CHAPTER 15

Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.1 The current we draw into our houses is an alternating current (ac). Power lines transmit ac to our neighborhoods, where
local power stations and transformers distribute it to our homes. In this chapter, we discuss how a transformer works and how it allows us
to transmit power at very high voltages and minimal heating losses across the lines.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
15.1 AC Sources
15.2 Simple AC Circuits
15.3 RLC Series Circuits with AC
15.4 Power in an AC Circuit
15.5 Resonance in an AC Circuit
15.6 Transformers

INTRODUCTION Electric power is delivered to our homes by alternating current (ac) through high-voltage
transmission lines. As explained in Transformers, transformers can then change the amplitude of the alternating
potential difference to a more useful form. This lets us transmit power at very high voltages, minimizing resistive
heating losses in the lines, and then furnish that power to homes at lower, safer voltages. Because constant
potential differences are unaffected by transformers, this capability is more difficult to achieve with direct-current
transmission.

In this chapter, we use Kirchhoff’s laws to analyze four simple circuits in which ac flows. We have discussed the use
of the resistor, capacitor, and inductor in circuits with batteries. These components are also part of ac circuits.
However, because ac is required, the constant source of emf supplied by a battery is replaced by an ac voltage
source, which produces an oscillating emf.
624 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

15.1 AC Sources
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Explain the differences between direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac)
• Define characteristic features of alternating current and voltage, such as the amplitude or peak and the
frequency

Most examples dealt with so far in this book, particularly those using batteries, have constant-voltage sources. Thus,
once the current is established, it is constant. Direct current (dc) is the flow of electric charge in only one direction.
It is the steady state of a constant-voltage circuit.

Most well-known applications, however, use a time-varying voltage source. Alternating current (ac) is the flow of
electric charge that periodically reverses direction. An ac is produced by an alternating emf, which is generated in a
power plant, as described in Induced Electric Fields. If the ac source varies periodically, particularly sinusoidally, the
circuit is known as an ac circuit. Examples include the commercial and residential power that serves so many of our
needs.

The ac voltages and frequencies commonly used in businesses and homes vary around the world. In a typical house,
the potential difference between the two sides of an electrical outlet alternates sinusoidally with a frequency of 60
or 50 Hz and an amplitude of 170 or 311 V, depending on whether you live in the United States or Europe,
respectively. Most people know the potential difference for electrical outlets is 120 V or 220 V in the US or Europe,
but as explained later in the chapter, these voltages are not the peak values given here but rather are related to the
common voltages we see in our electrical outlets. Figure 15.2 shows graphs of voltage and current versus time for
typical dc and ac power in the United States.

FIGURE 15.2 (a) The dc voltage and current are constant in time, once the current is established. (b) The voltage and current versus time
are quite different for ac power. In this example, which shows 60-Hz ac power and time t in milliseconds, voltage and current are sinusoidal
and are in phase for a simple resistance circuit. The frequencies and peak voltages of ac sources differ greatly.

Suppose we hook up a resistor to an ac voltage source and determine how the voltage and current vary in time
across the resistor. Figure 15.3 shows a schematic of a simple circuit with an ac voltage source. The voltage
fluctuates sinusoidally with time at a fixed frequency, as shown, on either the battery terminals or the resistor.
Therefore, the ac voltage, or the “voltage at a plug,” can be given by
15.1

where v is the voltage at time t, is the peak voltage, and is the angular frequency in radians per second. For a
typical house in the United States, and , whereas in Europe, and

For this simple resistance circuit, , so the ac current, meaning the current that fluctuates sinusoidally with
time at a fixed frequency, is
15.2

where i is the current at time t and is the peak current and is equal to . For this example, the voltage and
current are said to be in phase, meaning that their sinusoidal functional forms have peaks, troughs, and nodes in the

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 15.2 • Simple AC Circuits 625

same place. They oscillate in sync with each other, as shown in Figure 15.2(b). In these equations, and throughout
this chapter, we use lowercase letters (such as i) to indicate instantaneous values and capital letters (such as I) to
indicate maximum, or peak, values.

FIGURE 15.3 The potential difference V between the terminals of an ac voltage source fluctuates, so the source and the resistor have ac
sine waves on top of each other. The mathematical expression for v is given by

Current in the resistor alternates back and forth just like the driving voltage, since . If the resistor is a
fluorescent light bulb, for example, it brightens and dims 120 times per second as the current repeatedly goes
through zero. A 120-Hz flicker is too rapid for your eyes to detect, but if you wave your hand back and forth between
your face and a fluorescent light, you will see the stroboscopic effect of ac.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.1

If a European ac voltage source is considered, what is the time difference between the zero crossings on an ac
voltage-versus-time graph?

15.2 Simple AC Circuits

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Interpret phasor diagrams and apply them to ac circuits with resistors, capacitors, and inductors
• Define the reactance for a resistor, capacitor, and inductor to help understand how current in the circuit
behaves compared to each of these devices

In this section, we study simple models of ac voltage sources connected to three circuit components: (1) a resistor,
(2) a capacitor, and (3) an inductor. The power furnished by an ac voltage source has an emf given by

as shown in Figure 15.4. This sine function assumes we start recording the voltage when it is at a time of
A phase constant may be involved that shifts the function when we start measuring voltages, similar to the
phase constant in the waves we studied in Waves ([Link]
16-introduction). However, because we are free to choose when we start examining the voltage, we can ignore this
phase constant for now. We can measure this voltage across the circuit components using one of two methods: (1) a
quantitative approach based on our knowledge of circuits, or (2) a graphical approach that is explained in the
coming sections.
626 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.4 (a) The output of an ac generator. (b) Symbol used to represent an ac voltage source in a circuit diagram.

Resistor
First, consider a resistor connected across an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule, the instantaneous
voltage across the resistor of Figure 15.5(a) is

and the instantaneous current through the resistor is

FIGURE 15.5 (a) A resistor connected across an ac voltage source. (b) The current through the resistor and the voltage across
the resistor. The two quantities are in phase.

Here, is the amplitude of the time-varying current. Plots of and are shown in Figure 15.5(b).
Both curves reach their maxima and minima at the same times, that is, the current through and the voltage across
the resistor are in phase.

Graphical representations of the phase relationships between current and voltage are often useful in the analysis of
ac circuits. Such representations are called phasor diagrams. The phasor diagram for is shown in Figure
15.6(a), with the current on the vertical axis. The arrow (or phasor) is rotating counterclockwise at a constant
angular frequency so we are viewing it at one instant in time. If the length of the arrow corresponds to the current

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 15.2 • Simple AC Circuits 627

amplitude the projection of the rotating arrow onto the vertical axis is which is the
instantaneous current.

FIGURE 15.6 (a) The phasor diagram representing the current through the resistor of Figure 15.5. (b) The phasor diagram representing both
and .

