AC and Switching Circuits (edX)

Alternating current (AC) is the type of electricity commonly used throughout the world to connect power plants, homes, and businesses. This course will give you an understanding of why AC is used and will allow you to design and analyse circuits which use AC electricity.

You will learn how to calculate voltages, currents and power in circuits with AC sources, how to calculate RMS voltage and current, how to handle both sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal sources, how to use relays and transistors as switches, how to design circuits with transformers, how to model realistic, non-ideal transformers, how to design and build simple DC power supplies and rectifiers, and we will explore concepts of maximum power transfer with AC circuits. In terms of sequencing, this course would be suitable for students who already have a working knowledge of basic DC circuits (such as our other MOOC Circuits for Beginners).

What you'll learn

At the end of this MOOC, learners will be able to discuss:

- how to calculate voltages, currents and power in circuits with AC sources

- how to calculate RMS voltage and current

- how to handle both sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal sources

- how to use relays and transistors as switches

- how to design circuits with transformers

- how to model realistic, non-ideal transformers

- how to design and build simple DC power supplies and rectifiers

- concepts of maximum power transfer with AC circuits

Syllabus

Week 1:- Introduction to AC Circuits

Week 2: Phasors

Week 3: Non-Sinusoidal AC Circuits

Week 4: Transformer Circuits

Week 5: AC-DC Conversion

Week 6: Switching Circuits