The Laplace Transformation of the Impulse Function for Engineering Problems

The concept and properties of the impulse or delta function have been presented in many books and periodicals. However, when the impulse function arises in undergraduate courses dealing with transform methods, great confusion can exist in the general application. The purpose here is to discuss the Laplace transform of the impulse function in such a manner that will not cause confusion when applied to system problems. Examples indicating difficulty with the normal presentation of this problem are given. A formulation of the Laplace transformation of the impulse function suited for undergraduate and first-year graduate students is presented.