The vertical axis on a phasor diagram could be either the voltage or the current, depending on the phasor that is
being examined. In addition, several quantities can be depicted on the same phasor diagram. For example, both the
current and the voltage are shown in the diagram of Figure 15.6(b). Since they have the same frequency
and are in phase, their phasors point in the same direction and rotate together. The relative lengths of the two
phasors are arbitrary because they represent different quantities; however, the ratio of the lengths of the two
phasors can be represented by the resistance, since one is a voltage phasor and the other is a current phasor.

Capacitor
Now let’s consider a capacitor connected across an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule, the instantaneous
voltage across the capacitor of Figure 15.7(a) is

Recall that the charge in a capacitor is given by This is true at any time measured in the ac cycle of
voltage. Consequently, the instantaneous charge on the capacitor is

Since the current in the circuit is the rate at which charge enters (or leaves) the capacitor,

where is the current amplitude. Using the trigonometric relationship we may

express the instantaneous current as

Dividing by , we obtain an equation that looks similar to Ohm’s law:

15.3

The quantity is analogous to resistance in a dc circuit in the sense that both quantities are a ratio of a voltage to
a current. As a result, they have the same unit, the ohm. Keep in mind, however, that a capacitor stores and
discharges electric energy, whereas a resistor dissipates it. The quantity is known as the capacitive reactance
of the capacitor, or the opposition of a capacitor to a change in current. It depends inversely on the frequency of the
ac source—high frequency leads to low capacitive reactance.
628 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.7 (a) A capacitor connected across an ac generator. (b) The current through the capacitor and the voltage across
the capacitor. Notice that leads by rad.

A comparison of the expressions for and shows that there is a phase difference of between
them. When these two quantities are plotted together, the current peaks a quarter cycle (or ) ahead of the
voltage, as illustrated in Figure 15.7(b). The current through a capacitor leads the voltage across a capacitor by
or a quarter of a cycle.

The corresponding phasor diagram is shown in Figure 15.8. Here, the relationship between and is
represented by having their phasors rotate at the same angular frequency, with the current phasor leading by

FIGURE 15.8 The phasor diagram for the capacitor of Figure 15.7. The current phasor leads the voltage phasor by rad as they both
rotate with the same angular frequency.

To this point, we have exclusively been using peak values of the current or voltage in our discussion, namely, and
However, if we average out the values of current or voltage, these values are zero. Therefore, we often use a
second convention called the root mean square value, or rms value, in discussions of current and voltage. The rms
operates in reverse of the terminology. First, you square the function, next, you take the mean, and then, you find
the square root. As a result, the rms values of current and voltage are not zero. Appliances and devices are
commonly quoted with rms values for their operations, rather than peak values. We indicate rms values with a
subscript attached to a capital letter (such as ).

Although a capacitor is basically an open circuit, an rms current, or the root mean square of the current, appears in
a circuit with an ac voltage applied to a capacitor. Consider that

15.4

where is the peak current in an ac system. The rms voltage, or the root mean square of the voltage, is

15.5

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 15.2 • Simple AC Circuits 629

where is the peak voltage in an ac system. The rms current appears because the voltage is continually reversing,
charging, and discharging the capacitor. If the frequency goes to zero, which would be a dc voltage, tends to
infinity, and the current is zero once the capacitor is charged. At very high frequencies, the capacitor’s reactance
tends to zero—it has a negligible reactance and does not impede the current (it acts like a simple wire).

Inductor
Lastly, let’s consider an inductor connected to an ac voltage source. From Kirchhoff’s loop rule, the voltage across
the inductor L of Figure 15.9(a) is
15.6

The emf across an inductor is equal to however, the potential difference across the inductor is
, because if we consider that the voltage around the loop must equal zero, the voltage gained
from the ac source must dissipate through the inductor. Therefore, connecting this with the ac voltage source, we
have

FIGURE 15.9 (a) An inductor connected across an ac generator. (b) The current through the inductor and the voltage across the
inductor. Here lags by rad.

The current is found by integrating this equation. Since the circuit does not contain a source of constant emf,
there is no steady current in the circuit. Hence, we can set the constant of integration, which represents the steady
current in the circuit, equal to zero, and we have
15.7

where The relationship between and may also be written in a form analogous to Ohm’s law:

15.8

The quantity is known as the inductive reactance of the inductor, or the opposition of an inductor to a change in
current; its unit is also the ohm. Note that varies directly as the frequency of the ac source—high frequency
causes high inductive reactance.

A phase difference of rad occurs between the current through and the voltage across the inductor. From
Equation 15.6 and Equation 15.7, the current through an inductor lags the potential difference across an inductor by
, or a quarter of a cycle. The phasor diagram for this case is shown in Figure 15.10.
630 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.10 The phasor diagram for the inductor of Figure 15.9. The current phasor lags the voltage phasor by rad as they both
rotate with the same angular frequency.

INTERACTIVE
An animation from the University of New South Wales AC Circuits ([Link] illustrates
some of the concepts we discuss in this chapter. They also include wave and phasor diagrams that evolve over time
so that you can get a better picture of how each changes over time.

EXAMPLE 15.1

Simple AC Circuits
An ac generator produces an emf of amplitude 10 V at a frequency Determine the voltages across and
the currents through the circuit elements when the generator is connected to (a) a resistor, (b) a
capacitor, and (c) a 15-mH inductor.

Strategy
The entire AC voltage across each device is the same as the source voltage. We can find the currents by finding the
reactance X of each device and solving for the peak current using

Solution
The voltage across the terminals of the source is

where is the angular frequency. Since v(t) is also the voltage across each of the elements,
we have

a. When the amplitude of the current through the resistor is

so

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 15.3 • RLC Series Circuits with AC 631

b. From Equation 15.3, the capacitive reactance is

so the maximum value of the current is

and the instantaneous current is given by

c. From Equation 15.8, the inductive reactance is

The maximum current is therefore

and the instantaneous current is

Significance
Although the voltage across each device is the same, the peak current has different values, depending on the
reactance. The reactance for each device depends on the values of resistance, capacitance, or inductance.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.2

Repeat Example 15.1 for an ac source of amplitude 20 V and frequency 100 Hz.

15.3 RLC Series Circuits with AC

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Describe how the current varies in a resistor, a capacitor, and an inductor while in series with an ac power
source
• Use phasors to understand the phase angle of a resistor, capacitor, and inductor ac circuit and to
understand what that phase angle means
• Calculate the impedance of a circuit

The ac circuit shown in Figure 15.11, called an RLC series circuit, is a series combination of a resistor, capacitor, and
inductor connected across an ac source. It produces an emf of
632 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.11 (a) An RLC series circuit. (b) A comparison of the generator output voltage and the current. The value of the phase difference
depends on the values of R, C, and L.

Since the elements are in series, the same current flows through each element at all points in time. The relative
phase between the current and the emf is not obvious when all three elements are present. Consequently, we
represent the current by the general expression

where is the current amplitude and is the phase angle between the current and the applied voltage. The phase
angle is thus the amount by which the voltage and current are out of phase with each other in a circuit. Our task is to
find

A phasor diagram involving is helpful for analyzing the circuit. As shown in Figure
15.12, the phasor representing points in the same direction as the phasor for its amplitude is
The phasor lags the i(t) phasor by rad and has the amplitude The phasor for leads the
i(t) phasor by rad and has the amplitude

FIGURE 15.12 The phasor diagram for the RLC series circuit of Figure 15.11.

