Inductor Calculator
Calculate inductive reactance (XL) at any frequency, energy stored in an inductor, and the resonant frequency of an LC circuit. Useful for RF chokes, power supply filtering, and LC tank circuits.
Inductor Calculations
Inductors oppose AC current flow (inductive reactance XL) and support DC steady-state. Larger inductance and higher frequency increase reactance. Stored energy depends on current magnitude. LC resonant frequency is where inductive and capacitive reactances cancel — essential for oscillators and RF tuning.
How inductors work
An inductor stores energy in a magnetic field when current flows through it. Its key property is inductive reactance (XL) — the opposition to AC current that increases with frequency. At DC, an ideal inductor is a short circuit; at high frequencies it becomes a near-open circuit, making it perfect for RF chokes and EMI filtering.
The LC resonant frequency occurs when inductive and capacitive reactances are equal and cancel each other — used in oscillators, filters, and antenna matching networks.
SMD power inductors: 1–100 μH · RF chokes: 10–1000 nH · Ferrite beads: 100 nH–10 μH
Used to calculate energy stored in magnetic field
Typical values
Power supply filter: 10–100 μH @ 1–5 A
RF choke (2.4 GHz): 33–100 nH
Audio crossover: 1–10 mH
Inductor Properties
- Reactance XL at 1000 kHz
- 628.32 Ω
- Energy stored
- 12.50 μJ
XL = 2π × f × L · E = ½ × L × I²
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