LRC Circuit Lab - Tutor Page 3

	Our AC Source produces a constant sinusoidal voltage, which is represented as Vo cos(wt). Because we are only concerned with the steady state, the current can then be represented as Io cos(wt + phi). Press the start button on the browser applet. Because voltage and current are sinusoidal, we can represent both of them with the exponential function, as in figure 1.3. This is done for a couple of reasons. For example, taking the derivative and the integral of e is much easier than taking the derivative and integral of cosine and sine. The imaginary part of the voltage and current is, simply, imaginary and a mathematical construct. However it will come in use, even during this lab! The second pair of axes graph the voltage and current on the Real and Imaginary plane. The Real part of the arrows is what is physically observed, and this is represented by a thick line along the horizontal real axis. Notice how the two pairs of axes relate, and how the imaginary part of the voltage and current figures into the system. Press Next when you're done.
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