At any instant, the voltage across the RLC combination is the emf of the source. Since
a component of a sum of vectors is the sum of the components of the individual vectors—for example,
—the projection of the vector sum of phasors onto the vertical axis is the sum of the vertical
projections of the individual phasors. Hence, if we add vectorially the phasors representing
and then find the projection of the resultant onto the vertical axis, we obtain

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 15.3 • RLC Series Circuits with AC 633

The vector sum of the phasors is shown in Figure 15.13. The resultant phasor has an amplitude and is directed at
an angle with respect to the or , phasor. The projection of this resultant phasor onto the vertical axis is
We can easily determine the unknown quantities and from the geometry of the phasor
diagram. For the phase angle,

and after cancellation of this becomes

15.9

Furthermore, from the Pythagorean theorem,

FIGURE 15.13 The resultant of the phasors for , , and is equal to the phasor for The i(t) phasor (not
shown) is aligned with the phasor.

The current amplitude is therefore the ac version of Ohm’s law:

15.10

where

15.11

is known as the impedance of the circuit. Its unit is the ohm, and it is the ac analog to resistance in a dc circuit,
which measures the combined effect of resistance, capacitive reactance, and inductive reactance (Figure 15.14).
634 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.14 Power capacitors are used to balance the impedance of the effective inductance in transmission lines.

The RLC circuit is analogous to the wheel of a car driven over a corrugated road (Figure 15.15). The regularly spaced
bumps in the road drive the wheel up and down; in the same way, a voltage source increases and decreases. The
shock absorber acts like the resistance of the RLC circuit, damping and limiting the amplitude of the oscillation.
Energy within the wheel system goes back and forth between kinetic and potential energy stored in the car spring,
analogous to the shift between a maximum current, with energy stored in an inductor, and no current, with energy
stored in the electric field of a capacitor. The amplitude of the wheel’s motion is at a maximum if the bumps in the
road are hit at the resonant frequency, which we describe in more detail in Resonance in an AC Circuit.

FIGURE 15.15 On a car, the shock absorber damps motion and dissipates energy. This is much like the resistance in an RLC circuit. The
mass and spring determine the resonant frequency.

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY

AC Circuits
To analyze an ac circuit containing resistors, capacitors, and inductors, it is helpful to think of each device’s
reactance and find the equivalent reactance using the rules we used for equivalent resistance in the past. Phasors

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 15.3 • RLC Series Circuits with AC 635

are a great method to determine whether the emf of the circuit has positive or negative phase (namely, leads or lags
other values). A mnemonic device of “ELI the ICE man” is sometimes used to remember that the emf (E) leads the
current (I) in an inductor (L) and the current (I) leads the emf (E) in a capacitor (C).

Use the following steps to determine the emf of the circuit by phasors:

1. Draw the phasors for voltage across each device: resistor, capacitor, and inductor, including the phase angle in
the circuit.
2. If there is both a capacitor and an inductor, find the net voltage from these two phasors, since they are
antiparallel.
3. Find the equivalent phasor from the phasor in step 2 and the resistor’s phasor using trigonometry or
components of the phasors. The equivalent phasor found is the emf of the circuit.

EXAMPLE 15.2

An RLC Series Circuit

The output of an ac generator connected to an RLC series combination has a frequency of 200 Hz and an amplitude
of 0.100 V. If and what are (a) the capacitive reactance, (b)
the inductive reactance, (c) the impedance, (d) the current amplitude, and (e) the phase difference between the
current and the emf of the generator?

Strategy
The reactances and impedance in (a)–(c) are found by substitutions into Equation 15.3, Equation 15.8, and Equation
15.11, respectively. The current amplitude is calculated from the peak voltage and the impedance. The phase
difference between the current and the emf is calculated by the inverse tangent of the difference between the
reactances divided by the resistance.

Solution

a. From Equation 15.3, the capacitive reactance is

b. From Equation 15.8, the inductive reactance is

c. Substituting the values of R, , and into Equation 15.11, we obtain for the impedance

d. The current amplitude is

e. From Equation 15.9, the phase difference between the current and the emf is

Significance
The phase angle is positive because the reactance of the inductor is larger than the reactance of the capacitor.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.3

Find the voltages across the resistor, the capacitor, and the inductor in the circuit of Figure 15.11 using
as the output of the ac generator.
636 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

15.4 Power in an AC Circuit

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Describe how average power from an ac circuit can be written in terms of peak current and voltage and of
rms current and voltage
• Determine the relationship between the phase angle of the current and voltage and the average power,
known as the power factor

A circuit element dissipates or produces power according to where I is the current through the element
and V is the voltage across it. Since the current and the voltage both depend on time in an ac circuit, the
instantaneous power is also time dependent. A plot of p(t) for various circuit elements is shown in
Figure 15.16. For a resistor, i(t) and v(t) are in phase and therefore always have the same sign (see Figure 15.5). For
a capacitor or inductor, the relative signs of i(t) and v(t) vary over a cycle due to their phase differences (see Figure
15.7 and Figure 15.9). Consequently, p(t) is positive at some times and negative at others, indicating that capacitive
and inductive elements produce power at some instants and absorb it at others.

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 15.4 • Power in an AC Circuit 637

FIGURE 15.16 Graph of instantaneous power for various circuit elements. (a) For the resistor, whereas for (b) the capacitor
and (c) the inductor, (d) For the source, which may be positive, negative, or zero, depending on

Because instantaneous power varies in both magnitude and sign over a cycle, it seldom has any practical
importance. What we’re almost always concerned with is the power averaged over time, which we refer to as the
average power. It is defined by the time average of the instantaneous power over one cycle:

where is the period of the oscillations. With the substitutions and

this integral becomes
638 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

Using the trigonometric relation we obtain

Evaluation of these two integrals yields

and

Hence, the average power associated with a circuit element is given by

15.12

In engineering applications, is known as the power factor, which is the amount by which the power delivered
in the circuit is less than the theoretical maximum of the circuit due to voltage and current being out of phase. For a
resistor, so the average power dissipated is

A comparison of p(t) and is shown in Figure 15.16(d). To make look like its dc counterpart,
we use the rms values of the current and the voltage. By definition, these are

where

With we obtain

We may then write for the average power dissipated by a resistor,

15.13

This equation further emphasizes why the rms value is chosen in discussion rather than peak values. Both equations
for average power are correct for Equation 15.13, but the rms values in the formula give a cleaner representation, so
the extra factor of 1/2 is not necessary.

Alternating voltages and currents are usually described in terms of their rms values. For example, the 110 V from a
household outlet is an rms value. The amplitude of this source is Because most ac meters are
calibrated in terms of rms values, a typical ac voltmeter placed across a household outlet will read 110 V.

