Impedance

What Does Impedance Mean?

Impedance (Z), in electrical devices, refers to the amount of opposition faced by direct or alternating current when it passes through a conductor component, circuit or system. Impedance is null when current and voltage are constant and thus its value is never zero or null in the case of alternating current.

Techopedia Explains Impedance

Impedance is often mistakenly said to be the same as resistance, which is not correct. Impedance is a two-dimensional quantity comprising resistance (real component vector) and reactance (imaginary component vector). Impedance is also known as the frequency domain ratio of voltage and current. Frequency is involved because of alternating current (AC) whose sinusoidal wave is generated upon a certain frequency which directly or indirectly affects electrical components such as capacitors and inductors, whose resistance varies with frequency of the power source provided.

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret é uma premiada redatora e professora conhecida por sua habilidade de explicar assuntos técnicos complexos para um público empresarial não técnico. Nos últimos vinte anos, suas definições de TI foram publicadas pela Que em uma enciclopédia de termos tecnológicos e citadas em artigos do New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine e Discovery Magazine. Ela ingressou na Techopedia em 2011. A ideia de Margaret de um dia divertido é ajudar os profissionais de TI e de negócios a aprenderem a falar os idiomas altamente especializados uns dos outros.

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