Question

What is a passive network?

Answer 1

A **passive network** refers to a type of electrical or electronic network that doesn't supply or amplify power but instead only consumes, stores, or dissipates it. In other words, a passive network contains components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors that can either absorb or store energy but cannot generate or amplify it.

Here are the key features of a passive network:

1. **No Active Components**: It does not include components like transistors or operational amplifiers that require external power to function.
2. **Energy Dissipation or Storage**: The components only dissipate energy (like resistors) or store energy temporarily (like capacitors and inductors).
3. **No Power Gain**: A passive network cannot increase the power of a signal. It can only reduce, modify, or store the energy of the signal.

Common examples of passive networks include:
- **RLC circuits**: Combinations of resistors (R), inductors (L), and capacitors (C).
- **Filters**: Low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass filters that modify the frequency of the signal.

In contrast, an **active network** has components like amplifiers that require a power supply and can provide power gain to the signal.