The synthesis of electrical networks whose driving-point impedance is a prescribed positive-real function has given rise to a large literature with some famous results such as those of Brune, Darlington, Bott and Duffin etc. After the 1970s, there was a decline in interest due to the increasing prevalence of active circuits. Despite the relative maturity of the field, some basic questions remained unanswered, e.g. on minimality of realisations. The latter question becomes important again in the context of mechanical networks in the application of the inerter to practical synthesis. This talk will discuss some of the background for passive mechanical network synthesis, survey the classical results of electric circuit synthesis, and discuss new results and directions.
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