• What is Conductance? In the study of DC circuits, the student of electricity comes across a term meaning the opposite of resistance: conductance. It is a useful term when exploring the mathematical formula for parallel resistances: Rparallel = 1 /…

  • Now that we’ve seen how series and parallel AC circuit analysis is not fundamentally different than DC circuit analysis, it should come as no surprise that series-parallel analysis would be the same as well, just using complex numbers instead of…

  • We can take the same components from the series circuit and rearrange them into a parallel configuration for an easy example circuit: Example R, L, and C parallel circuit. Impedance in Parallel Components The fact that these components are connected…

  • Let’s take the following example circuit and analyze it: Example series R, L, and C circuit. Solving for Reactance The first step is to determine the reactance (in ohms) for the inductor and the capacitor. The next step is to…

  • Before we begin to explore the effects of resistors, inductors, and capacitors connected together in the same AC circuits, let’s briefly review some basic terms and facts. Resistance This is essentially friction against the flow of current. It is present…

  • As with inductors, the ideal capacitor is a purely reactive device, containing absolutely zero resistive (power dissipative) effects. In the real world, of course, nothing is so perfect. However, capacitors have the virtue of generally being purer reactive components than…

  • Using the same value components in our series example circuit, we will connect them in parallel and see what happens: Parallel R-C circuit. Resistor and Capacitor in Parallel Because the power source has the same frequency as the series example…

  • In the last section, we learned what would happen in simple resistor-only and capacitor-only AC circuits. Now we will combine the two components together in series form and investigate the effects. Series capacitor circuit: voltage lags current by 0° to…

  • Capacitors Vs. Resistors Capacitors do not behave the same as resistors. Whereas resistors allow a flow of electrons through them directly proportional to the voltage drop, capacitors oppose changes in voltage by drawing or supplying current as they charge or…

  • Pure resistive AC circuit: voltage and current are in phase. If we were to plot the current and voltage for a very simple AC circuit consisting of a source and a resistor, (figure above) it would look something like this:…

  • The Skin Depth of Copper in Electrical Engineering As previously mentioned, the skin effect is where alternating current tends to avoid travel through the center of a solid conductor, limiting itself to conduction near the surface. This effectively limits the…

  • In an ideal case, an inductor acts as a purely reactive device. That is, its opposition to AC current is strictly based on inductive reaction to changes in current, and not electron friction as is the case with resistive components.…

  • Let’s take the same components for our series example circuit and connect them in parallel: Parallel R-L circuit. Because the power source has the same frequency as the series example circuit, and the resistor and inductor both have the same…

  • In the previous section, we explored what would happen in simple resistor-only and inductor-only AC circuits. Now we will mix the two components together in series form and investigate the effects. Series Resistor Inductor Circuit Example Take this circuit as…

  • Resistors vs. Inductors Inductors do not behave the same way as resistors do. Whereas resistors simply oppose the flow of current through them (by dropping a voltage directly proportional to the current), inductors oppose changes in current through them, by…

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