If a waveform has a single phase, the phase duration is

• A. Less than the pulse duration
• B. The same as the pulse duration
• C. Twice the pulse duration
• D. Unrelated to the pulse duration

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the phase duration is the time the current flows in one direction during a single phase. When the waveform has only one phase, there is just that one interval of current, so the pulse lasts exactly that long. In other words, the phase duration and the pulse duration are the same for a single-phase waveform. If you had multiple phases (like a biphasic pulse), the total pulse duration could differ because it would include additional phases, but with a single phase there isn’t another interval to extend the pulse.