Re: Res cap size charge

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Matthew Smith <matt-at-kbc-dot-net.au> 

Luke <Bluu-at-cox-dot-net> wrote:
>I was looking around the list archives and making up a spread sheet for
>joules of the cap after charge time of 1/4 cycle and voltage on the cap
>and number of rc time constants in the 14 cycle etc............
>When I ran across a post on the archives pointing out the obvious. :(
>The voltage is always changing so the rc time constant thing kind of
>falls apart.

Been there, done it, worn the tee-shirt ;-) I was trying to do something 
very similar about a month ago.  I rather believe that such calculations 
require the use of calculus.  This is something that I was never taught at 
school (I only knew it as a medical term for a stone), never got as far as 
at technical college and, to date, haven't had the time to try to learn 
from the Web.

If anyone can point to a good "calculus for engineers" (or possibly 
"calculus for the mathematically challenged", as is my case) as opposed to 
"calculus for mathematicians" it would be appreciated.  If it's something 
that uses examples with capacitors and inductors, so much the better!

Terry: if calculus isn't the answer to the cap charging/discharging problem 
(and similar ones for energy in an inductor), just shred this posting ;-)

Cheers

M

-- 
Matthew Smith
Kadina Business Consultancy
South Australia
http://www.kbc-dot-net.au