Graph of Reactance versus Frequency

What is Inductive Reactance?

An inductor is a passive device used to store energy in the form of a magnetic field across the inductor. An inductor behaves differently if it is placed in a circuit having a DC source or AC source. The inductor has the property to oppose sudden changes in current. When such abrupt change occurs, it tries to maintain the current flowing in the circuit by supplying the required current to the circuit. This current is generated by the magnetic field which was present when the inductor was charged. The magnetic field gets reduced after supplying the current. Inductance is measured in Henry named after Joseph Henry....

Working of Inductor

When current flows through a conductor, a magnetic field is formed perpendicular to the direction of current flow. This magnetic field is across radial direction forming concentric circles of magnetic field lines. Right hand thumb rule can be used to identify the direction of magnetic field lines. When this conductor is wound into a coil, this individual magnetic fields are clubbed together to form a larger magnetic field across the whole coil. This coil is called as inductor and the magnetic field generates highly depends on the core material....

Reactance Theory

Reactance can be defined as opposition to the flow of alternating current inside passive components such as capacitor and inductor. Reactance is similar to resistance however resistance is not related to frequency of voltage or current in a circuit. Reactance changes with respect to frequency of voltage and current. Unlike resistance, reactance does not dissipate heat when it opposes the current. It opposes the current in different way. An inductor has both resistance and reactance, therefore requiring complex numbers to denote their values. Reactance in inductor is created due to current lagging the voltage by 90°. Normally the current and voltage follows Ohm’s law and are in phase with each other and vary linearly. This phase difference causes decrease in current through inductor when voltage across the inductor increases. This can be proved easily as follows:...

Inductors in Series And Parallel

Inductance and inductive reactance both changes when multiple inductors are introduced to the exisiting circuit. It changes based on how they are connected i.e. series or parallel. An equivalent inductance can be calculated when multiple inductors are connected in series or parallel to simplify the given circuit. The rules for combining the inductances are as follows:...

Graph of Reactance versus Frequency

Graph of reactance versus frequency...

Phasor Diagram

A phasor diagram is the graphical representation of voltage and current for a given component in this case inductor. Phasor diagrams are used to check whether voltage and current are in phase or out of phase. It consists of two vectors representing voltage and current respectively. This vectors has length which is equal to the amplitude of the voltage and current and has an angle which is the angular frequency of the AC signal. We can graphially verify that current lags voltage by 90° in an inductor....

Solved Examples

An inductor having inductance 0.1 mH is connected to supply whose frequency is 1 MHz. Find the inductive reactance....

Conclusion

We have gone through the concept of inductive reactance, starting with an introduction to inductors and their behavior in circuits. We discussed the working principles of inductors, reactance theory, and how inductors behave in series and parallel connections. Additionally, we examined the graph of reactance versus frequency and learned how to represent inductive reactance in phasor diagrams and we have also gone through the Solved Examples....

FAQs on Inductive Reactance

What is impedance?...