For a capacitor and an inductor, respectively. Since we find from

Equation 15.12 that the average power dissipated by either of these elements is Capacitors and inductors

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 15.4 • Power in an AC Circuit 639

absorb energy from the circuit during one half-cycle and then discharge it back to the circuit during the other half-
cycle. This behavior is illustrated in the plots of Figure 15.16, (b) and (c), which show p(t) oscillating sinusoidally
about zero.

The phase angle for an ac generator may have any value. If the generator produces power; if
it absorbs power. In terms of rms values, the average power of an ac generator is written as

For the generator in an RLC circuit,

and

Hence the average power of the generator is

15.14

This can also be written as

which designates that the power produced by the generator is dissipated in the resistor. As we can see, Ohm’s law
for the rms ac is found by dividing the rms voltage by the impedance.

EXAMPLE 15.3

Power Output of a Generator

An ac generator whose emf is given by

is connected to an RLC circuit for which , , and . (a) What is the

rms voltage across the generator? (b) What is the impedance of the circuit? (c) What is the average power output of
the generator?

Strategy
The rms voltage is the amplitude of the voltage times . The impedance of the circuit involves the resistance
and the reactances of the capacitor and the inductor. The average power is calculated by Equation 15.14, or more
specifically, the last part of the equation, because we have the impedance of the circuit Z, the rms voltage , and
the resistance R.

Solution

a. Since the rms voltage across the generator is

b. The impedance of the circuit is

640 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

c. From Equation 15.14, the average power transferred to the circuit is

Significance
If the resistance is much larger than the reactance of the capacitor or inductor, the average power is a dc circuit
equation of where V replaces the rms voltage.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.4

An ac voltmeter attached across the terminals of a 45-Hz ac generator reads 7.07 V. Write an expression for the emf
of the generator.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.5

Show that the rms voltages across a resistor, a capacitor, and an inductor in an ac circuit where the rms current is
are given by respectively. Determine these values for the components of the
RLC circuit of Equation 15.12.

15.5 Resonance in an AC Circuit

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Determine the peak ac resonant angular frequency for a RLC circuit
• Explain the width of the average power versus angular frequency curve and its significance using terms
like bandwidth and quality factor

In the RLC series circuit of Figure 15.11, the current amplitude is, from Equation 15.10,

15.15

If we can vary the frequency of the ac generator while keeping the amplitude of its output voltage constant, then the
current changes accordingly. A plot of versus is shown in Figure 15.17.

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 15.5 • Resonance in an AC Circuit 641

FIGURE 15.17 At an RLC circuit’s resonant frequency, the current amplitude is at its maximum value.

In Oscillations ([Link] we encountered a

similar graph where the amplitude of a damped harmonic oscillator was plotted against the angular frequency of a
sinusoidal driving force (see Forced Oscillations ([Link]
15-6-forced-oscillations)). This similarity is more than just a coincidence, as shown earlier by the application of
Kirchhoff’s loop rule to the circuit of Figure 15.11. This yields
15.16

or

where we substituted dq(t)/dt for i(t). A comparison of Equation 15.16 and, from Oscillations ([Link]
books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/15-introduction), Damped Oscillations ([Link]
university-physics-volume-1/pages/15-5-damped-oscillations) for damped harmonic motion clearly demonstrates
that the driven RLC series circuit is the electrical analog of the driven damped harmonic oscillator.

The resonant frequency of the RLC circuit is the frequency at which the amplitude of the current is a maximum
and the circuit would oscillate if not driven by a voltage source. By inspection, this corresponds to the angular
frequency at which the impedance Z in Equation 15.15 is a minimum, or when

and

15.17

This is the resonant angular frequency of the circuit. Substituting into Equation 15.9, Equation 15.10, and
Equation 15.11, we find that at resonance,

Therefore, at resonance, an RLC circuit is purely resistive, with the applied emf and current in phase.

What happens to the power at resonance? Equation 15.14 tells us how the average power transferred from an ac
generator to the RLC combination varies with frequency. In addition, reaches a maximum when Z, which
depends on the frequency, is a minimum, that is, when Thus, at resonance, the average
power output of the source in an RLC series circuit is a maximum. From Equation 15.14, this maximum is

Figure 15.18 is a typical plot of versus in the region of maximum power output. The bandwidth of the
resonance peak is defined as the range of angular frequencies over which the average power is greater than
642 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

one-half the maximum value of The sharpness of the peak is described by a dimensionless quantity known as
the quality factor Q of the circuit. By definition,

15.18

where is the resonant angular frequency. A high Q indicates a sharp resonance peak. We can give Q in terms of
the circuit parameters as

15.19

FIGURE 15.18 Like the current, the average power transferred from an ac generator to an RLC circuit peaks at the resonant frequency.

Resonant circuits are commonly used to pass or reject selected frequency ranges. This is done by adjusting the
value of one of the elements and hence “tuning” the circuit to a particular resonant frequency. For example, in
radios, the receiver is tuned to the desired station by adjusting the resonant frequency of its circuitry to match the
frequency of the station. If the tuning circuit has a high Q, it will have a small bandwidth, so signals from other
stations at frequencies even slightly different from the resonant frequency encounter a high impedance and are not
passed by the circuit. Cell phones work in a similar fashion, communicating with signals of around 1 GHz that are
tuned by an inductor-capacitor circuit. One of the most common applications of capacitors is their use in ac-timing
circuits, based on attaining a resonant frequency. A metal detector also uses a shift in resonance frequency in
detecting metals (Figure 15.19).

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 15.5 • Resonance in an AC Circuit 643

FIGURE 15.19 When a metal detector comes near a piece of metal, the self-inductance of one of its coils changes. This causes a shift in the
resonant frequency of a circuit containing the coil. That shift is detected by the circuitry and transmitted to the diver by means of the
headphones. (credit: modification of work by Eric Lippmann, U.S. Navy)

EXAMPLE 15.4

Resonance in an RLC Series Circuit

(a) What is the resonant frequency of a circuit using the voltage and LRC values all wired in series from Example
15.2? (b) If the ac generator is set to this frequency without changing the amplitude of the output voltage, what is
the amplitude of the current?

Strategy
The resonant frequency for a RLC circuit is calculated from Equation 15.17, which comes from a balance between
the reactances of the capacitor and the inductor. Since the circuit is at resonance, the impedance is equal to the
resistor. Then, the peak current is calculated by the voltage divided by the resistance.

Solution

a. The resonant frequency is found from Equation 15.17:

b. At resonance, the impedance of the circuit is purely resistive, and the current amplitude is

Significance
If the circuit were not set to the resonant frequency, we would need the impedance of the entire circuit to calculate
the current.
644 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

EXAMPLE 15.5

Power Transfer in an RLC Series Circuit at Resonance

(a) What is the resonant angular frequency of an RLC circuit with and
(b) If an ac source of constant amplitude 4.00 V is set to this frequency, what is the average
power transferred to the circuit? (c) Determine Q and the bandwidth of this circuit.

Strategy
The resonant angular frequency is calculated from Equation 15.17. The average power is calculated from the rms
voltage and the resistance in the circuit. The quality factor is calculated from Equation 15.19 and by knowing the
resonant frequency. The bandwidth is calculated from Equation 15.18 and by knowing the quality factor.

