The Use Of Animation For Visualization Of Concepts In A Network Analysis Class

Many new and challenging concepts are introduced in the typical junior level network analysis class including s-plane analysis, convolution, and Fourier transforms. This paper discusses a set of animated clips that has been developed using Mathcad PLUS to aid in the visualization of these concepts in a way not possible with conventional lectures and textbook presentations. The clips are generated using the Mathcad FRAME variable. This variable takes on integral values that increase sequentially with time. Other variables can be defined that depend on the FRAME variable, and these can be plotted to provide a series of frames which become an animation clip when viewed sequentially. When the clip is saved, it is converted to a Windows avi file and can subsequently be played on any computer possessing the Windows operating system (version 3.1 or later). Examples of the clips include sequences that show the relation of frequency response for second order lowpass and bandpass filters to the location of poles in the s-plane, the time evolution of the convolution integral, and the connection between the time duration of a signal and the frequency response of its Fourier transform. Although the animation files are each around 500 KB in length, they are highly compressible and can typically be zipped to 10-15 KB. A set of animated clips has been made available to students and response has been positive.