β—€ Back to Note

Tony's Intertwingled Memex β€’ Reference Manual

Electrical Engineering (Signal Degradation & Attenuation) Solution

Formulas & Definitions

Problem Overview

We calculate the rate of voltage change (dVdt\frac{dV}{dt}dtdV​) for an attenuated signal:

V(t)=eβˆ’2tsin⁑(3t)t2+5V(t) = \frac{e^{-2t} \sin(3t)}{\sqrt{t^2 + 5}}V(t)=t2+5​eβˆ’2tsin(3t)​
evaluated at t=2Β mst = 2\text{ ms}t=2Β ms with V(2)β‰ˆ0.0104Β VV(2) \approx 0.0104\text{ V}V(2)β‰ˆ0.0104Β V.


Step-by-Step Mathematical Solution

Step 1: Formally Apply Logarithmic Differentiation

The governing process is Logarithmic Differentiation:

ddt[ln⁑V]=1VdVdtβ€…β€ŠβŸΉβ€…β€ŠdVdt=Vβ‹…ddt[ln⁑(V(t))]\frac{d}{dt}[\ln V] = \frac{1}{V}\frac{dV}{dt} \implies \frac{dV}{dt} = V \cdot \frac{d}{dt}[\ln(V(t))]dtd​[lnV]=V1​dtdVβ€‹βŸΉdtdV​=Vβ‹…dtd​[ln(V(t))]
(This rule is defined in Logarithmic Differentiation.)

Take the natural logarithm of both sides:

ln⁑V=ln⁑[eβˆ’2tsin⁑(3t)(t2+5)1/2]\ln V = \ln\left[ \frac{e^{-2t} \sin(3t)}{(t^2 + 5)^{1/2}} \right]lnV=ln[(t2+5)1/2eβˆ’2tsin(3t)​]

Step 2: Expand Using Logarithmic Properties

Using the Product, Quotient, and Power properties:

ln⁑V=ln⁑(eβˆ’2t)+ln⁑(sin⁑(3t))βˆ’ln⁑(t2+5)1/2\ln V = \ln(e^{-2t}) + \ln(\sin(3t)) - \ln(t^2 + 5)^{1/2}lnV=ln(eβˆ’2t)+ln(sin(3t))βˆ’ln(t2+5)1/2
ln⁑V=βˆ’2t+ln⁑(sin⁑(3t))βˆ’12ln⁑(t2+5)\ln V = -2t + \ln(\sin(3t)) - \frac{1}{2}\ln(t^2 + 5)lnV=βˆ’2t+ln(sin(3t))βˆ’21​ln(t2+5)

Step 3: Differentiate Implicitly with Respect to Time ttt

1VdVdt=ddt[βˆ’2t]+ddt[ln⁑(sin⁑(3t))]βˆ’12ddt[ln⁑(t2+5)]\frac{1}{V}\frac{dV}{dt} = \frac{d}{dt}[-2t] + \frac{d}{dt}[\ln(\sin(3t))] - \frac{1}{2}\frac{d}{dt}[\ln(t^2 + 5)]V1​dtdV​=dtd​[βˆ’2t]+dtd​[ln(sin(3t))]βˆ’21​dtd​[ln(t2+5)]
Apply the Chain Rule to each term:
1VdVdt=βˆ’2+3cos⁑(3t)sin⁑(3t)βˆ’12(2tt2+5)\frac{1}{V}\frac{dV}{dt} = -2 + \frac{3\cos(3t)}{\sin(3t)} - \frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{2t}{t^2 + 5}\right)V1​dtdV​=βˆ’2+sin(3t)3cos(3t)β€‹βˆ’21​(t2+52t​)
1VdVdt=βˆ’2+3cot⁑(3t)βˆ’tt2+5\frac{1}{V}\frac{dV}{dt} = -2 + 3\cot(3t) - \frac{t}{t^2 + 5}V1​dtdV​=βˆ’2+3cot(3t)βˆ’t2+5t​

Step 4: Multiply by VVV to Isolate dVdt\frac{dV}{dt}dtdV​

dVdt=V(t)β‹…[βˆ’2+3cot⁑(3t)βˆ’tt2+5]\frac{dV}{dt} = V(t) \cdot \left[ -2 + 3\cot(3t) - \frac{t}{t^2 + 5} \right]dtdV​=V(t)β‹…[βˆ’2+3cot(3t)βˆ’t2+5t​]

Step 5: Evaluate at t=2Β mst = 2\text{ ms}t=2Β ms with V(2)β‰ˆ0.0104Β VV(2) \approx 0.0104\text{ V}V(2)β‰ˆ0.0104Β V

dVdt∣t=2=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2+3cot⁑(6Β rad)βˆ’222+5]\left.\frac{dV}{dt}\right|_{t=2} = (0.0104) \cdot \left[ -2 + 3\cot(6\text{ rad}) - \frac{2}{2^2 + 5} \right]dtdV​​t=2​=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2+3cot(6Β rad)βˆ’22+52​]
In radian mode, cot⁑(6)β‰ˆβˆ’3.4364\cot(6) \approx -3.4364cot(6)β‰ˆβˆ’3.4364:
dVdt∣t=2=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2+3(βˆ’3.4364)βˆ’29]\left.\frac{dV}{dt}\right|_{t=2} = (0.0104) \cdot \left[ -2 + 3(-3.4364) - \frac{2}{9} \right]dtdV​​t=2​=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2+3(βˆ’3.4364)βˆ’92​]
dVdt∣t=2=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2βˆ’10.3092βˆ’0.2222]=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’12.5314]β‰ˆβˆ’0.1303Β V/ms\left.\frac{dV}{dt}\right|_{t=2} = (0.0104) \cdot [ -2 - 10.3092 - 0.2222 ] = (0.0104) \cdot [-12.5314] \approx -0.1303\text{ V/ms}dtdV​​t=2​=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’2βˆ’10.3092βˆ’0.2222]=(0.0104)β‹…[βˆ’12.5314]β‰ˆβˆ’0.1303Β V/ms


Engineering Conclusion

At t=2Β mst = 2\text{ ms}t=2Β ms, the line voltage is collapsing at βˆ’0.1303Β V/ms-0.1303\text{ V/ms}βˆ’0.1303Β V/ms. Electrical and telecommunications engineers monitor this instantaneous attenuation rate to calibrate repeater and amplifier spacing along undersea cables. Calculating this rate via logarithmic differentiation eliminates the massive arithmetic overhead of nested quotient and product expansions, providing a fast, direct formula for real-time DSP equalizer tuning.