Essentials of Circuit Analysis

Current and past users ofIntroductory Circuit Analysis(ICA), now in its tenth edition, have a right to wonder why I have chosen to write another text on essentially the same subject matter. The reason lies in my belief that there has been a growing need in recent years for a text dedicated primarily to those concepts that a graduate of this program of study must retain in order to be successful in the industrial community. In other words, a text is needed that has an increased measure of detail in specific important areas to ensure a clear, correct understanding of the most important laws and concepts, with less concern for special cases and material of less importance. The goal has been to create a text with a more practical orientation to better prepare the student for the laboratory and real-world experience. Admittedly, in comparing the tables of contents of the two texts, one can immediately see that there is a close correspondence in content (although numerous sections are moved and a number of chapters are combined). This correspondence, however, should not suggest that this text is merely a cut-and-paste revision of the ICA text. In fact, as I worked through the copyedited pages of this new text, I realized how little of the original ICA presentation remains. Except for the practical examples and the computer coverage, the books are very different. If you examine any section of particular interest, you will find that the pace, level of presentation, and content ofEssentials of Circuit Analysisare all different from those of the ICA text. From the very beginning, I decided that any cut-and-paste approach simply would not work. I examined each topic, decided what was really important, and wrote the corresponding sections in almost exactly the same way that I might teach the subject in the classroom. I believe that the differences between ICA and this text are evident immediately in just leafing through the pages.Essentials of Circuit Analysistruly has an exciting new appearance that invites examination and further investigation. This text includes the actual construction of numerous networks to help define how a circuit diagram is drawn. Meters are also included throughout the text to maintain a close link with real-world experience. Methods of analysis are simplified by removing concern about special cases. Controlled sources are not included, while subjects such as Bode plots are included but are only touched upon rather than covered in depth. Theorems such as the substitution theorem, Millman's theorem, and the reciprocity theorem are eliminated in favor of giving more coverage to more important concepts. As a developmental aid, a list of objectives is introduced at the beginning of each chapter, and a chapter summary list and an equation list are added to the end of each chapter. The format of the text is designed to ensure that students are aware of the concepts they should take away from the course. All of the artwork utilizes color and shading to clarify the analysis being described, and many new photos are added. Each problem section is written to complement the content and level of coverage presented, progressing from the simple to the complex within each section, with emphasis on developing a student's confidence before moving on to the more complex problems. FEATURES Important changes in content begin in Chapter 1 and progress throughout the entire text. Chapter 1 includes expanded coverage of the proper use of calculators. As confident as students might appear in their use of the calculator, they continue to generate impossible results because they do not know the correct operating sequences. Section 1.12 describes in detail the specifications provided with a computer. This general information about a computer system is provided so that users of a computer can understand its capabilities and its limitations. Throughout the introductory chapters, new sectBoylestad, Robert L. is the author of 'Essentials of Circuit Analysis', published 2003 under ISBN 9780130616555 and ISBN 0130616559.