DC and AC Impedance of Reactive Elements

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Cora Boone
5 years ago
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1 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements /6 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements Now, recall from EES 2 the complex impedances of our basic circuit elements: ZR = R Z = jω ZL = jωl For a D signal ( ω = 0), we find that: ZR = R Z = lim = ω 0 jω Z = j(0) L = 0 L Thus, at D we know that: * a capacitor acts as an open circuit (I =0). * an inductor acts as a short circuit (V L = 0).

2 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements 2/6 Now, let s consider two important cases:. A capacitor whose capacitance is unfathomably large. 2. An inductor whose inductance L is unfathomably large.. The Unfathomably Large apacitor In this case, we consider a capacitor whose capacitance is finite, but very, very, very large. For D signals ( ω = 0), this device acts still acts like an open circuit. However, now consider the A signal case (e.g., a small signal), where ω 0. The impedance of an unfathomably large capacitor is: Zero impedance! Z = lim = 0 jω An unfathomably large capacitor acts like an A short.

3 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements 3/6 Quite a trick! The unfathomably large capacitance acts like an open to D signals, but likewise acts like a short to A (small) signals! + v ( t) = 0 c I = 0 = lim Q: I fail to see the relevance of this analysis at this juncture. After all, unfathomably large capacitors do not exist, and are impossible to make (being unfathomable and all). A: True enough! However, we can make very big (but fathomably large) capacitors. Big capacitors will not act as a perfect A short circuit, but will exhibit an impedance of very small magnitude (e.g., a few Ohms), provided that the A signal frequency is sufficiently large. In this way, a very large capacitor acts as an approximate A short, and as a perfect D open.

4 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements 4/6 We call these large capacitors D blocking capacitors, as they allow no D current to flow through them, while allowing A current to flow nearly unimpeded! Q: But you just said this is true provided that the A signal frequency is sufficiently large. Just how large does the signal frequency ω need to be? A: Say we desire the A impedance of our capacitor to have a magnitude of less than ten Ohms: Z < 0 Rearranging, we find that this will occur if the frequency ω is: 0 > Z 0 > ω ω > 0 For example, a 50 µf capacitor will exhibit an impedance whose magnitude is less than 0 Ohms for all A signal frequencies above 320 Hz.

5 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements 5/6 Likewise, almost all A signals in modern electronics will operate in a spectrum much higher than 320 Hz. Thus, a 50 µf blocking capacitor will approximately act as an A short and (precisely) act as a D open. 2. The Unfathomably Large Inductor Similarly, we can consider an unfathomably large inductor. In addition to a D impedance of zero (a D short), we find for the A case (where ω 0): Z = lim jωl = L L In other words, an unfathomably large inductor acts like an A open circuit! V + = 0 i ( t ) = 0 L = lim L L The unfathomably large inductor acts like an short to D signals, but likewise acts like an open to A (small) signals!

6 3/6/20 D and A Impedance of Reactive Elements 6/6 As before, an unfathomably large inductor is impossible to build. However, a very large inductor will typically exhibit a very large A impedance for all but the lowest of signal frequencies ω. We call these large inductors A chokes (also known RF chokes), as they act as a perfect short to D signals, yet so effectively impede A signals (with sufficiently high frequency) that they act approximately as an A open circuit. For example, if we desire an A choke with an impedance magnitude greater than 00 kω, we find that: Z L > 0 5 ωl > 0 5 ω > 5 0 L Thus, an A choke of 50 mh would exhibit an impedance magnitude of greater than 00 kω for all signal frequencies greater than 320 khz. Note that this is still a fairly low signal frequency for many modern electronic applications, and thus this inductor would be an adequate A choke. Note however, that building and A choke for audio signals (20 Hz to 20 khz) is typically very difficult!

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