Boneyard Tools

LC Resonant Frequency Calculator

Enter an inductance and a capacitance to find the resonant frequency of an LC tank or series circuit. At resonance the inductive and capacitive reactances are equal, and the circuit responds most strongly at this single frequency.

How to use the resonant frequency calculator

  1. Enter the inductance in henries (or millihenries, microhenries).
  2. Enter the capacitance in farads (or microfarads, nanofarads).
  3. Read the resonant frequency in hertz and the angular frequency in radians per second.

Examples

1 mH and 100 nF

L = 1e-3 H, C = 1e-7 F
f = 15915.49 Hz, omega = 100000 rad/s

1 mH and 1 microfarad

L = 1e-3 H, C = 1e-6 F
f = 5032.92 Hz

Frequently asked questions

What is the LC resonant frequency formula?

The resonant frequency is f = 1 / (2 pi sqrt(L C)), where L is in henries and C is in farads. For 1 mH and 100 nF it is 15915.49 Hz.

What happens at resonance?

At the resonant frequency the inductive reactance equals the capacitive reactance and they cancel. A parallel LC tank shows peak impedance while a series LC shows minimum impedance.

What is the angular frequency?

Angular frequency omega is 2 pi times the frequency, measured in radians per second. It also equals 1 / sqrt(L C) directly.

Does the formula work for both series and parallel LC?

Yes. The ideal resonant frequency is the same for series and parallel LC circuits; only the impedance behaviour at resonance differs.

How do component values change the frequency?

Increasing either L or C lowers the resonant frequency. Because of the square root, multiplying L or C by four halves the frequency.

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