11 Facts About Electrical reactance

In electrical circuits, reactance is the opposition presented to alternating current by inductance or capacitance.

Greater reactance gives smaller current for the same applied voltage.

Reactance is similar to resistance in that larger Electrical reactance leads to smaller currents for the same applied voltage.

Further, a circuit made entirely of elements that have only Electrical reactance can be treated the same way as a circuit made entirely of resistances.

Finally, the main circuit elements that have Electrical reactance have a frequency dependent Electrical reactance, unlike resistors which have the same resistance for all frequencies, at least in the ideal case.

Term reactance was first suggested by French engineer M Hospitalier in L'Industrie Electrique on 10 May 1893.

Capacitive Electrical reactance is an opposition to the change of voltage across an element.

Capacitive Electrical reactance is inversely proportional to the signal frequency and the capacitance.

Inductive Electrical reactance is a property exhibited by an inductor, and inductive Electrical reactance exists based on the fact that an electric current produces a magnetic field around it.

Hence, inductive Electrical reactance is an opposition to the change of current through an element.

Inductive Electrical reactance is proportional to the sinusoidal signal frequency and the inductance, which depends on the physical shape of the inductor:.