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Comment on 'The most energy efficient way to charge the capacitor in a RC circuit' (D. Wang 2017 Phys. Educ. 52 065019)

Oven, Robert (2018) Comment on 'The most energy efficient way to charge the capacitor in a RC circuit' (D. Wang 2017 Phys. Educ. 52 065019). Physics Education, 53 (4). Article Number 046501. ISSN 0031-9120. (doi:10.1088/1361-6552/aab92f) (KAR id:66774)

Abstract

In a recent paper, Wang (2017 Phys. Educ. 52 065019), a comparison was made between the efficiency in charging a capacitor (C) in series with a resistor (R) using either a voltage source or a constant current source. The paper concluded that using a current source was more efficient. We show that this is not correct when the energy loss within the current source is considered. It is also shown that the energy loss is not dependent on the charging rate. A formal proof using calculus and simpler graphical arguments are presented.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1088/1361-6552/aab92f
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Depositing User: Robert Oven
Date Deposited: 17 Apr 2018 15:20 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 02:33 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/66774 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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