TY - JOUR AB - In this paper an outline of the development of methods for the analysis of non‐linear circuits is presented. Non‐inert and inert elements have been discerned and an inertia measure has been proposed. For this purpose, an exponential function with time constant T equal to TR, TL, or TC is formulated for an element of type R, L, or C, respectively. In circuits with the imposed cause, which varies sinusoidally in time with period Te, the following situations are distinguished and considered: Te ≫ T; Te≪ T;and Te ≈ T. In the first case, the effect changes in time according to the non‐linear characteristic of the element. In the second case, the respective circuit is referred to as the “quasi‐linear”, because for the sinusoidal cause the effect is also sinusoidal. In the third case, the hysteresis occurs and the effect is a two‐valued function. The hysteresis effect occurs also in resistive elements. VL - 18 IS - 2 SN - 0332-1649 DO - 10.1108/03321649910264208 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/03321649910264208 AU - Dabrowski Miroslaw PY - 1999 Y1 - 1999/01/01 TI - Selected ideas of the theory of non‐linear electrical circuits T2 - COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering PB - MCB UP Ltd SP - 204 EP - 214 Y2 - 2024/04/19 ER -