vaso@mips.COM (Vaso Bovan) (06/07/89)
I am the original net poster of the "Capacitor Paradox". As several writers have commented, this puzzle is not new. The two standard explanations are: A) The "lost" energy is dissipated in circuit resistance ; B) The energy is radiated away. My purpose in posting was was to get a clarification of the two answers. In printed derivations of answer A, the statement is generally made that energy is dissipated in circuit resistance "independent of the value of resistance." Such derivations show a solution with resistance in the denominator of some equation. This explanation is intuitively incomplete, because of the behavior of the solution equation as resistance goes to zero. Re answer B, I've never seen a complete derivation from Maxwell's equations. I was hoping someone on the net would post or E-mail such a derivation. All the answers I've seen here on the net and elsewhere based on answer B have been armwaving exercises. The puzzle was stated in terms of ideal components. As many writers have noted, real circuits have both resistance and inductance. Perhaps it's time now to end further net postings on this topic. If anyone can cite detailed and complete solutions to this puzzle, especially solutions based on Maxwell's equations, I would like to receive them by E-mail.