Benjamin Finio is a lecturer in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, where he teaches MAE 3780: Mechatronics. Dr. Finio has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Bucknell University and a Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University, where he completed his thesis on the “Robobee” project in the Harvard Microrobotics Lab. He has experience teaching students of all ages, both online and in person, as well as designing electronics and robotics kits for both K-12 and college-level curricula. In addition to teaching at Cornell, Dr. Finio works for a science education website (Science Buddies), where he has written for Scientific American and made educational YouTube videos that have been viewed millions of times by people around the globe.
Building and Measuring a Time‑Varying CircuitCornell Course
Course Overview
In this course, you will explore circuits whose behavior varies with time. These circuits have a variety of useful applications, and you will learn about both their theoretical design using mathematical circuit analysis and practical circuit assembly. You will also be introduced to a new and incredibly useful tool for analyzing circuits, the oscilloscope. By the end of the course, you will build a practical circuit to complete a specific task without requiring use of a microcontroller. This course will give you a wealth of experience that will be useful as you move toward doing your own open-ended projects.
This program requires the purchase of a kit of electronic components and microcontrollers at a cost of around $600.
You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:
- Building and Analyzing a Basic Circuit
Key Course Takeaways
- Use capacitors in time-varying circuits
- Measure behavior of time-varying circuits using an oscilloscope
- Use RC circuit step and frequency response
- Explore operational amplifiers
How It Works
Course Author
Who Should Enroll
- Engineers (mechanical, software, civil, systems, chemical, biomedical)
- Robotics and automation technicians
- Programmers and computer scientists
- Technology researchers
- High school teachers
- Hobbyists
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