Solution

a. The resonant angular frequency is

b. At this frequency, the average power transferred to the circuit is a maximum. It is

c. The quality factor of the circuit is

We then find for the bandwidth

Significance
If a narrower bandwidth is desired, a lower resistance or higher inductance would help. However, a lower resistance
increases the power transferred to the circuit, which may not be desirable, depending on the maximum power that
could possibly be transferred.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.6

In the circuit of Figure 15.11, and (a) What is the resonant
frequency? (b) What is the impedance of the circuit at resonance? (c) If the voltage amplitude is 10 V, what is i(t) at
resonance? (d) The frequency of the AC generator is now changed to 200 Hz. Calculate the phase difference
between the current and the emf of the generator.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.7

What happens to the resonant frequency of an RLC series circuit when the following quantities are increased by a
factor of 4: (a) the capacitance, (b) the self-inductance, and (c) the resistance?

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 15.6 • Transformers 645

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.8

The resonant angular frequency of an RLC series circuit is An ac source operating at this frequency
transfers an average power of to the circuit. The resistance of the circuit is Write an
expression for the emf of the source.

15.6 Transformers
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Explain why power plants transmit electricity at high voltages and low currents and how they do this
• Develop relationships among current, voltage, and the number of windings in step-up and step-down
transformers

Although ac electric power is produced at relatively low voltages, it is sent through transmission lines at very high
voltages (as high as 500 kV). The same power can be transmitted at different voltages because power is the product
(For simplicity, we ignore the phase factor A particular power requirement can therefore be met
with a low voltage and a high current or with a high voltage and a low current. The advantage of the high-voltage/
low-current choice is that it results in lower ohmic losses in the transmission lines, which can be significant in
lines that are many kilometers long (Figure 15.20).

FIGURE 15.20 The rms voltage from a power plant eventually needs to be stepped down from 12 kV to 240 V so that it can be safely
introduced into a home. A high-voltage transmission line allows a low current to be transmitted via a substation over long distances.

Typically, the alternating emfs produced at power plants are “stepped up” to very high voltages before being
transmitted through power lines; then, they must be “stepped down” to relatively safe values (110 or 220 V rms)
before they are introduced into homes. The device that transforms voltages from one value to another using
induction is the transformer (Figure 15.21).
646 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

FIGURE 15.21 Transformers are used to step down the high voltages in transmission lines to the 110 to 220 V used in homes. (credit:
modification of work by “Fortyseven”/Flickr)

As Figure 15.22 illustrates, a transformer basically consists of two separated coils, or windings, wrapped around a
soft iron core. The primary winding has loops, or turns, and is connected to an alternating voltage The
secondary winding has turns and is connected to a load resistor We assume the ideal case for which all
magnetic field lines are confined to the core so that the same magnetic flux permeates each turn of both the primary
and the secondary windings. We also neglect energy losses to magnetic hysteresis, to ohmic heating in the
windings, and to ohmic heating of the induced eddy currents in the core. A good transformer can have losses as low
as 1% of the transmitted power, so this is not a bad assumption.

FIGURE 15.22 A step-up transformer (more turns in the secondary winding than in the primary winding). The two windings are wrapped
around a soft iron core.

To analyze the transformer circuit, we first consider the primary winding. The input voltage is equal to the

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 15.6 • Transformers 647

potential difference induced across the primary winding. From Faraday’s law, the induced potential difference is
where is the flux through one turn of the primary winding. Thus,

Similarly, the output voltage delivered to the load resistor must equal the potential difference induced across
the secondary winding. Since the transformer is ideal, the flux through every turn of the secondary winding is also
and

Combining the last two equations, we have

15.20

Hence, with appropriate values for the input voltage may be “stepped up” or
“stepped down” ( ) to the output voltage. This is often abbreviated as the transformer equation,

15.21

which shows that the ratio of the secondary to primary voltages in a transformer equals the ratio of the number of
turns in their windings. For a step-up transformer, which increases voltage and decreases current, this ratio is
greater than one; for a step-down transformer, which decreases voltage and increases current, this ratio is less
than one.

From the law of energy conservation, the power introduced at any instant by to the primary winding must be
equal to the power dissipated in the resistor of the secondary circuit; thus,

When combined with Equation 15.20, this gives

15.22

If the voltage is stepped up, the current is stepped down, and vice versa.

Finally, we can use , along with Equation 15.20 and Equation 15.22, to obtain

which tells us that the input voltage “sees” not a resistance but rather a resistance

Our analysis has been based on instantaneous values of voltage and current. However, the resulting equations are
not limited to instantaneous values; they hold also for maximum and rms values.

EXAMPLE 15.6

A Step-Down Transformer
A transformer on a utility pole steps the rms voltage down from 12 kV to 240 V. The transmission line resistance is
200 Ω. (a) What is the ratio of the number of secondary turns to the number of primary turns? (b) If the input current
to the transformer is 2.0 A, what is the output current? (c) Determine the power loss in the transmission line. (d)
648 15 • Alternating-Current Circuits

Find the power loss if there were no transformer and the output power were kept the same.

Strategy
The number of turns related to the voltages is found from Equation 15.20. The output current is calculated using
Equation 15.22.

Solution

a. Using Equation 15.20 with rms values and we have

so the primary winding has 50 times the number of turns in the secondary winding.
b. From Equation 15.22, the output rms current is found using the transformer equation with current
15.23

such that

c. The power loss in the transmission line is calculated to be

d. If there were no transformer, the power would have to be sent at 240 V to work for these houses, and the
power loss would be

Therefore, when power needs to be transmitted, we want to avoid power loss. Thus, lines are sent with high
voltages and low currents and adjusted with a transformer before power is sent into homes.

Significance
This application of a step-down transformer allows a home that uses 240-V outlets to have 100 A available to draw
upon. This can power many devices in the home.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING 15.9

A transformer steps the line voltage down from 110 to 9.0 V so that a current of 0.50 A can be delivered to a
doorbell. (a) What is the ratio of the number of turns in the primary and secondary windings? (b) What is the current
in the primary winding? (c) What is the resistance seen by the 110-V source?

