UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Transcendental magic: Schade's peak voltage equation and my discovery!!

G8HQP Dave · 14th Nov 2017, 4:09 pm

For small values of x, e^(-x) is 1-x. So for high values of Q you are simply calculating 1- (pi/4Q) to whatever accuracy your calculating device can manage. You can easily check this by comparing the two calculations: exp(-x) vs. 1-x. The difference is that you can by hand do 1-x however small x is - you are limited only by the size of your piece of paper; the calculator runs out of significant figures before you do. Of course, exp (0) = 1.

If you really want to get excited by maths, consider that exp (j pi) + 1 = 0.

14th Nov 2017, 4:09 pm	#8
G8HQP Dave Rest in Peace Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Solihull, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 4,872	Re: Transcendental magic: Schade's peak voltage equation and my discovery!! For small values of x, e^(-x) is 1-x. So for high values of Q you are simply calculating 1- (pi/4Q) to whatever accuracy your calculating device can manage. You can easily check this by comparing the two calculations: exp(-x) vs. 1-x. The difference is that you can by hand do 1-x however small x is - you are limited only by the size of your piece of paper; the calculator runs out of significant figures before you do. Of course, exp (0) = 1. If you really want to get excited by maths, consider that exp (j pi) + 1 = 0.