Preface ix

The introduction of the Laplace transform concept in Chapter 5 is

kept within the real function domain in accordance with the original
concept of the Laplace integral and the fact that rational functions
in p can be treated entirely by utilizing the uniqueness of the direct
Laplace transform. The construction of the inverse Laplace trans
form is shown, adequately for the purpose of this first volume, by
Cauchy's integral theorem. Extensive tables of transform pairs are
included in a form which facilitates effective use in the solution of the
great majority of practical problems.
Finally, Chapter 6 establishes the frequency spectrum concept and
illustrates the transition from the discrete spectra of periodic functions
to continuous spectra of nonperiodic functions, paralleling the transi
tion from Fourier series to Fourier integrals.
The needed mathematical background for various sections is
reviewed in appendices, which also contain notes on the symbols
used, a short bibliography of relevant books, and the previously men
tioned exposition of the field concepts underlying the formulation
of the circuit concept.
Because of the emphasis on fundamentals, this volume can serve
well in advanced senior courses on transient analysis as well as in the
first-year graduate courses. The material is presented intentionally
in such a way that a knowledge of functions of a complex variable is
necessary only for the last part of this volume. Such knowledge
could be acquired in a concurrent course so as to be available when
needed here and to satisfy the prerequisites for the subject matter of
the second volume.
As in any genuine graduate course, the success and therefore
satisfaction of the teacher is closely interrelated with the stimulation
he receives and accepts from the graduate students. Though this
response might not always be willing at the start of the course, it
should become fully alive in fairly short time to promote the feedback
cycle so characteristic of the educational process. I am most happy
to acknowledge the great stimulation received from very large num
a
ber of graduate students, too numerous to make individual mention
feasible. It is also a very pleasant obligation to acknowledge the
assistance of Professor L. Vallese in the final reading of the manuscript.

Ernst Weber
Brooklyn, New York
March, 1964