• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:32
CEST 19:32
KST 02:32
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO4 & Finals Preview1[ASL21] Ro4 Preview: On Course12Code S Season 1 - RO8 Preview7[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt2: Progenitors8Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun13
Community News
Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO8 Results2Weekly Cups (May 4-10): Clem, MaxPax, herO win1Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !11Weekly Cups (April 27-May 4): Clem takes triple0RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event12
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO4 & Finals Preview Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO8 Results Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO12 Results Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists MaNa leaves Team Liquid
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament KSL Week 89 2026 GSL Season 2 Qualifiers Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule ! $5,000 WardiTV Spring Championship 2026
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players
External Content
Mutation # 525 Wheel of Misfortune The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 524 Death and Taxes Mutation # 523 Firewall
Brood War
General
Pros React to: TvT Masterclass in FlaSh vs Light vespene.gg — BW replays in browser BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion ASL21 General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro8 Day 4 [ASL21] Semifinals B Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues
Strategy
Muta micro map competition Fighting Spirit mining rates [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread UK Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software) [G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
How EEG Data Can Predict Gam…
TrAiDoS
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1483 users

Easy Physics Question

Blogs > GrayArea
Post a Reply
GrayArea
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States872 Posts
May 23 2009 06:05 GMT
#1
Another infamous physics blog. Here is my easy question: How do I simplify this RC circuit using only V=IR and C=Q/V if that is even possible.

[image loading]


so the questions are
1) Simplify circuit to find the Current (A)
2) What is the voltage across the capacitor

Thanks

*
Kang Min Fighting!
Mooga
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States575 Posts
May 23 2009 06:18 GMT
#2
You can simplify the circuit only if you are considering the steady state DC response. Are you interested in the transient response or just steady state?
Mooga
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States575 Posts
May 23 2009 06:20 GMT
#3
Oh nevermind, the circuit is closed to begin with. In that case get rid of the capacitor in parallel with the resistor.
Mooga
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States575 Posts
May 23 2009 06:23 GMT
#4
I'm not sure why your circuit has a capacitor in there if there is not switch in the circuit.

The total resistance is 4 ohms, thus the amperage through the circuit is 3 amps. Which gives you 6 volts across the capacitor.
GrayArea
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States872 Posts
May 23 2009 06:26 GMT
#5
On May 23 2009 15:23 Mooga wrote:
I'm not sure why your circuit has a capacitor in there if there is not switch in the circuit.

The total resistance is 4 ohms, thus the amperage through the circuit is 3 amps. Which gives you 6 volts across the capacitor.

Can you show the calculations? I think my answerbook has a typo.
Kang Min Fighting!
Pseudo_Utopia
Profile Blog Joined December 2002
Canada827 Posts
May 23 2009 06:33 GMT
#6
Actually you can simplify it too in AC, it's just a little more complicated. You have to use complex numbers to convert R and C both into complex impedences. It's explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_impedence

But in the DC case, you'll indeed have a 4 amp resistance but only after the capacitor is fully charged. At first, the effective resistance of the parallel branches will be 0, because Q = CV implies that when there is no charge on the capacitor (Q=0), then V=0 and so the capacitor "acts like a wire".

Hope this helps ^^
Retired SchiSm[LighT]
Mooga
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States575 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-05-23 06:36:06
May 23 2009 06:34 GMT
#7
2 + 2 = 4 ohms (resistors in series)

I = V/R, I = 12/4 = 3 amps

V = IR = 3 * 2 = 6 volts

Assuming that the battery is a DC source, then my answer should be right because the capacitor should behave as an open circuit.

Edit: And I'm assuming that it is at steady-state.
GrayArea
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States872 Posts
May 23 2009 06:43 GMT
#8
Thanks Mooga, really appreciate the help. I think they wrote the answer to a wrong circuit in the back for this problem.
Kang Min Fighting!
Mooga
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States575 Posts
May 23 2009 06:52 GMT
#9
On May 23 2009 15:43 GrayArea wrote:
Thanks Mooga, really appreciate the help. I think they wrote the answer to a wrong circuit in the back for this problem.


No problem, good luck with physics.
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-05-23 07:06:43
May 23 2009 07:02 GMT
#10
the answers depend on the time the circuit has been running btw
above answers are true for t=much

at t=0 the capacitor has stored no charge and acts like a wire, so
Rtot = 2 ohms
Qcap = 0 C
Vcap = 0 V
I = 6 A
Vr1 (top resistor) = 0 V
Vr2 (bottom resistor) = 12 V
fight_or_flight
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States3988 Posts
May 23 2009 07:20 GMT
#11
On May 23 2009 16:02 Saracen wrote:
at t=0 the capacitor has stored no charge and acts like a wire, so

hm, but if you are solving for the transient then I don't see how you can assume this. You will have an equation with 2 variables: time and initial charge/voltage on the capacitor
Do you really want chat rooms?
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
BSL
16:00
RO8 TieBreaker
TBD vs SterlingLIVE!
eOnzErG vs TBD
ZZZero.O314
LiquipediaDiscussion
IPSL
16:00
Ro16 Group A
Dewalt vs nOmaD
Ret vs Cross
Airneanach57
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Serral 4174
ProTech126
BRAT_OK 46
JuggernautJason39
MindelVK 12
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 24493
firebathero 314
ZZZero.O 292
hero 232
Aegong 33
Rock 20
Hm[arnc] 20
soO 10
Dota 2
Gorgc8055
qojqva1089
monkeys_forever156
Counter-Strike
zeus469
Other Games
Grubby17030
singsing2008
FrodaN1572
Liquid`RaSZi1106
Beastyqt941
B2W.Neo655
KnowMe244
ArmadaUGS112
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick797
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Adnapsc2 20
• printf 16
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Other Games
• imaqtpie335
• Shiphtur273
Upcoming Events
BSL
1h 29m
Bonyth vs Doodle
Dewalt vs TerrOr
Patches Events
5h 14m
GSL
14h 29m
Cure vs herO
SHIN vs Maru
IPSL
22h 29m
Bonyth vs Napoleon
G5 vs JDConan
BSL
1d 1h
OyAji vs JDConan
DragOn vs TBD
Replay Cast
1d 15h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 22h
Replay Cast
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
[ Show More ]
GSL
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
GSL
4 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Classic vs SHIN
Rogue vs Bunny
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: W7
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Acropolis #4
KK 2v2 League Season 1
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
SCTL 2026 Spring
RSL Revival: Season 5
2026 GSL S1
Heroes Pulsing #1
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2

Upcoming

YSL S3
Escore Tournament S2: W8
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
WardiTV Spring 2026
2026 GSL S2
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.