Capacitor AC Response

Impedance Examine Inductor Resistor Calculate

Contribution to Phasor diagram complex impedance

You know that the voltage across a capacitor lags the current because the current must flow to build up the charge, and the voltage is proportional to that charge which is built up on the

Capacitive Reactance
The frequency dependent impedance of a capacitor is called capacitive reactance.

This calculation works by clicking on the desired quantity in the expression below. Enter the necessary data and then click on the quantity you wish to calculate. Default values will be entered for unspecified quantities, but all quantities may be changed.

Impedance = 1/(angular frequency)x(capacitance)

Inductor AC Response
Impedance Examine Capacitor Resistor Calculate

Contribution to Phasor diagram complex impedance

You know that the voltage across an inductor leads the current because the Lenz' law behavior resists the buildup of the current, and it takes a finite time for an imposed voltage to force the buildup of current to its maximum.

Inductive Reactance
The frequency dependent impedance of an inductor is called inductive reactance.

This calculation works by clicking on the desired quantity in the expression below. Enter the necessary data and then click on the quantity you wish to calculate. Default values will be entered for unspecified quantities, but all quantities may be changed.

Impedance = Angular frequency x Inductance

Resonance
Resonance in AC circuits implies a special frequency determined by the values of the resistance , capacitance , and inductance . For series resonance the condition of resonance is straightforward and it is characterized by minimum impedance and zero phase. Parallel resonance , which is more common in electronic practice, requires a more careful definition.

This is an active graphic.

Series Resonance
The resonance of a series RLC circuit occurs when the inductive and capacitive reactances are equal in magnitude but cancel each other because they are 180 degrees apart in phase. The sharp minimum in impedance which occurs is useful in tuning applications. The sharpness of the minimum depends on the value of R and is characterized by the "Q" of the circuit.

RLC Series Circuit

The RLC series circuit is a very important example of a resonant circuit. It has a minimum of impedance Z=R at the resonant frequency, and the phase angle is equal to zero at resonance.

One way to visualize the behavior of the RLC series circuit is with the phasor diagram shown in the illustration above. The phasor diagram shown is at a frequency where the inductive reactance is greater than that of the capacitive reactance. This would occur at a frequency above the resonant frequency.

RLC Series Impedance

The frequency dependent impedance of an RLC series circuit:

Selectivity and Q of a Circuit

Resonant circuits are used to respond selectively to signals of a given frequency while discriminating against signals of different frequencies. If the response of the circuit is more narrowly peaked around the chosen frequency, we say that the circuit has higher "selectivity". A "quality factor" Q, as described below, is a measure of that selectivity, and we speak of a circuit having a "high Q" if it is more narrowly selective.

An example of the application of resonant circuits is the selection of AM radio stations by the radio receiver. The selectivity of the tuning must be high enough to discriminate strongly against stations above and below in carrier frequency, but not so high as to discriminate against the "sidebands" created by the imposition of the signal by amplitude modulation.

The selectivity of a circuit is dependent upon the amount of resistance in the circuit. The variations on a series resonant circuit at right follow an example in Serway & Beichner. The smaller the resistance, the higher the "Q" for given values of L and C. The parallel resonant circuit is more commonly used in electronics, but the algebra necessary to characterize the resonance is much more involved.

Using the same circuit parameters, the illustration at left shows the power dissipated in the circuit as a function of frequency. Since this power depends upon the square of the current, these resonant curves appear steeper and narrower than the resonance peaks for current above. The quality factor Q is defined by

where is the width of the resonant power curve at half maximum. Since that width turns out to be =R/L, the value of Q can also be expressed as

The Q is a commonly used parameter in electronics, with values usually in the range of Q=10 to 100 for circuit applications.

Power in a Series Resonant Circuit

The average power dissipated in a series resonant circuit can be expressed in terms of the rms voltage and current as follows:

Using the forms of the inductive reactance and capacitive reactance, the term involving them can be expressed in terms of the frequency.

where use has been made of the resonant frequency expression

Substitution now gives the expression for average power as a function of frequency.

