Electrical reactance

Electrical reactance is the frequency-dependent opposition that inductors and capacitors present to alternating current. It is measured in ohms and forms the imaginary part of impedance.

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Inductive reactance: The opposition to alternating current produced by an inductor, increasing with frequency. It is the positive reactance associated with magnetic energy storage in an inductor.
Alternating current: Electric current that periodically reverses direction. Reactance describes how circuit elements oppose this changing current.
Resonance: A condition in which a system responds strongly at a particular frequency. Inductive and capacitive reactances cancel at a resonant frequency.
Electrical conductance: A measure of how readily a material or component conducts electric current, measured in siemens. Conductance characterizes ease of current flow rather than reactive opposition.
Capacitive reactance: The opposition to alternating current produced by a capacitor, decreasing with frequency. It is the negative reactance associated with electric energy storage in a capacitor.
Frequency: The number of cycles of a periodic signal completed per unit time. Changing frequency changes inductive and capacitive reactance in opposite ways.
RLC circuit: A circuit containing a resistor, inductor, and capacitor. Its frequency response depends on the balance of resistance and reactance.
Susceptance: The imaginary part of admittance, measured in siemens. Susceptance is the reciprocal-domain counterpart to reactance in impedance and admittance.
Impedance: The total opposition a circuit presents to alternating current, combining resistance and reactance. Reactance is the imaginary component of this broader circuit quantity.
Resistance: The opposition to electric current that dissipates electrical energy as heat. Unlike ideal reactance, resistance does not store and return energy each cycle.