Amateur ExtraE5A01

What can cause the voltage across reactances in a series RLC circuit to be higher than the voltage applied to the entire circuit?

A
Answer
Electrical principles and calculations
Type
A
Resonance
B
Capacitance
C
Low quality factor (Q)
D
Resistance

Answer Notes

In a series RLC circuit, resonance occurs when the inductive reactance and the capacitive reactance are exactly equal in magnitude and cancel each other out. At this point, the total impedance of the circuit drops to its minimum value, limited only by the pure resistance. Because the total impedance is at its lowest, the current flowing through the series circuit reaches its maximum. This high current flows equally through both the inductor and the capacitor. Even though their combined voltage drop cancels out from the perspective of the source, the individual voltage across the inductor (Current × Inductive Reactance) and the capacitor (Current × Capacitive Reactance) can be significantly higher than the applied source voltage. This phenomenon is known as resonant voltage step-up or magnification.
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What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenries, and C is 40 picofarads?