Welcome to “Circuit and Devices”, the aim of this document is to help you understand the fundamental concepts of circuit analysis applied to the basic circuit components and prepare for future courses where you will see a more in-depth and practical application of these concepts.  

Most of the work in electrical engineering is model-base, knowing and understanding models is a very important skill we want you to get out this course. One technique we use in engineering to create practical models is to “linearize” the problem we use that a lot in this course to create our models and set our limits of application for the model. All models have limitations and we should always be aware of the limitations of the models we use to solve a problem. The problems you will face once you go to industry or higher academia will be problems without a known solution or with a limited solution. Many of these problems require new or better models. One aim of Circuits and Devices is to help you understand the models, their derivation and their limitations. With the knowledge obtain here, you should be able to expand existing models or design new ones.

As engineers we always use math to describe and solve problems. In Electrical and Computer Engineering most of the problems we solve are related to dynamical systems. The math of dynamical system involves differential of integral equations that for simple problems could be solve in paper but for realistic problems it requires a computer program to help us achieve a solution. Regardless of the method to solve the problem, an engineer should be able to read and write problems in terms of mathematical equations. Without a good understanding of the math we cannot write the programs that help us solve the more complex problems. In Circuit and Devices, we try to emphasize the meaning of the math in terms of the problem it describes. As you move into more complex materials, this will become an important skill that will enable you to tackle more complex problems some of which have not even been discovered.

We hope that “Circuits and Devices” helps you obtain the basic knowledge that enables you to understand, formulate, and analyze circuit problems. But we also want to learn from you and will appreciate your comments and criticism of the content of this document.