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Why is reactance imaginary?

Updated: 4/28/2022
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10y ago

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The reactance is taken imaginary because it does not consume any power directly but reactance like inductive or capacitive reactance provides phase shift of 90 degree, whether it provides a leading phase shift or lagging phase shift. In case of inductor the current lags voltage by 90 degree while in case of capacitor current leads by 90 degree. Thus only resistance is taken as real while combination of resistance and capacitance is called impedence....

Ashish Sharma AP ECE

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10y ago
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gsteshen

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2y ago

Reactance does not consume energy. It stores energy. It does not perform work. Only the resistance performs work. We have the stored energy unable to perform work, hence it is imaginary.

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Q: Why is reactance imaginary?
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Related questions

What does x mean in an electrical wiring diagram?

It means the "Reactance". It's the imaginary part of impedance. Z=R+jX


What is definition of impedence?

Impedance is usually written in equations as Z. Impedance is the real resistance (usualyl referred to as R), and the imaginary / reactive opposition (using an imaginary number 'i' or 'j', depending on your area of study). Z = R + j*n, where 'n' is the reactive opposition.Additional AnswerCurrent, in an A.C. circuit, is opposed by the resistance(R) of that circuit and the reactance (X) of that circuit. Reactance may be 'inductive reactance' (XL) or 'capacitive reactance' (XC) -depending on the nature of the circuit.Inductive reactance is directly proportional to the supply frequency; capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the supply frequency; resistance is independent of frequency.Impedance (Z) is the vector sum (not algebraic sum) of a circuit's resistance and reactance, and may be considered as the total opposition to the flow of A.C. current.Resistance, reactance, and impedance are each measured in ohms.


What is the unit of inductive reactance?

Inductive reactance, as well as capacitive reactance, is measured in ohms.


What does capacitive reactance oppose?

Inductive reactance.


When are voltage and current out of phase?

Because the impedance of the inductor and capacitor is not a real resistance / has an imaginary value that causes voltage and current to be out of phase. An inductor's impedance is equivalent to j*w*L (j = i = imaginary number, w = frequency in radians, L = inductance), while a capacitor's impedance is 1/ (j*w*C). The 'j' causes the phase shift.


What is total impedance of a circuit when the resistance is 15k ohms and the capacitive reactance is 10k ohms?

You can write this as a complex number; the resistance is the real part, the reactance is the imaginary part (negative, for a capacitive reactance): 15 + j10 kilohms. ("j" is used instead of "i", to avoid confusion with current, which is symbolized by "i".) This is in rectangular coordinates; with a scientific calculator you can use rectangular --> polar conversion, to get the absolute value and the angle. To get just the absolute value, use Pythagoras' Theorem, which in this case gives about 18 kilohms.You can write this as a complex number; the resistance is the real part, the reactance is the imaginary part (negative, for a capacitive reactance): 15 + j10 kilohms. ("j" is used instead of "i", to avoid confusion with current, which is symbolized by "i".) This is in rectangular coordinates; with a scientific calculator you can use rectangular --> polar conversion, to get the absolute value and the angle. To get just the absolute value, use Pythagoras' Theorem, which in this case gives about 18 kilohms.You can write this as a complex number; the resistance is the real part, the reactance is the imaginary part (negative, for a capacitive reactance): 15 + j10 kilohms. ("j" is used instead of "i", to avoid confusion with current, which is symbolized by "i".) This is in rectangular coordinates; with a scientific calculator you can use rectangular --> polar conversion, to get the absolute value and the angle. To get just the absolute value, use Pythagoras' Theorem, which in this case gives about 18 kilohms.You can write this as a complex number; the resistance is the real part, the reactance is the imaginary part (negative, for a capacitive reactance): 15 + j10 kilohms. ("j" is used instead of "i", to avoid confusion with current, which is symbolized by "i".) This is in rectangular coordinates; with a scientific calculator you can use rectangular --> polar conversion, to get the absolute value and the angle. To get just the absolute value, use Pythagoras' Theorem, which in this case gives about 18 kilohms.


What is the inverse of reactance?

The reciprocal of reactance is susceptance, expressed in siemens.


What are the letters for Inductive Reactance?

The symbol for inductive reactance is XL.


Why does the inductance of inductor varies with frequency?

It doesn't. the impedance of the inductor will, following the rule j*w*l, where l is inductance, w is frequency in radians and j is the imaginary number designating this a reactance, not resistance.


How does doubling the frequency effect the reactance of an inducter and capacitor?

for inductor, reactance XL = 2*pi* f *L, if frequency doubles then reactance increase. But for capacitor, reactance Xc = 1/(2*pi*f*C). In this case if frequency doubles the reactance decrease.


What is synchronous reactance in alternator?

The overall reactance of the armature winding is the sum of its leakage reactance plus fictitious reactance, which is known as synchronous reactance (Xs).Xs=XL+Xarwhere XL and Xar are in Ω/phase. Therefore, Xs is in Ω/phase.The impedance of armature winding is obtained by combining its resistance and its synchronous reactance.


What is the symbol for inductive reactance?

Inductive reactance does NOT have it own sign or symbol. Rather, it uses Ohms as a quantifier. But Capacitive reactance ALSO uses Ohms as a quantifier. Fortunately, 1 Ohm of Inductive reactance is cancelled by 1 Ohm of Capacitive reactance at the same frequency of measurement.