What is Capacitive Reactance?

What is Capacitive Reactance?

Tolerance reactance definition

The charge on the capacitor plate in an AC circuit has a hindering effect on the directional moving charge and is represented by the letter Xc.

How the capacitive reactance works

When the capacitor is connected to the AC power supply, the free charge does not actually pass through the insulating medium between the two poles, but because the voltage between the two plates is changing, when the voltage rises, the charge accumulates on the plate of the capacitor, forming a charging current; When the voltage is reduced, the charge leaves the plate, forming a discharge current. The capacitors alternately charge and discharge, and there is current in the circuit, which appears as AC "passing" through the capacitor. The problem is that while charging the capacitor, the charge that accumulates on the two plates repels the charge that will reach the two plates, so the alternating current is also hindered

Calculation formula of bulk reactance

Xc = 1 / (2 PI fC)

Measurement method

The point barrier of a multimeter measures the capacitive reactance of a capacitor

Capacitive reactance

• Pass AC, resist DC

• Pass high frequency, block low frequency