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 15 • Chapter Review 649

Chapter Review
Key Terms
ac current current that fluctuates sinusoidally with the circuit is less than the theoretical maximum of
time at a fixed frequency the circuit due to voltage and current being out of
ac voltage voltage that fluctuates sinusoidally with phase
time at a fixed frequency quality factor dimensionless quantity that describes
alternating current (ac) flow of electric charge that the sharpness of the peak of the bandwidth; a high
periodically reverses direction quality factor is a sharp or narrow resonance peak
average power time average of the instantaneous resonant frequency frequency at which the
power over one cycle amplitude of the current is a maximum and the
bandwidth range of angular frequencies over which circuit would oscillate if not driven by a voltage
the average power is greater than one-half the source
maximum value of the average power rms current root mean square of the current
capacitive reactance opposition of a capacitor to a rms voltage root mean square of the voltage
change in current step-down transformer transformer that decreases
direct current (dc) flow of electric charge in only one voltage and increases current
direction step-up transformer transformer that increases
impedance ac analog to resistance in a dc circuit, voltage and decreases current
which measures the combined effect of resistance, transformer device that transforms voltages from
capacitive reactance, and inductive reactance one value to another using induction
inductive reactance opposition of an inductor to a transformer equation equation showing that the
change in current ratio of the secondary to primary voltages in a
phase angle amount by which the voltage and transformer equals the ratio of the number of turns
current are out of phase with each other in a circuit in their windings
power factor amount by which the power delivered in

Key Equations
AC voltage
AC current
capacitive reactance

rms voltage

rms current

inductive reactance

Phase angle of an RLC series circuit

AC version of Ohm’s law

Impedance of an RLC series circuit

Average power associated with a circuit element
Average power dissipated by a resistor
Resonant angular frequency of a circuit

Quality factor of a circuit

Quality factor of a circuit in terms of the circuit parameters

Transformer equation with voltage

Transformer equation with current

650 15 • Chapter Review

Summary
15.1 AC Sources the resistance, the capacitive reactance, and the
inductive reactance.
• Direct current (dc) refers to systems in which the
source voltage is constant. 15.4 Power in an AC Circuit
• Alternating current (ac) refers to systems in
• The average ac power is found by multiplying the
which the source voltage varies periodically,
rms values of current and voltage.
particularly sinusoidally.
• Ohm’s law for the rms ac is found by dividing the
• The voltage source of an ac system puts out a
rms voltage by the impedance.
voltage that is calculated from the time, the peak
• In an ac circuit, there is a phase angle between
voltage, and the angular frequency.
the source voltage and the current, which can be
• In a simple circuit, the current is found by
found by dividing the resistance by the
dividing the voltage by the resistance. An ac
impedance.
current is calculated using the peak current
• The average power delivered to an RLC circuit is
(determined by dividing the peak voltage by the
affected by the phase angle.
resistance), the angular frequency, and the time.
• The power factor ranges from –1 to 1.
15.2 Simple AC Circuits
15.5 Resonance in an AC Circuit
• For resistors, the current through and the voltage
• At the resonant frequency, inductive reactance
across are in phase.
equals capacitive reactance.
• For capacitors, we find that when a sinusoidal
• The average power versus angular frequency plot
voltage is applied to a capacitor, the voltage
for a RLC circuit has a peak located at the
follows the current by one-fourth of a cycle.
resonant frequency; the sharpness or width of
Since a capacitor can stop current when fully
the peak is known as the bandwidth.
charged, it limits current and offers another form
• The bandwidth is related to a dimensionless
of ac resistance, called capacitive reactance,
quantity called the quality factor. A high quality
which has units of ohms.
factor value is a sharp or narrow peak.
• For inductors in ac circuits, we find that when a
sinusoidal voltage is applied to an inductor, the 15.6 Transformers
voltage leads the current by one-fourth of a
• Power plants transmit high voltages at low
cycle.
currents to achieve lower ohmic losses in their
• The opposition of an inductor to a change in
many kilometers of transmission lines.
current is expressed as a type of ac reactance.
• Transformers use induction to transform voltages
This inductive reactance, which has units of
from one value to another.
ohms, varies with the frequency of the ac source.
• For a transformer, the voltages across the
15.3 RLC Series Circuits with AC primary and secondary coils, or windings, are
related by the transformer equation.
• An RLC series circuit is a resistor, capacitor, and
• The currents in the primary and secondary
inductor series combination across an ac source.
windings are related by the number of primary
• The same current flows through each element of
and secondary loops, or turns, in the windings of
an RLC series circuit at all points in time.
the transformer.
• The counterpart of resistance in a dc circuit is
• A step-up transformer increases voltage and
impedance, which measures the combined effect
decreases current, whereas a step-down
of resistors, capacitors, and inductors. The
transformer decreases voltage and increases
maximum current is defined by the ac version of
current.
Ohm’s law.
• Impedance has units of ohms and is found using

Conceptual Questions
15.1 AC Sources 15.2 Simple AC Circuits

1. What is the relationship between frequency and 2. Explain why at high frequencies a capacitor acts
angular frequency? as an ac short, whereas an inductor acts as an

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 15 • Chapter Review 651

open circuit. refers to the maximum average power

dissipated in the resistor. How does this
15.3 RLC Series Circuits with AC
compare with the maximum instantaneous
3. In an RLC series circuit, can the voltage power dissipated in the resistor?
measured across the capacitor be greater than
15.6 Transformers
the voltage of the source? Answer the same
question for the voltage across the inductor. 9. Why do transmission lines operate at very high
voltages while household circuits operate at
15.4 Power in an AC Circuit
fairly small voltages?
4. For what value of the phase angle between the
10. How can you distinguish the primary winding
voltage output of an ac source and the current is
from the secondary winding in a step-up
the average power output of the source a
transformer?
maximum?
11. Battery packs in some electronic devices are
5. Discuss the differences between average power
charged using an adapter connected to a wall
and instantaneous power.
socket. Speculate as to the purpose of the
6. The average ac current delivered to a circuit is adapter.
zero. Despite this, power is dissipated in the
12. Will a transformer work if the input is a dc
circuit. Explain.
voltage?
7. Can the instantaneous power output of an ac
13. Why are the primary and secondary coils of a
source ever be negative? Can the average power
transformer wrapped around the same closed
output be negative?
loop of iron?
8. The power rating of a resistor used in ac circuits

Problems
15.1 AC Sources 22. A capacitor is connected to an emf given
by . (a) What is the
14. Write an expression for the output voltage of an
reactance of the capacitor? (b) Write an
ac source that has an amplitude of 12 V and a
expression for the current output of the source.
frequency of 200 Hz.
23. A 100-mH inductor is connected across the emf
15.2 Simple AC Circuits
of the preceding problem. (a) What is the
15. Calculate the reactance of a capacitor at reactance of the inductor? (b) Write an
(a) 60 Hz, (b) 600 Hz, and (c) 6000 Hz. expression for the current through the inductor.

16. What is the capacitance of a capacitor whose 15.3 RLC Series Circuits with AC
reactance is at 60 Hz?
24. What is the impedance of a series combination
17. Calculate the reactance of a 5.0-mH inductor at of a resistor, a capacitor, and a
(a) 60 Hz, (b) 600 Hz, and (c) 6000 Hz. capacitor at a frequency of 2.0 kHz?

