How Do You Convert Voltage and Current Into Phasors for Circuit Analysis?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around converting voltage and current expressions into phasors for circuit analysis, specifically focusing on the representation of sinusoidal functions in phasor form. Participants explore the implications of Euler's identity and the treatment of imaginary components in phasors.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the voltage as ##V = 25cos(1000t)## and questions whether it can be expressed as ##V = 25e^{j(1000t)}## or ##V = 25e^{0}##, indicating confusion about the correct phasor representation.
  • Another participant emphasizes that the physical voltage corresponds to the real part of the phasor, suggesting that the imaginary part should be ignored when converting back to the time domain.
  • There is a discussion about the RLC circuit where one participant mentions using phasor analysis to find capacitance, while another points out the necessity of considering the impedances of the inductor and capacitor in addition to the resistor.
  • Participants express uncertainty about the treatment of imaginary components in phasors and the application of Ohm's law in the context of RLC circuits.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the real part of the phasor represents the physical voltage, but there is disagreement regarding the correct approach to converting voltage and current into phasors and the application of Ohm's law in RLC circuits. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views on these topics.

Contextual Notes

Participants express confusion over the treatment of imaginary components and the application of phasor analysis in circuit calculations, indicating potential limitations in their understanding of the underlying principles.

PenDraconis
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Homework Statement



I have ##V = 25cos(1000t)## and ##I = Acos(1000t)## for a circuit, I'd like to make those into phasors.

Homework Equations


##V = Acos(\omega t+\theta)## ##\leftrightarrow## ##V = Ae^{j\theta}##

The Attempt at a Solution


It seems like this is relatively simple, but that seems to be my problem, these are my two confusions:

##V = 25cos(1000t) = 25e^{j(1000t)}## ?​

Or is it:

##V = 25cos(1000t) = 25e^{0}## ?​

I'm not quite sure which route to go towards, could anyone possible point me towards the right direction or explain why it's one over the other? My main confusion is that if I change ##V = 25e^{j(1000t)}## back into it's cosine and sine components (using Euler's Identity) I end up with:
##V = 25cos(1000t)+jsin(1000t)##​
...is the imaginary part ignored?
 
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##V = Acos(\omega t+\theta)## ##\leftrightarrow## ##V = Ae^{j\theta}##
What does Euler's identity say about this part?
 
PenDraconis said:

Homework Statement



I have ##V = 25cos(1000t)## and ##I = Acos(1000t)## for a circuit, I'd like to make those into phasors.

Homework Equations


##V = Acos(\omega t+\theta)## ##\leftrightarrow## ##V = Ae^{j\theta}##

The Attempt at a Solution


It seems like this is relatively simple, but that seems to be my problem, these are my two confusions:

##V = 25cos(1000t) = 25e^{j(1000t)}## ?​

Or is it:

##V = 25cos(1000t) = 25e^{0}## ?​
I am not sure what is your reasoning here. These two cannot be equal as the left side is a function of time and not the right side.
I'm not quite sure which route to go towards, could anyone possible point me towards the right direction or explain why it's one over the other? My main confusion is that if I change ##V = 25e^{j(1000t)}## back into it's cosine and sine components (using Euler's Identity) I end up with:
##V = 25cos(1000t)+jsin(1000t)##​
...is the imaginary part ignored?

You are right that there is a point that sometimes people do not explain well enough (or not at all). The key point is that the physical voltage is the real part of the corresponding phasor . So yes, in going from the phasor back to the actual voltage, one must drop the imaginary part.
 
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You are right that there is a point that sometimes people do not explain this point well enough (or not at all). The key point is that the physical voltage is the real part of the corresponding phasor . So yes, in going from the phasor back to the actual voltage, one must drop the imaginary part.

Thank you! I was just confused as to why this point was glossed over whenever I mentioned it in class, I wasn't able to ever get a straight answer.

The second part of the circuit I seem to understand, basically I have a RLC circuit and I must used phasor analysis to find the capacitance given R = 3, L = ##j4##, C =##\frac{-j}{1000C}##, ##V = 25e^{j1000t}##, ##I = Ae^{j1000t}##. It's simply finding the total resistance of the circuit and plugging that into a V = IR equation to find the value of C.
 
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PenDraconis said:
Thank you! I was just confused as to why this point was glossed over whenever I mentioned it in class, I wasn't able to ever get a straight answer.

The second part of the circuit I seem to understand, basically I have a RLC circuit and I must used phasor analysis to find the capacitance given R = 3, L = ##j4##, C =##\frac{-j}{1000C}##, ##V = 25e^{j1000t}##, ##I = Ae^{j1000t}##. It's simply finding the total resistance of the circuit and plugging that into a V = IR equation to find the value of C.

Well, you cannot simply use Ohm's law. You also need to add the impedance of the inductor and of the capacitor. Can you calculate those? If the three elements are in series, you simply have
V = (R+ X_C + X_L) I and solve. Watch out for the units, they must be consistent.
 
nrqed said:
Well, you cannot simply use Ohm's law. You also need to add the impedance of the inductor and of the capacitor. Can you calculate those? If the three elements are in series, you simply have
V = (R+ X_C + X_L) I and solve. Watch out for the units, they must be consistent.

Yup! You're right.

Those are the impedances I gave. The resistor and inductor are in series and they're both in parallel with the capacitor.
 

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