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Re: Impedance and Reactance



Impedance is the oposition to AC or DC current (electron flow).  
Impedance of a component will typically vary with frequency of the AC
signal.  Impedance is a vector, consisting of 2 independant scalers -
resistance and reactance.

Resistance how much opposition to the flow of electrons in either an AC
or DC circuit or component.  Lower resistance means LESS opposistion,
Higher resistance means MORE opposition (to the flow of electrons).

Reactance is an expression of the storing or releasing of energy in a
circuit or component.  Reactance occurs only for AC not DC.  Reactance
can be inductive (magnetic field storage/release) or capacitive
(electric field storage/release).  Reactance is expressed in imaginary
numbers.
bret
--- sine@zerocrossing.net wrote:
> Simply put, impedance is the interaction between resistance and
> frequency.
> It effects the signal transfer.  I took a class where we looked at it
> mathematically, and it was way beyond me.  I think of impedance
> (load) like
> bike gears.  A transistor is always trying to pedal with all it's
> might.  If
> the gear is too low (2 ohms), the pedaling will be too fast (current
> too
> high) and you'll burn  your legs out.  Most commercial amps like the
> "gear"
> to be between 6-8 ohms.  Two low and you can burn out your amp. 
> Lot's of pro
> stuff will deal with a 2 ohm load.  Touch your positive and negative
> leads
> together to find out what will happen with no load.  That smell will
> be your
> amp frying.   Your reactance will be one of crying and maybe
> shouting.  If
> the impedance is too high, your amp probably won't care, but you
> won't get a
> lot of signal.
> 
> This may be a horrible analogy, but it's how I think of it.  Am I
> wrong?
> 
> Mark Sottilaro
> 
> MIKO wrote:
> 
> > Can anyone put impedance and reactance into laymen's terms for me
> and tell
> > me what they impact?
> 


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