ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the basic responses of resistor–capacitor and resistor–inductor circuits to initial energy storage or to dc excitation. It is concerned with the discharging of a capacitor or an inductor through a resistor and the charging of these energy storage elements when associated with a resistor and connected to a dc source. In discussing the circuit responses, duality is extensively illustrated and physical interpretations are strongly emphasized. First-order circuits are later generalized to include more than one resistor and more than one capacitor or inductor as well as dependent sources. The chapter formulates a general procedure for analyzing first-order circuits in response to initial energy storage or to dc excitation without having to derive and solve the differential equation. The chapter ends with an explanation of the role of the transient component of circuit responses.
