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E5D06

ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES · RF effects in components and circuits: skin effect; real and reactive power; electrical length of conductors

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What parasitic characteristic creates an inductor's self-resonance?

  1. ASkin effect
  2. BDielectric loss
  3. CCoupling
  4. DInter-turn capacitance
Why Every inductor has small capacitances between adjacent turns, since the turns are conductors separated by insulation or air. This distributed capacitance appears effectively in parallel with the coil's inductance, forming a parallel resonant circuit at the self-resonant frequency. Below that frequency the part behaves like an inductor; above it the capacitance dominates and it acts capacitive, which is why real inductors are only usable well below their self-resonance.
Watch out Skin effect is tempting because it is another RF parasitic, but it only raises the conductor's AC resistance by pushing current to the surface; it adds loss, not resonance. Dielectric loss in the coil form likewise adds resistance rather than the capacitance needed to resonate.
Adjacent turns are tiny capacitor plates: L plus that stray C equals self-resonance.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E5D

  1. E5D01 What is the result of conductor skin effect?
  2. E5D02 Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?
  3. E5D03 What is the phase relationship between current and voltage for reactive power?
  4. E5D04 Why are short connections used at microwave frequencies?
  5. E5D05 What parasitic characteristic causes electrolytic capacitors to be unsuitable for use at RF?
  6. E5D06 What parasitic characteristic creates an inductor's self-resonance?
  7. E5D07 What combines to create the self-resonance of a component?
  8. E5D08 What is the primary cause of loss in film capacitors at RF?
  9. E5D09 What happens to reactive power in ideal inductors and capacitors?
  10. E5D10 As a conductor's diameter increases, what is the effect on its electrical length?
  11. E5D11 How much real power is consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100-ohm resistor in series with a 100-ohm induct…
  12. E5D12 What is reactive power?
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