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LC resonant frequency calculator

Find the resonant frequency of an inductor and capacitor, with characteristic impedance, Q factor and bandwidth.

Resonant frequency
503.3 kHz
Angular frequency ω₀3.162 Mrad/s
Characteristic impedance316.2 Ω
Period1.987 µs

An inductor and a capacitor exchange energy back and forth — the capacitor storing it in an electric field, the inductor in a magnetic one. At one particular frequency their reactances are equal and opposite and cancel completely. That is resonance.

f₀ = 1 / (2π √(LC))

The square root has a practical consequence: to double the frequency you must reduce L or C by a factor of four. Tuning across a wide band therefore needs a large capacitance range, which is why variable capacitors in old radios were physically enormous.

Series and parallel behave oppositely

A series LC becomes a short circuit at resonance, limited only by the parasitic resistance — useful as a notch filter that swallows one frequency. A parallel LC, or tank, becomes a very high impedance at resonance, which is what makes it the frequency-selecting element in an oscillator or the load in an RF amplifier.

Q factor and bandwidth

Q measures how sharply the circuit selects. It is the ratio of the characteristic impedance √(L/C) to the loss resistance. High Q means a narrow bandwidth and a long ringing time; low Q means a broad response that settles quickly.

Q = (1/R)·√(L/C)   BW = f₀ / Q

A tuned circuit with Q of 100 at 1 MHz passes a 10 kHz band. Real inductors rarely exceed Q of 200 because of winding resistance and core loss, and the loading of the stage that follows usually dominates anyway.

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