Q.Compare resistance and reactance.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Resistance and reactance both oppose the flow of current and share the same SI unit (ohm, ), but differ in several fundamental ways (Table 13.1). Resistance R is equally effective at reducing both AC and DC current, and is completely independent of the frequency of the applied AC. Reactance, by contrast, is inherently frequency-dependent: inductive reactance is DIRECTLY proportional to frequency (zero for DC, growing without bound at high frequency), while capacitive reactance is INVERSELY proportional to frequency (infinite for DC, i.e. blocking it completely, and falling towards zero at high frequency).\n\nEnergetically, current opposed by a resistor genuinely dissipates energy as heat (Joule heating, ), whereas current opposed by a reactance (pure L or pure C) consumes NO net energy over a complete cycle -- the reactance merely reduces the current's amplitude and shifts its phase, without permanently converting any electrical energy to heat; any actual energy loss in a real coil comes only from ITS resistive component, never from the ideal reactive part itself.\n\nFinally, the PHASE relationship differs completely: current opposed by a pure resistor stays exactly IN PHASE with the voltage across it (). Current …
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