projectile Motion
Ch 06: Intro to Forces (Dynamics)
Ch 07: Friction, Inclines, Systems
Ch 08: Centripetal Forces & Gravitation
Ch 09: Work & Energy
Ch 10: Conservation of Energy
Ch 11: Momentum & Impulse
Ch 12: Rotational Kinematics
Ch 13: Rotational Inertia & Energy
Ch 14: Torque & Rotational Dynamics
Ch 15: Rotational Equilibrium
Ch 16: Angular Momentum
Ch 17: Periodic Motion
Ch 19: Waves & Sound
Ch 20: Fluid Mechanics
Ch 21: Heat and Temperature
Ch 22: Kinetic Theory of Ideal Gases
Ch 23: The First Law of Thermodynamics
Ch 24: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Ch 25: Electric Force & Field; Gauss' Law
Ch 26: Electric Potential
Ch 27: Capacitors & Dielectrics
Ch 28: Resistors & DC Circuits
Ch 29: Magnetic Fields and Forces
Ch 30: Sources of Magnetic Field
Ch 31: Induction and Inductance
Ch 32: Alternating Current
Ch 33: Electromagnetic Waves
Ch 34: Geometric Optics
Ch 35: Wave Optics
Ch 37: Special Relativity
Ch 38: Particle-Wave Duality
Ch 39: Atomic Structure
Ch 40: Nuclear Physics
Ch 41: Quantum Mechanics
Sections
Alternating Voltages and Currents
Inductors in AC Circuits
Capacitors in AC Circuits
Power in AC Circuits
Resistors in AC Circuits
Series LRC Circuits
RMS Current and Voltage
Phasors for Inductors
Phasors for Capacitors
Phasors for Resistors
Resonance in Series LRC Circuits
Phasors
Impedance in AC Circuits
Learn
Next SectionRMS Current and Voltage

Concept #1: LRC Circuits in Series

Transcript

Hey guys, in this video were going to start our discussion on series LRC circuits. These are circuits that are composed of inductors, resistors and capacitors all connected in series to an AC source. Alright, let's get to it. In a series LRC circuit, the current through each element is the same. This is true for any series circuit. In a DC circuit we would simply say that the voltage across all three of these elements VLRC, the maximum voltage is just equal to the sum of the maximum voltages across each of the individual elements. In this case we would call this IXL, IR and IXC. Now this is not true in AC circuits because each of the peak voltages, each of the maximum voltages peaks at a different time so you cannot simply add them all up. In an LRC circuit the maximum voltage is actually going to be given by this weird square root thing. It's the square of the voltage across the resistor plus the square of the difference between the voltages across the inductor and the capacitor. This is actually the relationship between the maximum voltages across all three elements which by the way is the same as the maximum voltage produced by the AC source that's just Kirchoff's loop rule. This relates the maximum voltage across all three elements with the maximum voltage across each element. It's not the sum of them, it's this weird square root equation because each of the maxima peaks at a different time. We want to define something called the impedance of this circuit which acts as the effective reactance of this circuit. In a series LRC circuit the impedance is defined as this, this is a very very important equation and the maximum current produced by the source is always going to be given by the maximum voltage of the source divided by the impedance. This is why the impedance is so important because once you calculate it you can simply take the maximum voltage produced by the source divided by the impedance and that will tell you the maximum current produced by the source.

Let's do a quick example. A circuit is formed by attaching an AC source in series to a 0.5 Henry inductor, a 10 ohm resistor and a 500 microfarad capacitor. If the source operates at an RMS voltage of 120 volts and at a frequency of 60 Hertz, what is the maximum current in the circuit? Before continuing with the solution of this problem we should really address the RMS voltage and the frequency. Remember guys that you're always really going to be dealing with the maximum voltage and you're always going to be dealing with angular frequency so we should just convert these right off the bat to get them out of the way. The maximum voltage is just going to be the square root of 2 times the RMS voltage which is the square root of 2 times 120 volts which 170 volts and the angular frequency is 2 Pi times the linear frequency which is 2 Pi times 60 Hertz which is about 377 inverse seconds. So that right there tells us the values that we actually need to know. Now let's solve this problem. What is the maximum current in this circuit? The maximum current in the circuit is going to be given by this equation. The maximum voltage produced by the battery divided by the impedance. So the impedance is going to be given by R squared plus omega L minus one over omega C squared which is the square root of 10 ohms squared plus remember 377 times the inductance was half a Henry minus one over 377 times 500 microfarads, micro is 10 to the -6, and that whole thing squared and the square root of the whole thing so the impedance is 183 ohms. Now that we know the impedance we can simply use this equation up here to find the maximum current produced by this source or the maximum current in the circuit that's going to be V max divided by Z which is going to be 170 volts. 170 not 120 volts because 120 volts is the RMS voltage not the maximum voltage. This is divided by 183 ohms and that is 0.93 amps. One other thing to discuss is I use 377 here not 60 because we need the angular frequency not the linear frequency. Alright guys, that wraps up our discussion on series LRC circuits. Thanks for watching.

Practice: An AC source operates at an RMS voltage of 70 V and a frequency of 85 Hz. If the source is connected in series to a 20 Ω resistor, a 0.15 H inductor and a 500 µF capacitor, answer the following questions: 

a) What is the maximum current produced by the source? 

b) What is the maximum voltage across the resistor? 

c) What is the maximum voltage across the inductor? 

d) What is the maximum voltage across the capacitor?

Previous SectionResistors in AC Circuits
Next SectionRMS Current and Voltage