CR Filter Theory Question

[Enzo]

You can intuit it any way you like as long as the results are consistent and always apply - if you can use it to predeict circuit behavior. I never think of it as bleeding anything to ground, I think of it as what can pass down the signal chain. If I have a plate to grid coupling cap, I myself don;t find it useful to think that the lower freqs are bled to ground. I do find it useful to think the cap passes the higher freqs. the lows don't have to GO anywhere.

If the signal path in question GOES to ground, then that method applies same as mine. A guitar tone cap is a path to ground for highs controlled by the pot resistance. I never intuit that as the lows bleeding off into the amp.

[loudthud]

You understand how the capacitor in a high pass filter Blocks DC right? (note 1) Well, the capacitor blocks low frequencies pretty good, but not entirely and the higher you go in frequency, the less the capacitor blocks the AC signal. (note 3)

Compared to a very high frequency (note 2) the point at which a lower frequency is attenuated by 3dB is F=1/(2*Pi*R*C). Lower frequencies are attenuated more, higher frequencies not so much.

Notes:
(1) At DC it's like the capacitor is not in the circuit. The DC never gets to the resistor, so there is nothing for the resistor to "bleed to ground".

(2) A frequency where the impedance of the capacitor is so low, it makes almost no difference to the signal.

(3) The result is that at the output, low frequencies are reduced and high frequencies are only slightly affected.

[robrob]

"don't remove the terms to quickly"

I replaced "bleed to ground" with "blocked" and it works well and seems more correct.

[SoulFetish]

Just look at CR network as a potential divider in AC mode, means you use a reactive element- the AC"resistance "is not fixed but variable in respect with frequency it pass.Translate the cap value in what is call "reactance" that means effective "resistance" of capacitor at specific frequency. For instance 100nF cap present 15.9K at 100Hz but 1.59K at 1000Hz. Just use a reactance calculator for frequency you ask. no high pass filter blocks low frequencies but the atenuation is bigger cause reactance of series element (capacitor) is bigger as go to low frequencies
If you reverse and the cap becomes shunt to ground it is low pass cause the shunt will be smaller as frequency raise and attenuation will be bigger for high frequencies

I like this answer a lot!