18. What is the self-inductance of a coil whose 25. A resistor and capacitor are connected in series
reactance is at 60 Hz? across an ac generator. The emf of the generator
is given by where
19. At what frequency is the reactance of a
, and .
capacitor equal to that of a 10-mH inductor?
(a) What is the impedance of the circuit? (b)
20. At 1000 Hz, the reactance of a 5.0-mH inductor What is the amplitude of the current through the
is equal to the reactance of a particular resistor? (c) Write an expression for the current
capacitor. What is the capacitance of the through the resistor. (d) Write expressions
capacitor? representing the voltages across the resistor and
across the capacitor.
21. A resistor is connected across the emf
. Write an 26. A resistor and inductor are connected in series
expression for the current through the resistor. across an ac generator. The emf of the generator
652 15 • Chapter Review

is given by where given by where

and also, and and when connected across (a)
(a) What is the impedance of the a capacitor, (b) a 20-mH inductor, and (c)
circuit? (b) What is the amplitude of the current a resistor.
through the resistor? (c) Write an expression for
32. A 40-mH inductor is connected to a 60-Hz AC
the current through the resistor. (d) Write
source whose voltage amplitude is 50 V. If an AC
expressions representing the voltages across
voltmeter is placed across the inductor, what
the resistor and across the inductor.
does it read?
27. In an RLC series circuit, the voltage amplitude
33. For an RLC series circuit, the voltage amplitude
and frequency of the source are 100 V and 500
and frequency of the source are 100 V and 500
Hz, respectively, an
Hz, respectively; ; and .
and (a) What is the impedance of
Find the average power dissipated in the resistor
the circuit? (b) What is the amplitude of the
for the following values for the capacitance: (a)
current from the source? (c) If the emf of the
and (b)
source is given by ,
how does the current vary with time? (d) Repeat 34. An ac source of voltage amplitude 10 V delivers
the calculations with C changed to electric energy at a rate of 0.80 W when its
current output is 2.5 A. What is the phase angle
28. An RLC series circuit with ,
between the emf and the current?
and is driven by an
ac source whose frequency and voltage 35. An RLC series circuit has an impedance of
amplitude are 500 Hz and 50 V, respectively. (a) and a power factor of 0.50, with the voltage
What is the impedance of the circuit? (b) What is lagging the current. (a) Should a capacitor or an
the amplitude of the current in the circuit? (c) inductor be placed in series with the elements to
What is the phase angle between the emf of the raise the power factor of the circuit? (b) What is
source and the current? the value of the reactance across the inductor
that will raise the power factor to unity?
29. For the circuit shown below, what are (a) the
total impedance and (b) the phase angle 15.5 Resonance in an AC Circuit
between the current and the emf? (c) Write an
36. (a) Calculate the resonant angular frequency of
expression for
an RLC series circuit for which ,
, and (b) If R is changed
to what happens to the resonant angular
frequency?

37. The resonant frequency of an RLC series circuit

is If the self-inductance in the
circuit is 5.0 mH, what is the capacitance in the
circuit?

38. (a) What is the resonant frequency of an RLC

series circuit with , , and
? (b) What is the impedance of the
circuit at resonance?

15.4 Power in an AC Circuit 39. For an RLC series circuit, ,

, and (a) If an ac
30. The emf of an ac source is given by
source of variable frequency is connected to the
where and
circuit, at what frequency is maximum power
Calculate the average power
dissipated in the resistor? (b) What is the quality
output of the source if it is connected across (a)
factor of the circuit?
a capacitor, (b) a 20-mH inductor, and (c)
a resistor. 40. An ac source of voltage amplitude 100 V and
variable frequency f drives an RLC series circuit
31. Calculate the rms currents for an ac source is
with , , and (a)

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 15 • Chapter Review 653

Plot the current through the resistor as a turns in the primary winding, how many turns
function of the frequency f. (b) Use the plot to are there in the secondary winding? (b) If a
determine the resonant frequency of the circuit. resistor connected across the secondary winding
draws an rms current of 0.75 A, what is the
41. (a) What is the resonant frequency of a resistor,
current in the primary winding?
capacitor, and inductor connected in series if
, and ? (b) If 45. A step-up transformer connected to a 110-V line
this combination is connected to a 100-V source is used to supply a hydrogen-gas discharge tube
operating at the resonant frequency, what is the with 5.0 kV (rms). The tube dissipates 75 W of
power output of the source? (c) What is the Q of power. (a) What is the ratio of the number of
the circuit? (d) What is the bandwidth of the turns in the secondary winding to the number of
circuit? turns in the primary winding? (b) What are the
rms currents in the primary and secondary
42. Suppose a coil has a self-inductance of 20.0 H
windings? (c) What is the effective resistance
and a resistance of . What (a) capacitance
seen by the 110-V source?
and (b) resistance must be connected in series
with the coil to produce a circuit that has a 46. An ac source of emf delivers 5.0 mW of power at
resonant frequency of 100 Hz and a Q of 10? an rms current of 2.0 mA when it is connected to
the primary coil of a transformer. The rms
43. An ac generator is connected to a device whose
voltage across the secondary coil is 20 V. (a)
internal circuits are not known. We only know
What are the voltage across the primary coil and
current and voltage outside the device, as shown
the current through the secondary coil? (b) What
below. Based on the information given, what can
is the ratio of secondary to primary turns for the
you infer about the electrical nature of the
transformer?
device and its power usage?
47. A transformer is used to step down 110 V from a
wall socket to 9.0 V for a radio. (a) If the primary
winding has 500 turns, how many turns does the
secondary winding have? (b) If the radio
operates at a current of 500 mA, what is the
current through the primary winding?

48. A transformer is used to supply a 12-V model

train with power from a 110-V wall plug. The
train operates at 50 W of power. (a) What is the
rms current in the secondary coil of the
15.6 Transformers transformer? (b) What is the rms current in the
44. A step-up transformer is designed so that the primary coil? (c) What is the ratio of the number
output of its secondary winding is 2000 V (rms) of primary to secondary turns? (d) What is the
when the primary winding is connected to a resistance of the train? (e) What is the resistance
110-V (rms) line voltage. (a) If there are 100 seen by the 110-V source?

Additional Problems
49. The emf of an ac source is given by (b) If the frequency is changed to 60 Hz while
where and keeping the voltage amplitude at 160 V, what
Find an expression that are the capacitive reactance and the current
represents the output current of the source if it amplitude?
is connected across (a) a capacitor, (b) a
51. A 20-mH inductor is connected across an AC
20-mH inductor, and (c) a resistor.
source with a variable frequency and a constant-
50. A 700-pF capacitor is connected across an ac voltage amplitude of 9.0 V. (a) Determine the
source with a voltage amplitude of 160 V and a reactance of the circuit and the maximum
frequency of 20 kHz. (a) Determine the current through the inductor when the frequency
capacitive reactance of the capacitor and the is set at 20 kHz. (b) Do the same calculations for
amplitude of the output current of the source. a frequency of 60 Hz.
654 15 • Chapter Review

52. A capacitor is connected across a 60-Hz 56. An ac source of voltage amplitude 100 V and
ac source whose voltage amplitude is 50 V. (a) frequency 1.0 kHz drives an RLC series circuit
What is the maximum charge on the capacitor? with , , and . (a)
(b) What is the maximum current into the Determine the rms current through the circuit.
capacitor? (c) What is the phase relationship (b) What are the rms voltages across the three
between the capacitor charge and the current in elements? (c) What is the phase angle between
the circuit? the emf and the current? (d) What is the power
output of the source? (e) What is the power
53. A 7.0-mH inductor is connected across a 60-Hz
dissipated in the resistor?
ac source whose voltage amplitude is 50 V. (a)
What is the maximum current through the 57. In an RLC series circuit, , ,
inductor? (b) What is the phase relationship , and . What
between the current through and the potential is the power output of the source?
difference across the inductor?
58. A power plant generator produces 100 A at 15
54. What is the impedance of an RLC series circuit at kV (rms). A transformer is used to step up the
the resonant frequency? transmission line voltage to 150 kV (rms). (a)
What is rms current in the transmission line? (b)
55. What is the resistance R in the circuit shown
If the resistance per unit length of the line is
below if the amplitude of the ac through the
what is the power loss per
inductor is 4.24 A?
meter in the line? (c) What would the power loss
per meter be if the line voltage were 15 kV
(rms)?