This power distribution is plotted at left using the same circuit parameters as were used in the example on the Q factor of the series resonant circuit The average power at resonance is just

since at the resonant frequency 0 the reactive parts cancel so that the circuit appears as just the resistance R.

Parallel Resonance
The resonance of a parallel RLC circuit is a bit more involved than the series resonance. The resonant frequency can be defined in three different ways, which converge on the same expression as the series resonant frequency if the resistance of the circuit is small.

RLC Parallel Circuit

Finding the impedance of a parallel RLC circuit is considerably more difficult than finding the series RLC impedance. This is because each branch has a phase angle and they cannot be combined in a simple way. The impedance of the parallel branches combine in the same way that parallel resistors combine:

But although the branch impedance magnitudes can be calculated from

and RL Circuit RC Circuit

they cannot be directly combined as suggested by the expression above because they are different in phase - like vectors in different directions cannot be added directly. This dilemma is most easily solved by the complex impedance method.

RLC Parallel: Complex Impedance Method

When the complex impedances of the branches of the parallel RLC circuit are combined, the equivalent impedance is of the form

When this expression is rationalized and put in the standard form Calculation then the impedance in ohms and the phase can be determined. By setting the = 0, the resonant frequency can be calculated. The expressions for these calculations are quite lengthy.

RLC Parallel Expressions

The complex impedances of the parallel RLC circuit takes the form

when rationalized, and the components have the form

Resonance: Impedance Maximum

One of the ways to define resonance for a parallel RLC circuit is the frequency at which the impedance is maximum. The general case is rather complex, but the special case where the resistances of the inductor and capacitor are negligible can be handled readily by using the concept of admittance.

Resonance: Phase Definition

Defining the parallel resonant frequency as the frequency at which the voltage and current are in phase, unity power factor, gives the following expression for the resonant frequency:

The above resonant frequency expression is obtained by taking the impedance expressions for the parallel RLC circuit and setting the expression for Xeq equal to zero to force the phase to zero. After about a page of algebra, the above expression emerges. Note that for small values of the resistances, this approaches the series resonant frequency.

Admittance
Although the impedance Z is a far more common way to characterize the voltage-current relationships in an AC circuit, there are times when the admittance is avaluable construct. For a given circuit element, the admittance is just the reciprocal of the impedance.

The admittance has its most obvious utility in dealing with parallel AC circuits where there are no series elements. The equivalent admittance of parallel elements is the sum of the admittances of the components.

Impedance
While Ohm's Law applies directly to resistors in DC or in AC circuits, the form of the current-voltage relationship in AC circuits in general is modified to the form:

where I and V are the rms or "effective" values. The quantity Z is called impedance. For a pure resistor, Z = R. Because the phase affects the impedance and because the contributions of capacitors and inductors differ in phase from resistive components by 90 degrees, a process like vector addition (phasors) is used to develop expressions for impedance. More general is the complex impedance method.

Impedance Combinations
Combining impedances has similarities to the combining of resistors, but the phase relationships make it practically necessary to use the complex impedance method for carrying out the operations. Combining series impedances is straightforward:

Calculation

Combining parallel impedances is more difficult and shows the power of the complex impedance approach. The expressions must be rationalized and are lengthy algebraic forms.

Parallel Impedance Expressions

The complex impedance of the parallel circuit takes the form

when rationalized, and the components have the form

Use of Complex Impedance

The handling of the impedance of an AC circuit with multiple components quickly becomes unmanageable if sines and cosines are used to represent the voltages and currents. A mathematical construct which eases the difficulty is the use of complex exponential functions. The basic parts of the strategy are as follows: Polar form of complex number

Euler relation

Impedance combinations

Phasor diagrams

Complex Impedance for RL and RC

Using complex impedance is an important technique for handling multicomponent AC circuits. If a complex plane is used with resistance along the real axis then the reactances of the capacitor and inductor are treated as imaginary numbers. For series combinations of components such as RL and RC combinations, the component values are added as if they were components of a vector. Shown here is the cartesian form of the complex impedance. They can also be written in polar form. Impedances in this form can be used as building blocks for calculating the impedances of combination circuits like the RLC parallel circuit.

