On the impedance of infinite LC ladder networks

Abstract

The subject of electrical impedance is on the syllabi of most undergraduate courses in physics and electrical engineering. For example, Richard Feynman in his famous undergraduate text Lectures on Physics shows how to calculate the impedance of an infinite LC ladder. However, the formula he obtains has no useful physical interpretation if considered in the steady state frequency domain. In fact the value of this impedance becomes infinite unless one assumes that the energy flow along the infinite LC ladder is spatially uniform and in one direction only. This ad-hoc assumption, which renders the solution non-causal, is entirely unnecessary if the problem is considered in the time domain. It is important for students to appreciate that the concept of impedance works well only in dissipative circuits where the effects of transients are largely short lived. The purpose of this paper is to show that the same problem treated in the time domain by the Laplace transform method provides a qualitatively different and more satisfying explanation. We show that the current response of an infinite LC ladder, which is in the zero state before a causal harmonic driving voltage is applied, contains a significant non-harmonic component. This component, which is present in addition to the forced harmonic waveform, decays only very slowly and extracts an infinite amount of energy from the source.