Reflecting on Capacitive Reactance in Electrical Circuits

What is the capacitive reactance of the circuit?

Given the data of a 2.0 microF capacitor connected across a 60 Hz voltage source and a current of 2.0 mA measured on a VOM, what is the capacitive reactance of the circuit?

Answer:

The capacitive reactance of the circuit is 1326.291 Ω.

Reflecting on the calculation of capacitive reactance in electrical circuits, we start by recognizing the key components involved in the given data. In this scenario, we are dealing with a capacitor with a capacitance (C) of 2.0 microF and a voltage source operating at a frequency (f) of 60 Hz. Additionally, a current of 2.0 mA is measured on a VOM.

To determine the capacitive reactance (Xc) of the circuit, we can utilize the formula Xc = 1/(ωC), where ω represents the angular frequency calculated as 2πf. By substituting the known values into the equation, we can solve for Xc as follows:

Xc = 1/(120π * 2 * 10^-6)

Xc ≈ 1326.291 Ω

Therefore, the capacitive reactance of the circuit is approximately 1326.291 Ω. This value signifies the opposition to the flow of alternating current offered by the capacitor due to its capacitive properties at the given frequency.