one for the theorist

[Martin Czech]

:::Neither... Obviously you are not stupid because you had the sense to notice
:::this stuff,
:::But Remember... infinite is a theoretical term. In reality, nothing is
:::infinite.
:::
:::IE. A wire never has 0 resistance, 0 capacitance and 0 inductance as we like
:::to pretend. It may be a rediculosly small ammount, but it is there.
:::
:::
:::Whenever i think about this stuff I always like to go back to the water
:::analogy I was taught with. Wires are like pipes, voltage is water pressure
:::and current is water in motion.
:::
:::Inductance in this analogy is like the momentum of the water and its
:::reluctance to accelerate or decelerate.
:::No matter how you set up your circuit, the water will always be reluctant to
:::speed up or slow down. You are always going to have some momentum. Even if
:::you consider it to be negligible.
:::
:::Resistance is like the size of the pipes. Thus, no matter how big you make
:::your pipes, they will always impart some resistance to the flow of the
:::watter and cause pressure (voltage) to build up. Even if you consider it to
:::be negligible.
:::

I was more concerned about one particular situation: a wire without back
current path and the mathematical consequences.

Anyway, the water example is nice. Now: what is the water equivalent of a capacitor?
I guess a pressure container with some air in it?

m.c.