State space

State-variable analysis, or state-space analysis, as it is sometimes called, is a

procedure that can be applied both to linear and, with some modifications, to
nonlinear circuits, as well as to circuits containing time-varying parameters,
such as the capacitance C = 50 cos 20t pF. Our attention, however, will be
restricted to time-invariant linear circuits.
We introduce some of the ideas underlying state variables by looking at a
general RLC circuit drawn in Fig. 19.1. When we write equations for this
circuit, we could use nodal analysis, the two dependent variables being the
node voltages at the central and right nodes. We could also opt for mesh
analysis and use two currents as the variables, or, alternatively, we could
draw a tree first and then select a set of tree-branch voltages or link currents
as the dependent variables. It is possible that each approach could lead to
a different number of variables, although two seems to be the most likely
number for this circuit.