Complex Impedance for RL and RC

This depicts the phasor diagrams and complex impedance expressions for RL and RC circuits in polar form. They can also be expressed in cartesian form.

Phasor Diagrams
It is sometimes helpful to treat the phase as if it defined a vector in a plane. The usual reference for zero phase is taken to be the positive x-axis and is associated with the resistor since the voltage and current associated with the resistor are in phase. The length of the phasor is proportional to the magnitude of the quantity represented, and its angle represents its phase relative to that of the current through the resistor. The phasor diagram for the RLC series circuit shows the main features.

Note that the phase angle, the difference in phase between the voltage and the current in an AC circuit, is the phase angle associated with the impedance Z of the circuit.

ELI the ICE man

Thevenin's Theorem
Any combination of batteries and resistances with two terminals can be replaced by a single voltage source e and a single series resistor r. The value of e is the open circuit voltage at the terminals, and the value of r is e divided by the current with the terminals short circuited.

Thevenin Voltage
The Thevenin voltage e used in Thevenin's Theorem is an ideal voltage source equal to the open circuit voltage at the terminals. In the example below, the resistance R2 does not affect this voltage and the resistances R1 and R3 form a voltage divider, giving

Thevenin/Norton Resistance
The Thevenin resistance r used in Thevenin's Theorem is the resistance measured at terminals AB with all voltage sources replaced by short circuits and all current sources replaced by open circuits. It can also be calculated by dividing the open circuit voltage by the short circuit current at AB, but the previous method is usually preferable and gives

The same resistance is used in the Norton equivalent.

Thevenin Example
Replacing a network by its Thevenin equivalent can simplify the analysis of a complex circuit. In this example, the Thevenin voltage is just the output of the voltage divider formed by R1 and R3. The Thevenin resistance is the resistance looking back from AB with V1 replaced by a short circuit.

Norton's Theorem
Any collection of batteries and resistances with two terminals is electrically equivalent to an ideal current source i in parallel with a single resistor r. The value of r is the same as that in the Thevenin equivalent and the current i can be found by dividing the open circuit voltage by r.

Norton Current
The value i for the current used in Norton's Theorem is found by determining the open circuit voltage at the terminals AB and dividing it by the Norton resistance r.

Norton Example
Replacing a network by its Norton equivalent can simplify the analysis of a complex circuit. In this example, the Norton current is obtained from the open circuit voltage (the Thevenin voltage) divided by the resistance r. This resistance is the same as the Thevenin resistance, the resistance looking back from AB with V1 replaced by a short circuit.

For R1 = , R2 = , R3 = , and voltage V1 = V the open circuit voltage is = V

since R1 and R3 form a simple voltage divider. The Norton resistance is = .

and the resulting Norton current is

Charging a Capacitor
When a battery is connected to a series resistor and capacitor, the initial current is high as the battery transports charge from one plate of the capacitor to the other. The charging current asymptotically approaches zero as the capacitor becomes charged up to the battery voltage. Charging the capacitor stores energy in the electric field between the capacitor plates. The rate of charging is typically described in terms of a time constant RC.

Capacitor Charge Calculation

Inductor Transient
When a battery is connected to a series resistor and inductor, the inductor resists the change in current and the current therefore builds up slowly. Acting in accordance with Faraday's law and Lenz's law, the amount of impedance to the buildup of current is proportional to the rate of change of the current. That is, the faster you try to make it change, the more it resists. The current builds up toward the value it would have with the resistor alone because once the current is no longer changing, the inductor offers no impedance. The rate of this buildup is characterized by the time constant L/R . Establishing a current in an inductor stores energy in the magnetic field formed by the coils of the inductor.