59. Consider a power plant located 25 km outside a

town delivering 50 MW of power to the town.
The transmission lines are made of aluminum
cables with a cross-sectional area. Find
the loss of power in the transmission lines if it is
transmitted at (a) 200 kV (rms) and (b) 120 V
(rms).

60. Neon signs require 12-kV for their operation. A

transformer is to be used to change the voltage
from 220-V (rms) ac to 12-kV (rms) ac. What
must the ratio be of turns in the secondary
winding to the turns in the primary winding? (b)
What is the maximum rms current the neon
lamps can draw if the fuse in the primary
winding goes off at 0.5 A? (c) How much power
is used by the neon sign when it is drawing the
maximum current allowed by the fuse in the
primary winding?

Challenge Problems
61. The 335-kV ac electricity from a power connected in series, as shown below, across a
transmission line is fed into the primary winding 120-V (rms) ac power source oscillating at
of a transformer. The ratio of the number of 60-Hz frequency. (a) Find the current in the
turns in the secondary winding to the number in circuit. (b) Find the voltage drops across the
the primary winding is . (a) What resistor and inductor. (c) Find the impedance of
voltage is induced in the secondary winding? (b) the circuit. (d) Find the power dissipated in the
What is unreasonable about this result? (c) resistor. (e) Find the power dissipated in the
Which assumption or premise is responsible? inductor. (f) Find the power produced by the
source.
62. A resistor and 30-mH inductor are

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 15 • Chapter Review 655

Use the simplified circuit shown below.

63. A resistor, capacitor, and 30-mH

inductor are connected in series with an ac 67. Show that the SI unit for capacitive reactance is
source of amplitude 10 V and frequency 125 Hz. the ohm. Show that the SI unit for inductive
(a) What is the impedance of the circuit? (b) reactance is also the ohm.
What is the amplitude of the current in the
68. A coil with a self-inductance of 16 mH and a
circuit? (c) What is the phase constant of the
resistance of is connected to an ac source
current? Is it leading or lagging the source
whose frequency can be varied. At what
voltage? (d) Write voltage drops across the
frequency will the voltage across the coil lead
resistor, capacitor, and inductor and the source
the current through the coil by
voltage as a function of time. (e) What is the
power factor of the circuit? (f) How much energy 69. An RLC series circuit consists of a resistor,
is used by the resistor in 2.5 s? a capacitor, and a 120-mH inductor
whose coil has a resistance of . The source
64. A resistor, capacitor, and 2.5-H
for the circuit has an rms emf of 240 V at a
inductor are connected in series with an ac
frequency of 60 Hz. Calculate the rms voltages
source of amplitude 10 V and variable angular
across the (a) resistor, (b) capacitor, and (c)
frequency . (a) What is the value of the
inductor.
resonance frequency ? (b) What is the
amplitude of the current if ? (c) What is 70. An RLC series circuit consists of a resistor,
the phase constant of the current when an capacitor, and a 50-mH inductor. A
? Is it leading or lagging the source 110-V (rms) source of variable frequency is
voltage, or is it in phase? (d) Write an equation connected across the combination. What is the
for the voltage drop across the resistor as a power output of the source when its frequency is
function of time when . (e) What is the set to one-half the resonant frequency of the
power factor of the circuit when ? (f) circuit?
How much energy is used up by the resistor in
71. Shown below are two circuits that act as crude
2.5 s when ?
high-pass filters. The input voltage to the circuits
65. Find the reactances of the following capacitors is , and the output voltage is (a) Show
and inductors in ac circuits with the given that for the capacitor circuit,
frequencies in each case: (a) 2-mH inductor with
a frequency 60-Hz of the ac circuit; (b) 2-mH
inductor with a frequency 600-Hz of the ac and for the inductor circuit,
circuit; (c) 20-mH inductor with a frequency
6-Hz of the ac circuit; (d) 20-mH inductor with a
(b) Show that for high frequencies,
frequency 60-Hz of the ac circuit; (e) 2-mF
but for low frequencies,
capacitor with a frequency 60-Hz of the ac
circuit; and (f) 2-mF capacitor with a frequency
600-Hz of the AC circuit.

66. An output impedance of an audio amplifier has an

impedance of and has a mismatch with a low-
impedance loudspeaker. You are asked to insert
an appropriate transformer to match the
impedances. What turns ratio will you use, and why?
656 15 • Chapter Review

and for the inductor circuit,

(b) Show that for low frequencies,

but for high frequencies,

72. The two circuits shown below act as crude low-

pass filters. The input voltage to the circuits is
, and the output voltage is (a) Show that
for the capacitor circuit,

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CHAPTER 16
Electromagnetic Waves

FIGURE 16.1 The pressure from sunlight predicted by Maxwell’s equations helped produce the tail of Comet McNaught. (credit:
modification of work by Sebastian Deiries—ESO)

CHAPTER OUTLINE
16.1 Maxwell’s Equations and Electromagnetic Waves
16.2 Plane Electromagnetic Waves
16.3 Energy Carried by Electromagnetic Waves
16.4 Momentum and Radiation Pressure
16.5 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

INTRODUCTION Our view of objects in the sky at night, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, our
cell phone conversations, and the X-rays revealing a broken bone—all are brought to us by electromagnetic waves. It
would be hard to overstate the practical importance of electromagnetic waves, through their role in vision, through
countless technological applications, and through their ability to transport the energy from the Sun through space to
sustain life and almost all of its activities on Earth.

Theory predicted the general phenomenon of electromagnetic waves before anyone realized that light is a form of
an electromagnetic wave. In the mid-nineteenth century, James Clerk Maxwell formulated a single theory
combining all the electric and magnetic effects known at that time. Maxwell’s equations, summarizing this theory,
predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light. His theory also predicted how
these waves behave, and how they carry both energy and momentum. The tails of comets, such as Comet McNaught
in Figure 16.1, provide a spectacular example. Energy carried by light from the Sun warms the comet to release dust
and gas. The momentum carried by the light exerts a weak force that shapes the dust into a tail of the kind seen
here. The flux of particles emitted by the Sun, called the solar wind, typically produces an additional, second tail, as
described in detail in this chapter.

In this chapter, we explain Maxwell’s theory and show how it leads to his prediction of electromagnetic waves. We
use his theory to examine what electromagnetic waves are, how they are produced, and how they transport energy
and momentum. We conclude by summarizing some of the many practical applications of electromagnetic waves.