The driving point impedance of an RC (resistor-capacitor) circuit refers to the impedance seen at the terminals where the input voltage is applied. For a simple series RC circuit, where the resistor \( R \) and capacitor \( C \) are connected in series, the impedance can be calculated as follows:
### Series RC Circuit
1. **Resistor Impedance**: The impedance of the resistor \( R \) is simply \( R \), which is a real number.
2. **Capacitor Impedance**: The impedance of the capacitor \( C \) is given by:
\[
Z_C = \frac{1}{j\omega C}
\]
where \( j \) is the imaginary unit, \( \omega \) is the angular frequency (\( \omega = 2 \pi f \), with \( f \) being the frequency of the input signal), and \( C \) is the capacitance in farads.
3. **Total Impedance**: In a series RC circuit, the total impedance \( Z_{RC} \) is the sum of the impedance of the resistor and the capacitor:
\[
Z_{RC} = R + \frac{1}{j\omega C}
\]
To simplify this, you can write:
\[
Z_{RC} = R - \frac{j}{\omega C}
\]
This represents a complex number with a real part \( R \) and an imaginary part \( -\frac{1}{\omega C} \).
### Parallel RC Circuit
If the resistor and capacitor are connected in parallel, the impedance is calculated differently. The total impedance \( Z_{RC} \) of a parallel RC circuit can be found using the formula for combining impedances in parallel:
1. **Impedance of Resistor and Capacitor**:
\[
Z_R = R
\]
\[
Z_C = \frac{1}{j\omega C}
\]
2. **Total Impedance**:
\[
\frac{1}{Z_{RC}} = \frac{1}{Z_R} + \frac{1}{Z_C}
\]
Substituting the impedances:
\[
\frac{1}{Z_{RC}} = \frac{1}{R} + j\omega C
\]
\[
Z_{RC} = \frac{1}{\frac{1}{R} + j\omega C}
\]
To simplify, you can multiply numerator and denominator by the complex conjugate of the denominator:
\[
Z_{RC} = \frac{R}{1 + j\omega RC}
\]
### Summary
- **Series RC Circuit**: \( Z_{RC} = R - \frac{j}{\omega C} \)
- **Parallel RC Circuit**: \( Z_{RC} = \frac{R}{1 + j\omega RC} \)
These formulas describe how the impedance of the RC circuit varies with frequency, showing the reactive nature of the capacitor and how it affects the total impedance.