Inductor Transient Calculation

Resistance
The electrical resistance of a circuit component or device is defined as the ratio of the voltage applied to the electric current whichflows through it:

If the resistance is constant over a considerable range of voltage, then Ohm's law, I = V/R, can be used to predict the behavior of the material. Although the definition above involves DC current and voltage, the same definition holds for the AC application of resistors. Whether or not a material obeys Ohm's law, its resistance can be described in terms of its bulk resistivity. The resistivity, and thus the resistance, is temperature dependent. Over sizable ranges of temperature, this temperature dependence can be predicted from a temperature coefficient of resistance. R = , Vb = V

Resistivity and Conductivity

The electrical resistance of a wire would be expected to be greater for a longer wire, less for a wire of larger cross sectional area, and would be expected to depend upon the material out of which the wire is made. Experimentally, the dependence upon these properties is a straightforward one for a wide range of conditions, and the resistance of a wire can be expressed as

The factor in the resistance which takes into account the nature of the material is the resistivity . Although it is temperature dependent, it can be used at a given temperature to calculate the resistance of a wire of given geometry. The inverse of resistivity is called conductivity. There are contexts where the use of conductivity is more convenient.

Electrical conductivity = = 1/

Resistor Combinations
The combination rules for any number of resistors in series or parallel can be derived with the use of Ohm's Law, the voltage law, and the current law.

Resistivity Calculation
The electrical resistance of a wire would be expected to be greater for a longer wire, less for a wire of larger cross sectional area, and would be expected to depend upon the material out of which the wire is made (resistivity). Experimentally, the dependence upon these properties is a straightforward one for a wide range of conditions, and the resistance of a wire can be expressed as

Resistance = resistivity x length/area

Resistivity and Temperature Coefficient at 20 C

Material Silver Copper Aluminum Tungsten Iron Platinum Manganin Lead Mercury Nichrome (Ni,Fe,Cr alloy) Constantan Carbon* (graphite) Germanium* Silicon* Glass Quartz (fused) Hard rubber Resistivity (ohm m) 1.59 1.68 2.65 5.6 9.71 10.6 48.2 22 98 100 49 3-60 1-500 0.1-60 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-8 x10^-5 x10^-3 ... Temperature Conductivity coefficient x 107 /m per degree C .0061 .0068 .00429 .0045 .00651 .003927 .000002 ... .0009 .0004 ... -.0005 -.05 -.07 ... ... ... 6.29 5.95 3.77 1.79 1.03 0.943 0.207 0.45 0.10 0.10 0.20 ... ... ... ... ... ...

1-10000 x10^9 7.5 1-100 x10^17 x10^13

*The resistivity of semiconductors depends strongly on the presence of impurities in the material, a fact which makes them useful in solid state electronics.

Faraday's Law
Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage (emf) to be "induced" in the coil. No matter how the change is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the coil relative to the magnet, etc.

Further comments on these examples Faraday's law is a fundamental relationship which comes from Maxwell's equations. It serves as a succinct summary of the ways a voltage (or emf) may be generated by a changing magnetic environment. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux times the number of turns in the coil. It involves the interaction of charge with magnetic field.

Lenz's Law
When an emf is generated by a change in magnetic flux according to Faraday's Law, the polarity of the induced emf is such that it produces a current whose magnetic field opposes the change which produces it. The induced magnetic field inside any loop of wire always acts to keep the magnetic flux in the loop constant. In the examples below, if the B field is increasing, the induced field acts in opposition to it. If it is decreasing, the induced field acts in the direction of the applied field to try to keep it constant.

Magnet and Coil

When a magnet is moved into a coil of wire, changing the magnetic field and magnetic flux through the coil, a voltage will be generated in the coil according to Faraday's Law. In the example shown below, when the magnet is moved into the coil the galvanometer deflects to the left in response to the increasing field. When the magnet is pulled back out, the galvanometer deflects to the right in response to the decreasing field. The polarity of the induced emf is such that it

produces a current whose magnetic field opposes the change that produces it. The induced magnetic field inside any loop of wire always acts to keep the magnetic flux in the loop constant. This inherent behavior of generated magnetic fields is summarized in Lenz's Law.