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15.1: Theory Overview

  • Page ID
    36727
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    A series resonant circuit consists of a resistor, a capacitor, and an inductor in a simple loop. At some frequency the capacitive and inductive reactances will be of the same magnitude, and as they are 180 degrees in opposition, they effectively nullify each other. This leaves the circuit purely resistive, the source “seeing” only the resistive element. Consequently, the current will be at a maximum at the resonant frequency. At any higher or lower frequency, a net reactance (the difference between \(X_L\) and \(X_C\)) must be added to the resistor value, producing a higher impedance and thus, a lower current. As this is a simple series loop, the resistor’s voltage will be proportional to the current. Consequently, the resistor voltage should be a maximum at the resonant frequency and decrease as the frequency is either increased or decreased. At resonance, the resistor value sets the maximal current and consequently has a major effect on the voltages developed across the capacitor and inductor as well as the “tightness” of the voltage versus frequency curve: The smaller the resistance, the tighter the curve and the higher the voltage seen across the capacitor and inductor. The Q of the circuit can be defined as the ratio of the resonant reactance to the circuit resistance, Q = X/R, which also corresponds to the ratio of the resonant frequency to the circuit bandwidth, Q = \(F_0\)/BW.


    This page titled 15.1: Theory Overview is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by James M. Fiore via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.