drago3svsu said:
i have to find the average current running through a circuit, with a DC power source in series with a resistor... an ideal diode... and an AC power source.
The AC source is 16cos(400t) DC is 13 volts and the resistor is 2 ohms
This is a tough one. An AC power source provides an output at a fixed frequency. Our sockets in our walls (americans and canadians) deliver 120V at 60Hz.
you need to explain what part the "ideal diode" is.
Now, if it was just a resistor and a battery in series, the answer is simple: (# of volts)/(# of ohms) = (# of amps = current).
Now if you can convert the diode and the power source into resistance, you add up all the resistance values and use the equation above.
As for the diode, connecting it in a reversed fashion (where no current flows through when the circuit is on) will make it become a low-value capacitor. BUT the capacitance is dependant on the voltage applied to the diode, and the diode itself.
You can get the impedance (What I like to call AC resistance) by using the formula 1/(2 * pi * capacitor value * frequency) where pi is "pie" and the frequency is the frequency the circuit is running at. (probably the same frequency as the AC generator). this "impedance" cannot be measured using an ohmmeter.
Let me tell ya, I learned the majority of my theory
on the internet
:wink: