fo = fo is known as the resonance frequency of the circuit. At resonance frequency in an electrical system, the amplitude of the current becomes maximum.
As the frequency is changed -- either increased or decreased -- from the resonance frequency, the current decreases as shown here.
At resonance, with the (XL - XC) term in this equation,
I = V / Z = equal to zero, the current is determined solely by the resistance
Ires = V / R so the current at resonance will be greater in a circuit with small resistance and will be less in a circuit with large resistance.
Since the power used in a circuit is given by
P = I2 R the power also depends very strongly on the frequency. A graph of power versus frequency looks similar to the current versus frequency graph of the figure above.
When you tune in a radio station you are probably rotating a variable capacitor somewhat like the ones shown here.
As the capacitance C of the tuning circuit is changed, the resonance frequency of a circuit
fo = is changed. The antenna of the receiver acts as an AC source with all sorts of frequencies superimposed at the same time. The voltage -- called a signal -- that it provides at this resonance frequency fo will provide a relatively large current which provides the program you listen to. The voltages -- or signals -- at other frequencies will provide very little current. The sensitivity of a tuning circuit is directly related to the "sharpness" of its resonance curve, just as shown in the figure above.
(c) Doug Davis, 2002; all rights reserved
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