Conductance, susceptance, and admittance are three fundamental properties associated with AC and DC Circuit analysis. In this post you’ll learn the difference between them.
What is Conductance
In the study of DC circuits, the student of electricity comes across a term meaning the opposite of resistance: conductance. It is a useful term when exploring the mathematical formula for parallel resistances: Rparallel = 1 / (1/R1 + 1/R2 + . . . 1/Rn). Unlike resistance, which diminishes as more parallel components are included in the circuit, conductance simply adds. Mathematically, conductance is the reciprocal of resistance, and each 1/R term in the “parallel resistance formula” is actually a conductance.
What is Susceptance
Reactive components such as inductors and capacitors oppose the flow of electrons with respect to time, rather than with a constant, unchanging friction as resistors do. We call this time-based opposition, reactance, and like resistance we also measure it in the unit of ohms.
As conductance is the complement of resistance, there is also a complementary expression of reactance, called susceptance. Mathematically, it is equal to 1/X, the reciprocal of reactance. Like conductance, it used to be measured in the unit of mhos, but now is measured in Siemens. Its mathematical symbol is “B”, unfortunately the same symbol used to represent magnetic flux density.
The terms “reactance” and “susceptance” have a certain linguistic logic to them, just like resistance and conductance. While reactance is the measure of how much a circuit reacts against change in current over time, susceptance is the measure of how much a circuit is susceptible to conducting a changing current.
If one were tasked with determining the total effect of several parallel-connected, pure reactances, one could convert each reactance (X) to a susceptance (B), then add susceptances rather than diminish reactances: Xparallel = 1/(1/X1 + 1/X2 + . . . 1/Xn). Like conductances (G), susceptances (B) add in parallel and diminish in series. Also like conductance, susceptance is a scalar quantity.
What is admittance
When resistive and reactive components are interconnected, their combined effects can no longer be analyzed with scalar quantities of resistance (R) and reactance (X). Likewise, figures of conductance (G) and susceptance (B) are most useful in circuits where the two types of opposition are not mixed, i.e. either a purely resistive (conductive) circuit, or a purely reactive (susceptive) circuit. In order to express and quantify the effects of mixed resistive and reactive components, we had to have a new term: impedance, measured in ohms and symbolized by the letter “Z”.
To be consistent, we need a complementary measure representing the reciprocal of impedance. The name for this measure is admittance. Admittance is measured in (guess what?) the unit of Siemens, and its symbol is “Y”. Like impedance, admittance is a complex quantity rather than scalar. Again, we see a certain logic to the naming of this new term: while impedance is a measure of how much alternating current is impeded in a circuit, admittance is a measure of how much current is admitted.
Given a scientific calculator capable of handling complex number arithmetic in both polar and rectangular forms, you may never have to work with figures of susceptance (B) or admittance (Y). Be aware, though, of their existence and their meanings
Summary
Link to previous articles:
- RLC Series Circuit Analysis – AC Circuit Analysis
- RLC Parallel Circuit Analysis – AC Circuit Analysis
- RLC Series-Parallel circuit analysis
- Difference between Conductance, Susceptance, and admittance
Article extracted from Lesson in Electric Circuits AC Volume Tony R Kuphaldt under Design Science License. Heading and title are modified/added. Additionally, the content is visually edited and rearranged for purpose of ease in skimming.