Impedance

"Roger Dewhurst"

** Only a *resistance* generates heat when current flows though it. A purely capacitive or inductive reactance has no resistance so generates no heat.

However, all real inductors have *some* resistance and so do all real capacitors - so some heat is generated from that residual resistance whenever current is flowing.

It is possible to make a capacitor get quite hot and even catch alight if you pass enough current through it.

....... Phil

Capacitance and Inductance store energy in fields that do not exhibit any dissipative mechanism akin to resistance. So ideal capacitors and inductors would not heat up.

In real life, practical capacitors and inductors have some resistance, so will heat up due to current flow. Also for the capacitor, there will be some dielectric heating, especially at higher frequencies, caused by molecular/atomic motions being driven by the field changes.

In addition to what was posted consider the power formula for AC circuits. In a pure capacitor the phase angle will be 90 degrees. Check it out. Tom

"Tom Biasi"

** For a novice - that is like saying e=mc*2 to an African Tutsi. ** How f****ng pseudo academic.

Peeeeeeuuuukee........

........ Phil

not anywhere near as much as a resistor would. They aren't exactly equivalent to resistors.

Bye. Jasen

It would heat up exactly the same amount, if its resistance is equal to the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the cap.

That's kinda how ESR is defined, I think. :-)

Cheers! Rich