ABSTRACT
This chapter defines a phasor quantity using polar notation, and rectangular notation. The angle specified in polar notation is considered to be positive when measured in a counterclockwise direction from the horizontal positive axis. In rectangular notation, the horizontal component is written in front of the vertical component which determines the horizontal and vertical components of a phasor in rectangular notation. The phasors can be added or subtracted using rectangular notation and multiplied or divided using polar notation. The chapter also defines the voltage drops in series R-L, R-C, and R-L-C circuits using symbolic notation. It explains impedance using symbolic notation. The chapter also explores the currents in a parallel R-L, R-C, and R-L-C circuits using symbolic notation. The symbolic notation can also be used to solve series, parallel, and series-parallel a.c. circuits. The use of the j-operator allows to solve series-parallel circuits without the need to construct complicated phasor diagrams.
