LC Circuits

When a charged capacitor connects to an inductor, electrical energy stored in the capacitor's electric field transfers to the inductor's magnetic field. As the capacitor discharges, current builds through the inductor, creating a magnetic field. Since no resistance exists in an ideal LC circuit, total energy is conserved and oscillates between electrical and magnetic forms.

An LC circuit exhibits harmonic oscillation because energy continuously exchanges between the capacitor and inductor, similar to how a mass-spring system exchanges kinetic and potential energy. The capacitor charge corresponds to displacement, current corresponds to velocity, inductance corresponds to mass, and capacitance reciprocal corresponds to the spring constant.

The inductor opposes changes in current through induced electromotive force (EMF). When the circuit closes, the induced EMF prevents current from rising instantly; instead, it starts at zero and gradually builds to maximum. This gradual buildup occurs while the capacitor discharges and the magnetic field strengthens.

During capacitor discharge in an LC circuit, the capacitor potential equals the induced EMF at each instant. As the capacitor potential decreases, the induced EMF also decreases, causing the rate of current change to slow. When capacitor potential reaches zero, the induced EMF becomes zero and current reaches its maximum value.

In an ideal LC circuit with no resistance, total energy remains constant because no energy dissipates through Joule heating. The maximum energy initially stored in the capacitor equals the maximum energy later stored in the inductor. At any moment, total energy equals the sum of electrical and magnetic energy.

The magnetic field in the inductor stores energy and opposes current changes through induced EMF. As current flows through the inductor, the magnetic field builds up, transferring energy from the capacitor. The strength of this magnetic field determines how much energy the inductor stores at any given time.

In an LC circuit, the capacitor acts like a spring storing potential energy, while the inductor acts like a mass storing kinetic energy through its magnetic field. Charge oscillates like displacement, and current oscillates like velocity. This mechanical analogy helps explain why LC circuits produce oscillations similar to oscillations in an LC circuit.