Impedance & resonance
Combine a resistor with a capacitor or inductor to see the difference between the real and reactive parts of impedance. R and C in series behave capacitively; with R and L the reactance is inductive.
Then compare series and parallel LC circuits. Around resonance, the inductive and capacitive contributions cancel. The series circuit has low impedance, while the parallel circuit has high impedance. Parasitic effects and self-resonance of real components are also covered.
R + jXSeries circuitParallel circuitResonance
After this module you can
- distinguish the real and reactive parts of impedance
- recognise positive and negative reactance
- investigate series combinations of R, L and C
- recognise series and parallel resonance
- determine a resonant frequency from a measurement
- recognise parasitic effects and self-resonance