Inductor

Related wiki pages: Electronic Theory, Capacitors, Resistors, Impedance

An inductor is a device that stores energy in a magnetic field. Inductors are short circuits to DC current, but their impedance rises as AC current passing through them has its frequency increased. Extremely high frequency currents see inductors as open circuits.

In some ways, inductors behave as the opposite of capacitors. This property is critically important to the circuit design of oscillators.

Fundamentally, inductors consist of a conductor, which is usually wrapped into a coil. Many inductors have an insulator inside the coil that has magnetic properties that raise the inductance. Such materials include powdered iron toroids and ferrite toroids.

Inductance
Inductance (L), measured in henries (H) is the effect which results from the magnetic field around a current-carrying conductor. Current flowing through the conductor creates a magnetic flux proportional to the current. A change in this current creates a change in magnetic flux that, in turn, generates an electromotive force (EMF) that acts to oppose this change in current. Inductance is a measure of the amount of EMF generated for a unit change in current.

Inductive Reactance
The impedance of an inductor is given by the formula


 * $$Z = j \omega L \,$$

where $$Z\,$$ is the impedance, $$\omega\,$$ is $$2 \pi f\,$$, and $$f\,$$ is the frequency. $$j\,$$ is "operator j" from phasor analysis.

In practical terms this leads to:

$$ X_c = 2 \pi  F  L $$ where:
 * $$ X_c $$ is capacitive reactance
 * F is the frequency of operation in Hertz
 * L is the inductance in Henries

Online calculators
Various inductance calculators