bilateral circuit unilateral circuit Linear circuits :

bilateral circuit is a circuit that behaves the same way if it is connected in the opposite direction. The term is typically used for components in electrical circuits. For example, a resistor behaves the same way no matter if it's connected left-to-right ot right-to-left. In contrast, a diode is not a bilateral component, because it conducts current in one direction, and does not conduct in the other.
unilateral circuit it is a circuit in which value of impedance or resistance of element changes with changing the direction of voltage or current.eg. circuit with diodes....
Linear circuits :

A linear circuit is an electronic circuit in which, for a sinusoidal input voltage of frequency f, any output of the circuit (the current through any component, or the voltage between any two points) is also sinusoidal with frequency f. Note that the output need not be in phase with the input.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_circuits
It is the circuit whose parameters remain constant with change in applied voltage or current.Examples are a resistance, inductance or capacitance.


Sometimes solving a circuit by KVL and KCL can be a little difficult. What tips/tricks have you gained from solving such circuits? i know that little tricks wont be as helpful as actually practicing, but they will help nonetheless. for example today i discovered it is not a very good idea to go around a loop with current sources. things like that. if you know any good resources that have this kind of information, that would also be helpful. thanks.
berkeman
Feb3-09, 02:36 PM
Sometimes solving a circuit by KVL and KCL can be a little difficult. What tips/tricks have you gained from solving such circuits? i know that little tricks wont be as helpful as actually practicing, but they will help nonetheless. for example today i discovered it is not a very good idea to go around a loop with current sources. things like that. if you know any good resources that have this kind of information, that would also be helpful. thanks.

I prefer using the KCL method generally, and just label all the nodes and write the current sum equations for each node. Not sure what would be good tips past that... The KVL method is less intuitive for me, and doesn't feel as "physical" as the KCL method.
mplayer
Feb3-09, 09:25 PM
Some tips that might help with KCL:
-Make your reference node a node that is connected to as many voltage sources as you can to minimized the number of unknown node voltages.
-Sometimes it might be helpful to outline each node in the circuit (draw a border around the wire of each node). Makes it easier to see and keep track of the number of nodes in a circuit, for me at least.

Some tips that might help with KVL:
-I always label the mesh currents going clockwise. Whichever direction you choose to do it in, it might help to always do it the same way to minimizes potential errors.
-If there is a current source in a loop and its on the outside of that loop (not sharing it with an adjacent loop) then that is the value of that mesh current (one less equation to write